Reading at Meadowside School
Intent:
At Meadowside school we believe that reading is the key to unlocking a lifetime of learning, acquiring knowledge and enabling children to develop socially, emotionally and intellectually. We want all children to develop a love of reading both in terms of the escapism that a good story can bring and the wealth of knowledge and understanding of others’ cultures and societies that can be found in both non-fiction and fiction that has its basis in real life. We strive to ensure that every child develops the ability to decode words in order to understand and comprehend our rich and varied English language, whether this is a factual text or a work of fiction. Teaching of reading at Meadowside encompasses a mixture of word build and decoding and an understanding of semantics, both logical- making sense of what is read- and lexical- analysing word meanings and the links between words in a sentence. We want all children to enjoy reading, be curious and have an appreciation of the beauty and power of the written word.
Implementation:
We emphasise the importance of books and literature in enabling children to become confident, happy and enthusiastic readers (and therefore writers), with all the benefits this brings. We want to deliver lessons that are creative and engaging, and that focus on the writing process as well as the finished product of a written book, to inspire children to become successful authors of their own pieces. All classes put reading at the heart of their English curriculum, whether this be single sentences with clear meaning or the study of whole texts.
All classes teach reading at word and sentence level, whereby we unpick the clarity and meanings of sentences by looking at their grammatical structure; and at whole text level, where we focus on comprehension through high quality discussion with adults and reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction.
We utilise the CLPE Power of Reading model, which is rooted in classroom based research stretching over a decade, for some of our English teaching sequences to ensure that we are teaching high quality lessons that emphasise the importance of books and literature to enable our children to become confident and competent readers and writers.
All classes use books in their English lessons where it is appropriate, so as to make reading a socially engaging activity that is both highly valued and encouraged. Every class makes reading a part of classroom life, aiming to read aloud to children whenever possible. This may be through whole class reading sessions, where a text can be discussed at an academic level or in class ‘story time’ where a text is read simply for the enjoyment of experiencing stories children may not otherwise come into contact with.
All classes engage in whole class reading, small group reading and individual reading across the school year. Whole class reading allows children to hear and discuss texts that they may not yet be able to decode, thus enveloping them in rich language and complex concepts to help develop their understanding of the written word. Classes call this ‘book talk’ as they discuss and debate themes and meanings of a wide variety of texts. Small group reading allows children to put into practise these book talk skills when decoding a book for themselves. They develop the ability to think in the moment of reading, becoming able to use background knowledge, make links, visualise and infer and, therefore, build meaning. Alongside this, where necessary, children also have the opportunity to read on an individual basis to ensure they develop the skill of decoding texts so that they can read sufficiently fluently to allow them to focus on their understanding rather than on decoding individual words. Every class also has a designated timeslot to visit our school library each week so that children can borrow books of their own choosing to take home and share with their families.
We are constantly striving to develop our teaching of reading to extend our understanding of how to develop this key lifelong skill and so provide our children with texts that challenge not only their decoding and word reading but more importantly their understanding of the semantics of a text, both logical and lexical. We aim to do this by using both texts that are familiar to children or become well known and by using texts that challenge their social and cultural thinking- texts that encompass lives far removed from their own.
We use a variety of resources to support our planning, teaching and learning, including CLPE Power of Reading/ Power of Poetry, Jumpstart literacy, No Nonsense Grammar and Wheelers ePlatform service. There are a variety of whole school, class and individual level initiatives, as below:
Provision across a year
Individual initiatives Book buddies– older children buddy up to listen to our younger children practise their reading Individual reading with an adult– this is for every child in the early years and moves to focussing on our vulnerable readers as children move through the school Wolf Hill– a scheme for fluent readers that focuses on comprehension skilling Intervention– for vulnerable readers, depending on their need
| Class initiatives First News– newspapers are made available to classes from Y6 to Y2 Phonics/ spelling lessons– these include the introduction of new words and etymology to aid understanding of the meanings of words Sharing written work by reading it to another class Library visits– many classes visit our local library to borrow books and attend sessions run by their staff Book reviews– fluent readers may be asked to create a review to recommend a text Reading Journals– may be made available to children termly to help guide them in their home reading | Whole School initiatives Assemblies– we use reading regularly in assemblies to initiate discussion or thinking, whether in book form or digital media ePlatform– ebooks that are available to all children both in school and at home via the use of an internet enabled device ePlatform certificates– these are awarded each term for the ‘top borrower’ in each class World Book Day– this is celebrated every year. We run theme days at class level and biennially we have bigger celebrations with book themed dressing up and ‘off-timetable’ book days Book Week– where the whole school studies one text Parent events- to share the work completed on our theme days World Poetry Day– a new initiative that celebrates the creativity of the written and spoken word Summer Reading Challenge– is run by our local library Read-a-thon– combines reading with fund raising for charity Reading Teachers; Reading Pupils– a county run scheme for Key Stage 2 teachers to meet termly to discuss a set text and share good practice |
Classroom environment:
- Reading is highlighted in the classroom, with designated book areas that are inviting
- Reading prompts are visible in the classroom- questions or support
- Children are encouraged to discuss the texts that they are reading- taking part in ‘book talk’
Homework: Homework is provided for all children and takes the form of individual reading book pitched at a level appropriate to the child with a ‘reading record’ for parents/ carers to comment on the discussions and reading their child does at home. We also provide spelling/ phonics homework which aids decoding and word recognition/ understanding. These are supported by ‘Eye on English’. Some of which focus on ‘Book Talk’ and extending the children’s vocabulary. Eye on English work is sent home on a termly basis.
Impact:
Recent research by the EEF reports that, at Key Stage 1 it is vital to provide a balanced and engaging approach to developing reading, which integrates both decoding and comprehension skills. In reading at Key Stage 2, pupils must focus on consolidating their literacy skills, building their vocabulary and developing their fluency and confidence as speakers, writers and readers of language.
The school takes part in the National Literacy Trust’s annual survey and over the past 2 years, children’s confidence and enjoyment of reading has improved with more children reporting taking part in reading activities outside of school, even where they report that they rarely see adults in their household reading.
Children talk confidently and enthusiastically about the books they are choosing to read and in the Literacy Survey recognise the importance of reading in order to improve their own writing.
