Reading

“Reading is a gateway for children that makes all other learning possible”
— Barak Obama

Intent

At Middlestone Moor Primary Academy we firmly believe that reading is the window to the world; a skill for life that opens the door to a world where anything is possible. This reflects the essence of our school values ‘ASPIRE’. We recognise that our pupils start school with different levels of communication and language skills as a result of having diverse literary experiences in their early lives. As a school, we know that we are unable to control what happens before which is why we proactively take control of what happens next; from the moment our children start school!

We are passionate that first and foremost, our children are nurtured to become excited, inspired and engaged in reading through being exposed to a wide range of literature including those which are, ‘Old and Gold and New and Bold,’ Cremin, 2023. A language rich environment, where effective communication, language and literacy is modelled, teamed with daily systematic phonics teaching from their first week of school, ensures that our children are given a flying start on their journey towards reading fluency and ultimately automaticity. A range of comprehension strategies are interwoven into all reading lessons, ensuring that our pupils leave primary school as ‘real-life readers’ who can read competently for pleasure and also purpose; independent learners who are well prepared for life in Modern Britain. This is our duty and is the very least that each and every one of unique children deserve.

Implementation

Phonics

We use the ‘Sounds-Write’ phonics programme for the teaching of early reading and writing which is one of the DfE approved schemes. All of the staff who deliver phonics lessons and/or interventions have completed the Sounds-Write training programme so have a secure understanding of the theory behind the approach. Sounds-Write teaching is based upon the knowledge of sounds which are represented by symbols (letters). This teaching begins when children join our school in Reception and continues until a child is a competent reader and speller. All lessons include the teaching of new knowledge in addition to retrieval of prior learning. We believe that this consistent approach to the teaching of phonics is essential to enable children to access the wider curriculum.

The Sounds-Write Website

The link below takes you directly to the Sounds-Write website which includes some training for parents/carers to complete, in addition to further information about how to support your children at home.

Support for Parents & Carers | Sounds-Write

Decodable Readers

Children will be given a ‘Dandelion’ or ‘Sounds-Write’ decodable reading book once they are able to recognise letters and are able to blend the sounds together to read words. Decodable readers only include the ‘code knowledge’ which the children have been exposed to in lessons. This ensures that they are able to read most of the words by applying their phonic knowledge, developing fluency. Building confidence is very important at this stage and helps to instil a love of reading at an early age. They read these books 1:1 with an adult, before bringing them home. Children read a minimum of 3 times per week in school and daily when they require more practice.

To support your child at home, we lead regular phonics workshops for parents/carers which include a brief introduction to the Sounds-Write programme. We also share our 1:1 reading guides and videos to support you when reading at home.

Home Support Resources

Reading 1:1 at home in Reception (Initial Code)

Reading 1:1 at home in Year 1 onwards (Extended Code)

Supporting your child’s journey to reading fluency from KS1 into KS2

As a school, we prioritise our children’s journey to reading fluency as they move into KS2. We recognise that it is often our less able and reluctant readers who require the motivation to read at home. At this age, there are a range of distractions which sometimes mean that reading does not take priority; ipads, TV and other hobbies. We proactively ensure that our parents are supported with the tools that they need in order motivate their children to read at home in addition to spending some quality time with the important adults in their lives.

The ‘Paired Reading Process’ Donovan and Ellis, 2005, 2011’ has been shared with parents in a range of collaborative parent/child workshops. The ultimate aim; to support our children’s journey to automaticity.

Our parents/carers were given a guide to use when reading at home including some ‘variations’ to bring some fun into these reading sessions.

Paired Reading Model Guide & Variations

Below are some links to some videos of our pupils modelling the ‘Paired Reading Model’ and the different variations you may want to try at home.

The Paired Reading Model

Paired Reading Model Variation 1

Read one work each for three sentences.

Paired Reading Model Variation 2

Read the book’s blurb together.

Paired Reading Model Variation 3

Read alternative sentences each, for one paragraph.

Paired Reading Model Variation 4

One person read the speech and the other the rest.

Paired Reading Model Variation 5

Try different accents for dialogue.

Paired Reading Model Variation 6

Emphasise words in italics, CAPITALS or with an !

