Reading
Intent
At Beeston Primary School we intend to:
Throughout Key Stages One and Two, our reading sessions balance the teaching of reading between word reading, decoding skills, comprehension strategies and response to text in order to develop fluent readers who understand what they are reading. Comprehension is taught from an early age to prevent difficulties arising as the language demand of the texts pupils encounter increases. We believe that it is important that children read for meaning because not only does a lack of comprehension skills create a barrier to educational attainment; pupils with better comprehension skills are more likely to be engaged and motivated readers.
At Beeston Primary school we aim to provide a curriculum which has reading at its core across all curriculum areas. Through choosing quality texts, we intend to develop a love of reading and allow children to recognise the pleasure they can get from their reading, as well as an understanding that reading allows them to discover new knowledge, revisit prior knowledge and understand more about what they learn, fuelling their imagination for ideas to use in their own work.
Implementation
At Beeston we use our Reading Dogs within a whole class reading approach that equips pupils with the necessary skills to be successful readers. Our approach focuses on building fluency and embedding comprehension skills with direct, taught sessions. Each dog represents a reading skill: vocabulary, inference, retrieval, sequencing/summarising, prediction and choice. These are all closely linked to the assessed strands in the end of key stage assessments.
Sometimes, texts are part of a class book or at other times they are a poem, short extract or non-fiction article depending on the writing focus. The whole class reading approach supports rapid progress of lower ability readers. Research suggests this is due to exposure to higher-level questions and answers. Pictorial stimulus or activities which are designed to have a comprehension focus but reduce the amount of decoding can also be used to support SEND/EAL pupils.
Reading forms the core of our curriculum. All children read and are read to so that they develop a love of reading. Books are selected by teachers with the knowledge of how they link to other areas of the curriculum. Our school uses the Oxford Reading Tree scheme although this is supplemented by books from other schemes in reception and KS1. All books are carefully banded to ensure progression throughout school.
All children are expected to read at home and take home reading books. Children in reception and KS1 take home three reading books; one phonically decodable text, one book from their book band to share with an adult and a book the child has chosen to read for pleasure. KS2 pupils take home a reading scheme book and a book chosen from the school library to read for pleasure.
Impact
As we believe that reading is key to all learning, the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond the result of statutory assessments. Children have the opportunity to enter the wide and varied magical worlds that reading opens up to them. As they build their own interest in books, a deep love of literature across a range of genres, cultures and styles is developed.
Through the teaching of systematic phonics and reading enquiry, our aim is for children to become fluent and confident readers who can apply their knowledge and experience to a range of texts through the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
As a year 6 reader transitioning into secondary school, we aim that all children are fluent, confident and able readers, who can access a range of texts for pleasure and enjoyment, as well as use their reading skills to unlock learning across the curriculum.
In addition to this:
Reading
Further Information
Children at Beeston will have regular opportunities for reading in school which will include: whole class guided reading sessions, sharing a class book and individual reading.
SHARED READING
Children will have the opportunity to read frequently during English lessons. This may involve reading together as a class or working in groups/individually to read extracts from a wide range of texts.
WHOLE-CLASS GUIDED READING
All classes have guided reading sessions, where pupils work towards a shared objective and the skills required to meet these objectives are explicitly taught. Each week children will complete ‘Retrieval, Interpretation and Choice’ (RIC) questions, followed by teaching to address the chosen reading outcome and group or independent activities to support their learning. Children also access a weekly ‘Book Talk’ session where we develop our spoken language and share opinions and insights into the books we are reading.
To support our pupils’ learning we have linked the characteristics of reading to our ‘Reading Dogs’: Vocabulary Victor, Inference Iggy, Predicting Pip, Cassie Commentator (KS2), Author Arlo (KS2), Rex Retriever, Summarising Sheba (KS2) and Sequencing Suki.
If you are reading with your child at home, you may want to ask specific questions to help build upon these skills:
INDIVIDUAL READING
At Beeston each child will take home a book which is matched to the level at which they are reading. Children will read frequently in school and we would encourage all children to regularly read at home with an adult to support their understanding of vocabulary and develop their comprehension skills.
Our pupils’ books are taken predominantly from the Oxford Reading Tree.
As our pupils move through the scheme and become secure readers they will then have access to a choice of extended texts suitable to their level of reading.
Reading is recorded on Boom Reader. Here is a useful guide to help you sign in and use it.
