Reading

For this academic year, Mrs Ball and the Head Librarians will be recommending a 'Book of the Month' for each year group. We hope to encourage you to read 'out of your comfort zone' and to try new authors and genres!

Teaching the Reading Curriculum

 

We use every opportunity there is to support children’s reading skills and comprehension, and we teach them to develop a love of reading.

 

 Children have the opportunity to listen to a variety of reading genres that enables them to develop their comprehension, make links between books and develop a deeper understanding and knowledge of the world.

 

At Lydeard St Lawrence reading aloud is a regular feature of our Early Years and Key Stage 1 classroom. However, we feel strongly that opportunities to listen to books should not decrease as children move through the school.  So sharing a novel or fascinating non-fiction text with a class still forms an important part of the reading curriculum for children in Key Stage 2. It is our responsibility to make sure that all children hear books read aloud and so all classes have a timetabled read aloud session after lunch. This read aloud session is invaluable for children as listening to longer and more complex texts helps to helps develop their reading comprehension skills. When the teacher reads aloud, it makes literary language accessible and also provides a model of expressive reading. It is a joyful time of the day where children and adults get the chance to share a story as a class.

 

Developing a love of reading in children requires a wide, language-rich curriculum and classroom environment that immerses children in books and stories. All classes have an appealing designated book corner to encourage this.  

 

Guided Reading

Children will have the chance to encounter a wide range of genres, some of which will be unfamiliar. Amongst other things guided reading helps to improve their discrete reading and comprehension skills, broadens their experience, helps them to form opinions about books and authors, and gives them the opportunity to use literary language.

 

Here at Lydeard St Lawrence School, we teach guided reading through an approach called `Reading with R.I.C'.  Please see a brief outline of this process below:

 

Guidelines for Reception and KS1

• All guided reading sessions will be carried out daily (3 times a week for Reception).

• Each guided reading session should be approximately 20-30 minutes in length

• Each guided reading session will take on a whole class teaching approach as outlined below:

   

Reading with R.I.C

R - Retrieve (Example: What can you see in the picture?)

I - Interpret (Example: How are the characters feeling in this picture?)

C - Choice (Example: Why did the author choose to have the setting at the forest?)

• Teachers will follow the long term reading plan, which is closely linked to the writing and topic long term plan.

• The stimulus is always something different; it can be a song, poem, video, photo or advert which is shared with the whole class.  Sometimes they require children to read, sometimes they don't.  They always contain a Retrieve, Interpret and (author/artist/director) Choice question.  

• The children will be presented with the same R.I.C questions, the follow up activities/ extended questions will be planned and differentiated in accordance with Blooms Taxonomy low and high level thinking skills - knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. 

Guidelines for KS2

• All guided reading sessions will be carried out at least twice a week .

• Each guided reading session should be approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour in length.

• Each guided reading session will take on a whole class teaching approach as outlined above.

• The teacher will ensure that the following assessment focusses are explored:

Retrieve – take information directly from the text
Interpret - including predictions
Choice - including language, structure and presentation
Viewpoint - including history and culture if appropriate
Perform - to make way for the reading objectives of performance poetry and play scripts
Review - to include written recommendations, presentations and discussions as required in upper KS2.

 

Reading Books

In Key Stage 1 we use Oxford Reading Tree books as our main reading scheme. These books have a greater quantity of decodable words than any other reading programme, they provide a good bridge from phonics to richer reading to support comprehension and our children enjoy reading them.

 

In Key Stage 2 we also have a range of Oxford Reading Tree books for children to take home, these include a range of genre from classics to time chronicles to myths and legends and graphic novels. Of course once children are free readers they are also welcome to choose their own books from home.

 

Library

We are extremely lucky and grateful, here at Lydeard St Lawrence, as we have a beautiful library with a magical woodland feel. Our librarians ensure that the library is tidy and well organised.

 

Every child has an opportunity to access the library on a weekly basis to browse the shelves to choose a book for research or simply enjoyment. Class teachers monitor the process of choosing and returning library books.

 

Throughout the course of the year, children will have opportunities to participate in many activities to support and encourage their passion for reading, such as World Book Day and Bedtime Stories.

   

Volunteer Readers

We actively encourage members of the local community to work in the school as volunteer readers and their role is to hear children read on a one to one basis, within the classroom. They are an invaluable resource in supporting children’s reading at Lydeard St Lawrence.  

 

All volunteer readers are required to have a Disclosing and Barring Services check (DRB) when working in the school.