Reading at Friars

INTENT

Our aim is to inspire pupils to be lifelong readers. Therefore, reading is embedded in all areas of the curriculum. By the time children leave Friars they are competent readers who enjoy reading for pleasure and are able to independently and confidently discuss any book they have chosen to read.  They will also show resilience across the four main stages of reading: decoding, fluency comprehension and inference to help them tackle any challenging books.

Four stages of reading (Reason for reading) 

1. Decoding – this is the children’s ability to apply their knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven’t seen before.
2. Fluency – this is the ability to read accurately, smoothly and with expression.
3. Comprehension – this is the interpretation and understanding of what they have read.
4. Inference – this is an idea or conclusion that is drawn from evidence and reasoning. An inference is an educated/sensible guess based on the text.

IMPLEMENTATION

• Teach a range of reading skills in reading lessons, including: word meaning, fact retrieval, summarising, inferencing, predicting, comparison, identify and explain information and how it contributes to the meaning of the text, identify and explain how meaning is enhanced.
• Teach high-quality texts in their entirety over time using a whole class approach
• All classes have reading exercise books for teaching reading
• All classes have inspirational texts read to them on Friday at 3pm when there is no assembly
• KS2 classes teach whole class reading 4x a week in their reading slot
• For pupils in EYFS and KS1 to have daily SPaG/phonics sessions following Read Write Inc
• Phonic focus sound displayed in EYFS/KS1
• Introducing and modelling book talk. All classes introducing 15 mins after lunch on Friday – 10 minutes talk to your partner about their home reading book choice ask questions etc and 5 minutes teacher models and asks 1 child to share with the class their home reading book choice and why etc.
• For all pupils to take reading books home and read regularly at home and complete reading journals. In KS1 some of the books taken home will be linked to the phonic sounds taught in class.
• Opportunities for children to read individually within the school day.
• Events such as WBD, reading cafes and weekly reading raffle to support the enjoyment and promote the love of reading
• Use resources such as Communicate In Print, and strategies such as Rainbow sentences to support the understanding of sentences and language for all pupils.
• Buddy reading across year groups:  Year 6 and Year 3, Year 5 and Year 2, Year 4 and Year 1, Y4/5 and YR
• Encourage/promote the use of Reading Eggs (KS1) and Accelerated Reader (KS2)
• Have vocabulary displayed on the English learning wall
• Learning objective should emphasise the reason for reading (identifying the skill the children are learning), e.g. LO: Our reason for reading is to improve our fluency, LO: Our reason for reading is to retrieve information.
• One lesson of fluency work (reading aloud) each week.

IMPACT

• Reading perception survey in the autumn to review children’s views on reading and summer term indicates children’s positive attitude towards reading
• Children’s work in their exercise reading books to evidence a deep understanding of all the skills taught.
• Published reading comprehension tests indicate improvement in children’s understanding
• Termly tracking using STAR shows that children are making progress
• Children regularly complete their reading journals
• Pupils enjoy reading regularly, for information and for enjoyment/pleasure
• Pupils discuss books with excitement/pleasure
• Teachers moderate pupils work in school and in cluster meetings with other schools to ensure accurate assessments are made
• The reading leader and senior leaders regularly drop-in to phonics lessons to monitor teaching and provide coaching to staff where necessary.

Phonics Phonics taught in Reception Year 1 and Year 2. Books used for teaching reflect the sound being taught. Taught in small ability groups and assessed half termly-groups are fluid A decodable, levelled book appropriate to the child’s ability is sent home for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in addition to the book children choose for themselves. Phonics is the best strategy for teaching children to read. Therefore, children in KS2 who have not yet developed a solid understanding of phonics continue to receive phonics support. 1:1 intervention with children who are not assessed to be on track in phonics.

Reading lessons Reading lessons are based on a whole class text. Skills are taught-reason for reading Differentiation through questioning and other activities such as additional fluency work. Children to record work in their orange guided reading books. One Whole Class Reading lesson a week has an emphasis on reading aloud for fluency, with echo reading, choral reading and paired reading strategies. Children are exposed to a wide range of questioning language and formats. Children’s love and understanding of reading is developed through the use of Literary Curriculum planning resources. All planning across the curriculum has links to appropriate texts that can be used in lessons.

Inspirational Reading Teachers to read inspirational texts to children at 3pm on a Friday when there is no assembly. Inviting reading corner with inspirational quotes and book covers. Teachers model to the children what fluent, expert reading looks like as part of their fluency lessons.

Reading for Pleasure The Rights of a Reader. All children can choose a book to take home, in addition to any phonics book they are provided with. Buddy reading sessions. All classes introducing 15 mins after lunch on Friday – 10 minutes talk to your partner about their home reading book choice ask questions etc and 5 minutes teacher models and asks 1 child to share with the class their home reading book choice and why etc. Children use the Accelerated Reader app to track their reading and to help guide their reading choices towards books that will offer appropriate challenge.

---

• Read Write Inc Scheme of Work at Friars