“A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.” – Neil Gaiman
Approaches to Reading:
At Fishburn Primary School we aim to develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary in every subject. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching; for pupils, understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum. Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects.
Key Stage one pupils develop their phonic and early reading skills using Letters and Sounds. Children have access to high quality texts to compliment our reading offer.
Key Stage two pupils study whole class novels and free reading with Titans Gauntlet books for catch up and intervention. Titans Gauntlet books are high interest and accessible for older readers.
Pupils have opportunities to undertake guided, shared and independent reading throughout the school day and in extra-curricular time. Children read in breakfast and after school club, take part in book clubs and have strong links with authors who we write to and have Skype conversations with.
Reading skills will be taught early in the Autumn term and revisited often throughout the remainder of the year, according to the ability of the child. Shared class novels are also used in each class and children are able to develop stamina for reading as well as the full range of reading skills.
In Key Stage Two- this is delivered through the ‘VIPERS’ approach to further enhance children’s reading skills so that they are able to:
- Predict
- Clarify
- Question
- Summarise
- Infer and deduce.
A diverse range of group reading books and a staged reading scheme are available for each child. Electronic texts are also available for shared reading which gives children the choice of media they choose to engage with. We do not use any one published scheme to teach reading, instead we believe that it is important to provide pupils with a selection of reading books and experiences from different genres and subject matter.
Reading age tests are undertaken throughout the year to identify children who require extra support with their reading (see assessment). Staff are deployed throughout the school to work with children in order to improve their fluency, intonation, decoding skills and comprehension.
School have adopted the Durham County Council stranded sheets for the teaching of reading skills which teachers use to plan their lessons from. These sheets inform planning, assessment and intervention as required.
Reading with adults:
Home reading is encouraged and is an integral part of the child’s development and reading records are monitored by school leaders. In KS2 the expectation is that each child will be read with at least 3 times per week at home, although more is encouraged. Staff make every effort to ensure that all children receive similar opportunities to read with an adult. Each teacher keeps a weekly log of the children who have been read with along with making comments in children’s reading records. Parent and governor volunteers read 1-1 with children who are in need of reading recovery.
