Reading
At Elworth, our aim is to encourage a love of reading from an early age. From Reception, children are immersed in reading through storytelling, promoting the development of imagination and language which helps them to develop for the rest of their lives. All children in school are read to regularly by an adult, as well as sharing texts and reading together. Reading feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure house of wonder and joy for curious young minds and therefore is the key to developing successful learners.
The programmes of study for reading at key stages 1 and 2 consist of 2 dimensions:
- word reading
- comprehension (both listening and reading)
It is essential that teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both dimensions; different kinds of teaching are needed for each.
Children in EYFS and Key Stage 1 read regularly with an adult, encouraging them to establish robust decoding skills to access the written word. Comprehension skills will also taught alongside this, to ensure that children understand what they read and can apply their decoding skills. As children progress in to Key Stage 2, more emphasis is placed on reading comprehension, developing higher level skills as children develop their reading abilities, such as inference and deduction. As they progress through school, all pupils are encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world they live in, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum.
Organisation
In EYFS and KS1, children begin to read through a series of progressive books, based on the Read, Write Inc scheme of books which closely link to the child's phonics learning. Children are encouraged to re-read at home daily in order to develop their reading fluency and embed learning.
During Year 2, many children will be ready to read more freely so will be supported to choose their own books through the Accelerated Reader system which runs through Key Stage 2. This system enables children to read widely amongst a huge range of published books and complete online quizzes to check their understanding. Teachers can check their scores and use this to guide children's reading at home and in school. In English, children read with a teacher regularly and complete comprehension activities to enable their skills to develop. Children are encouraged to keep reading regularly at home throughout Key Stage 2, with a minimum expectation of 30 minutes, 3 times a week.
It is essential that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.
To find out if the book you are reading is on Accelerated Reader please click on the link below:
https://www.arbookfind.co.uk/UserType.aspx?RedirectURL=%2fdefault.aspx