The prime approach to the teaching of reading is through synthetic phonics. This includes daily sessions using interactive, multisensory games and activities, including ‘Phonics Play’ resources.
Children are heard individually with their reading by adults in the classroom at least once a week and more when support is needed.
There are several phonically, decode able reading schemes used in the class including, Oxford Reading Tree, Phonics Bugs, Jolly Phonics and Read Write Inc.
Shared Reading and Writing
Opportunities for children to hear stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction aloud covering all areas of the curriculum. Discussions and book reviews support children’s comprehension, knowledge and understanding whilst developing their vocabulary and enriching language.
Opportunities for Independent Reading
The library and quiet reading areas within the classroom include fiction and non-fiction choices for children to select themselves. A range of topic books can also be found in the different areas of learning throughout the classroom.
Guided and Group Reading
Offers more challenging texts which can be explored and are linked to the phonic phase the children are working within.
Home Reading
These books can be read by children themselves in line with their phonic phase. They are taken home daily to be enjoyed and discussed with family at home.
Text
Displayed throughout the classroom are word banks, alphabet displays, labels, captions, signs and posters.
Reading forms a core element of all Key Stage One activities. We encourage children to read in many different contexts. As in the Early Years and Year 1, children have individual reading sessions and small group guided reading times throughout the week. The class also read together using big books and shared texts.
As individual Readers, children use a range of books from the Oxford Reading Tree scheme which include stories, poems and information texts. Some of these books contain a wider variety of words encouraging children to explore the context of a story.
Guided reading texts are selected to support decoding skills and also to encourage discussion about the characters, settings and events. Children are encouraged to make personal responses to the text.
We use a wide variety of class big books as stimulus for reading activities, which also inspire work in other curriculum areas.
Parents are encouraged to become involved with their children as readers, either by hearing them read their individual books, or by sharing the ‘choosing’ books which children are responsible for selecting themselves from the class. Parents, relatives and siblings often respond to these reading experiences by recording them in their child’s reading record, which all children in school have.
We also provide information about how to help children decode increasingly more complex words through a phonics impact meeting for parents and carers of Year 1 and Year 2 children.
Shared fiction, non fiction, poems, play scripts and rhymes are studied by the whole classes and through small group work. Regular weekly guided reading sessions also continue throughout Key Stage Two. All children have access to a range of library books linked to current topic areas to support cross curricular reading within their classes. There is also a variety of reading books for individual and independent reading as children progress to become ‘free readers’ of chapter books and novels.