Reading for Pleasure
Phonic lessons begin as soon as children enter Reception. At Oak Meadow, the Read Write Inc programme is used to support the teaching of phonics to enable pupils to read as quickly as possible. The scheme teaches children to decode initial sounds, blend and comprehend. First, they learn to read the 40+ sounds in the English alphabetic code and are taught how to blend these sounds into decodable words, then they learn to read the same sounds with alternate graphemes. Read Write Inc. phonic books are matched to each child’s phonological understanding and, as they re-read these stories, their fluency increases. Children also develop their comprehension skills as they are supported to read with a storyteller’s voice and posed with prompts for thinking out loud that promote discussion. Most pupils will have completed the Read Write Inc programme by the end of Year 1 when pupils take the phonics screening check. The RWI programme is divided into three sections.
Throughout the Read Write Inc. programme, children are assessed half-termly to ensure that they are making good progress. Groups are structured throughout Key Stage 1 so that children are placed in the phonics group that best suits their need.
Should you want to help your child to learn phonic sounds, be aware that phonic sounds are taught as pure sounds – sss not suh – and some sounds, like sh in shop are two letters one sound. As soon as your child can break a word into its sounds to read it, please encourage them to write it out too.
Guided Reading
When children have completed the Read Write Inc. programme, they will begin Guided Reading lessons to develop their fluency and comprehension. At Oak Meadow, we use the VIPERS skills (Vocabulary, Inference, Predictions, Explanation, Retrieval and Sequence or Summarise) to underpin the teaching of comprehension. Within these lessons, progressive skills are taught which exposes children to a range of genres including: fiction, non-fiction and poetry books and also enables children to tackle texts of increasing difficulty.
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Guided Reading lessons are structured so that children have the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of the text that they are reading and are able to apply what has been learnt to answer a ‘Big Question’ at the end of the week.
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Reading lessons are also incorporated into the wider curriculum so that children apply their reading skills in a variety of different ways.
Reading Scheme
Home reading supports children’s fluency and understanding greatly and we encourage children to read daily. Children who access the Read Write Inc. Scheme, take home a book that matches their phonic ability. These books including a range of decodable and sight words that have been previously taught, which improves their confidence and fluency. These books provide a range of activities that can be completed at home with an adult’s support. These activities include: retelling the story or answering ‘find it, prove it’ questions. As part of this scheme, children change their books weekly during their Friday RWI lesson to ensure that they have had enough opportunity to improve their reading stamina, speed and comprehension.
When children have completed this scheme, they will progress onto a colour banded scheme that incorporates Oxford Reading Tree book, Bug Club books and other independent texts. There are a wide variety of genres from fiction and non-fiction texts to engage and challenge all learners.
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All children receive a reading diary that they are able to take home and share their reading journey.
Reading for Pleasure
Teaching children the love of reading is extremely important at Oak Meadow. We strive to provide children with a wide range of texts that will engage, excite, motivate and create life long, confident readers who tackle texts with a good understanding. Since reading underpins all aspects of learning, key reading skills are taught explicitly. We provide daily opportunities for children to blend, decode, comprehend and develop their reading fluency. Our curriculum incorporates a wide range of reading materials that allow children to extend their vocabulary, develop their subject knowledge and commit to memory a wealth of stories. Children have access to high quality texts that spark their interest, imagination and expose them to the very best in both modern day and classical authors. To develop their love of reading further, each afternoon, all year groups take part in a ‘3 o’clock read’ where they immerse themselves in a story, poem, rhyme or non-fiction text. Each class has also created their very own reading area that they can access to read or share their favourite stories in comfort. For example, in Year 2 reading takes place under the Pacific Ocean and in Year 6 children are able to relax and enjoy their favourite book in their very own ‘Starbooks’ with a delicious hot chocolate! At lunchtime, they are also able to visit our impressive well-stocked library run by our junior librarians and use the comfy seating area to lose themselves in a book.
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Within school we take part in a range of exciting activities to promote a love of reading such as celebrating World Book Day annually, promoting reading champions, providing access to Bug Club, inviting the Scholastic Book Fair into school twice yearly, running termly reading competitions and organising local library visits.
Bug Club
Bug Club is an online resource to develop children’s independent reading. All children have access to this fantastic resource which allows them to read a vast selection of online books matched to their phonic and reading ability. Each week, children who have scored the most amount of points from reading and completing Bug Club activities will receive a prize and commendation in our Monday celebration assembly.
Useful Website Links
Downloads
Reading Curriculum