Paired Reading Model Variation 7

Look up a word in the glossary (or a dictionary) and read the definition together.

Paired Reading Model Variation 8

Read any information at the start of the book, aloud, together.

Paired Reading Model Variation 9

Write any unfamiliar words on a post it note and fold the page over at the bottom, discuss possible meanings.

Paired Reading Model Variation 10

Why did you choose the book? Take one minute to answer!

Reading Curriculum

As a school, we recognise that word recognition is only one part of the ‘Scarborough Reading Rope’ 2001.

Our reading curriculum ensures that our pupils develop their vocabulary and language comprehension skills once they start school. We select our texts from a wide bank of suggested literature including:

‘Reading Reconsidered’ by Dough Lemov.
Pie Corbett’s ‘Reading Spines’.
Texts with cross-curricular links including non-fiction.
Visual texts.
Award winning texts.
Aspirational people from ‘The Little People Big Dreams’ series.
Texts from a range of cultures including those which reflect diversity to promote Cultural Capital.

We have drawn upon recommendations from the EEF ‘Improving Literacy’ documents and the ‘Reading Framework,’ 2023 to ensure that our reading curriculum is the very best that it can be. This includes the implementation of our teaching and learning principles to develop hard thinking about texts read, encourage back and forth talk and model good speaking and listening in a calm and purposeful learning environment. ‘Oracy’ being our golden thread throughout the curriculum, our children are given the opportunity to respond to texts read in a variety of contexts.

Early Years

Daily Sounds-Write lessons.
1:1 and group/choral reading of a decodable reader, a minimum of 3 times per week.
A decodable reader and ‘sharing’ picture book to take home each week.
Reading intervention based on the needs of the children.
Children listen to a range of stories during daily story times.
Daily discussion based on texts read including vocabulary and comprehension.
Nursery rhymes, songs and poems are shared and recited.
A wide range of texts are shared which have been carefully matched to the wider curriculum.
A range of texts are available within the continuous and enhanced provision within the environment.
An inviting reading area within the environment including texts previously shared and decodable readers which children can read independently.

Key Stage 1

Daily Sounds-Write lessons.
1:1 and group/choral reading of a decodable reader, a minimum f 3 times per week.
A decodable reader and ‘sharing’ book to take home each week (until children are fluent in the code).
Reading intervention based on the needs of the children.
Children listen to a range of stories during daily story times including class novels.
Whole class reading sessions including the development of vocabulary and a range of reading comprehension strategies.
A discrete written comprehension session beginning in the Summer term in Y1.
Nursery rhymes, songs and poems are shared and recited.
A wide range of texts are shared which have been carefully matched to the wider curriculum.
An inviting reading area within the environment including texts previously shared and reading books carefully selected by the class teacher for the children to select to take home, once they are fluent readers.

Key Stage 2

Sounds-Write lessons 4 times per week for children who are not yet fluent readers.
Children select their reading books from their class library which includes carefully selected, age-appropriate literature, selected by the class teacher. Decodable readers, aimed at older children, are available for those children who are not yet fluent in the code.
1:1 reading a minimum of once per fortnight.
Reading intervention based on the needs of the children.
Children listen to a range of texts during daily story times including poetry and class novels.
Whole class reading sessions including the development of vocabulary and a range of reading comprehension strategies.
A discrete written comprehension session.
A wide range of texts are shared which have been carefully matched to the wider curriculum.
An inviting reading area within the environment including texts previously shared and reading books carefully selected by the class teacher for the children to select to take home, once they are fluent readers.

Additional Reading Based Activities

Sessions to support parents when reading at home.
An adult loaning library including, ‘A book, a brew and a biscuit’ sessions for parents to promote the modelling of positive reading habits.
Regular class visits to Spennymoor library including ‘Family Time’ sessions.
The SHINE project in Year 6 to improve parental engagement including reading based activities as our pupils transition to secondary school.

Impact

The intended impact of our curriculum offer for reading is to ensure our pupils are prepared for their life beyond primary school and their future education. Our pupils will:

Apply their phonic knowledge to read with fluency.
Read for both pleasure and purpose.
Use the strategies taught, including life experience, to comprehend and respond to what they have read confidently.

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