Reading

‘There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot in Treasure Island.’  

Walt Disney

Reading is the key to effective learning as it enables children to engage with all aspects of the curriculum. Children are encouraged to develop a love of reading through guided, shared and independent reading activities. English lessons are planned around a wide range of texts including historical, modern and those from other cultures from Reception to Year 6.

Reading provides opportunities to be immersed in a rich and varied vocabulary as well as introducing children to unfamiliar ideas and concepts. It also gives them the opportunity to tackle longer or more challenging texts than they would be able to do alone.

It is vital that every child learns to be a competent, confident reader if they are to access the wider curriculum and ultimately achieve well in later life and ultimately become life-long readers.

Aims for all children:

• To become fluent, confident and expressive readers.

• To develop a critical appreciation of authors, poets and illustrators in order to become aware of the link between reading and writing.

• To read for pleasure, as well as information, across a wide range of genres and develop a life-long love of books.

• To make responses to what they read and what is read to them, forming their own opinions and justifying their responses.

• To understand and apply their knowledge of phonics and spelling patterns and use this to decode words with accuracy.

• To encourage care and ownership of books.
• To access a wide range of print materials, including all genres of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays & pupils' own writing.

Home Readers

At St Bernadette’s, reading is an important part of all children’s learning and progress. Our main reading schemes are Oxford Reading Tree and Collins Big Cat, however these are supplemented with other schemes which support and develop the children’s taught phonic skills.  All books in the reading scheme are colour banded to provide a pathway of progression.

Children move through the book bands at their own pace; teachers will move children onto the next band when they are satisfied they are secure in both decoding the words and understanding the text. Children who are learning to read are encouraged to read a text more than once to practise decoding skills and ensure understanding. The value of parents and other family members helping children with their reading cannot be overestimated. Parents/carers are encouraged to take an active role in their child’s progress through regular reading at home and recording their progress in the home-school diary.

Children in KS2 change their books independently as and when they complete them. Please try to read with your child for at least 10 - 15 minutes each night and record this in their diary.

Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is one of the most important things we do as teachers and it is an important part of the school day. Reading aloud enables children to experience and enjoy stories they might otherwise not meet. Reading time is a non-negotiable and time is set aside daily for the teacher to read to the class. By reading well-chosen books aloud, we are helping our children become a community of readers - ensuring that they can share in experiences of a wide repertoire of books they enjoy. While listening to the stories, children are exposed to a range of themes such as bullying, friendship, diversity and disability.

‘Great books build the imagination. The more we read aloud expressively, and the more children are able to savour, discuss and reinterpret literature through the arts, the more memorable the characters, places and events become, building an inner world.’

https://rightchoice.wiltshire.gov.uk

Reading Spines

Book Corners

Reading corners increase children’s access to books and create an inviting space where children can sit and read quietly. All our reading corners have a range of good quality books, in a range of genres, for the children to choose from. A reading corner is a space for children to sit, relax and read in a comfortable environment and escape into a different world. It is all part of promoting reading for pleasure.

World Book Day 2023

Well done to all our staff, children and parents who took part in World Book Day 2023. The day began with our traditional parade with class book activities. Children also took part in our book swap and Book at Bedtime. Following on, we welcomed the Book Fair where children had the opportunity to use their book voucher.

Year 6 - Reading

Year 6 enjoyed reading Macbeth, examining Shakespearean language features and identifying dramatic devices. They were tasked with learning the spell of the Three Witches. "Double, double, toil and trouble...".Pupils explored themes including ambition, fate, free will and kingship. Studying Macbeth also gave Year 6 the opportunity to compare different versions of the same text and by making predictions throughout the play, they were then excited to write their own 'extra scene' which could then be performed for their peers.

Year 6 - Reading