Reading
Subject Lead: Samantha Russell
At Kilnhurst Primary School reading is at the heart of our curriculum.
It is our intention that every child will be a reader. From the start of their journey with us, children are supported to develop a love of reading. They are exposed to high quality texts and through a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics, they are provided with the skills they need to decode confidently.
National Curriculum KS1 & KS2:
The programmes of study for reading at key stages 1 and 2 consist of two 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.
Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics should be emphasised in the early teaching of reading to beginners (i.e. unskilled readers) when they start school.
Good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and grammar) and on knowledge of the world. Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils must be encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. Reading widely and often increases pupils’ vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure-house of wonder and joy for curious young minds. 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.
Laying the Foundations for Reading- Phonics
Synthetic phonics has been proven to be the most effective approach to developing early reading proficiency and at Kilnhurst Primary School, we believe this is the best way to introduce children to the joy of reading. We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Phonics Programme and our reading books are levelled to match the progression in phonics order to offer children a range of fiction and non-fiction texts, to challenge them at an appropriate level and to ensure accelerated learning.
At Kilnhurst Primary School we adopt a mastery approach to teaching phonics. Children are taught in whole class groups and supported to access the age appropriate teaching content. The pace of the programme is maintained in line with the Little Wandle expectations. Any children who are not yet fluent readers will receive additional phonics teaching and 'Keep up' support regularly.
Children are taught to use phonics as the approach to decoding an unfamiliar word, how to apply their phonic knowledge independently and are provided with opportunities to practise and consolidate their skills in both reading and writing.
For more information on the Little Wandle phonics scheme please follow this link:
https://www.
| Name | |
|---|---|
| How we teach Phonics policy.pdf | Download |
Guided and Whole Class Reading
Pupils in EYFS and Year 1 have reading practice sessions three times a week which lasts for 20-25 minutes and aims to build fluency, prosody and early comprehension skills. Some pupils also have further time built into the week to read 1-1 to an adult. Throughout Year 2, the children move from this structure to that of a whole class read, which then continues throughout KS2. In these daily lessons, they develop their understanding and comprehension as well as practising their prosody skills.
Our process of choosing the books we teach in each year group is not random. We consider what we are teaching in reading to be every bit as important as how we are teaching reading.
Developing a love of reading is vital. We have a high-quality library phase libraries, which are well stocked with both fiction and non- fiction texts and all classes have reading areas with a wide selection of books, including old favourite stories and new and bold award-winning texts. In addition, we place a great deal of importance on story time. This takes place each day and we choose a variety of books designed to foster curiosity and interest.
