Reading
At Red Rose, we believe that the ability to read is fundamental to pupils’ development as independent learners, during their time at school and beyond. We believe that reading has a direct impact upon progress in all areas of the curriculum; therefore, reading is given a high priority at our school.
In whole class reading sessions, there is a high level of interaction between teachers and pupils in order to develop a good level of comprehension. Children are exposed to a wide range of high-quality texts and discussion in an immersive environment that aims to provide appropriate challenge to build on pupils’ existing knowledge and understanding.
In KS1 and KS2, we have adopted a whole class reading approach, which allows all children to comprehend above their word reading ‘level’ using the VIPERS comprehension skills.
The mnemonic ‘VIPERS’ covers the key comprehension skills:
Vocabulary
Inference
Prediction
Explain
Retrieve
Sequence/Summarise
The same mnemonic can be used by both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 with a little adaptation. The main differences being in the S – sequence in Key Stage 1 and Summarise in Key Stage 2.
Reading Opportunities
At Red Rose, we know the importance of developing fluent readers but also the need to promote a love of reading. Therefore, in addition to whole class reading lessons which focus upon termly objectives, pupils have many other opportunities both in school and at home to further develop. Please find detailed below information from each key stage.
In Early Years and in both Key Stage 1 and 2, we try to provide as many opportunities as possible to immerse children in reading. Detailed below are some of the reading opportunities that children are exposed to:
Home reading books sent home which are closely matched to phonic ability.
In Key Stage 2, Accelerated Reader Book matched to the child’s ability.
Teachers carefully select children’s literature to use throughout the school day in order to enthuse and encourage children .
- Daily phonics lessons in EYFS and Key Stage 1
- Intervention phonics lessons in Key Stage 2
- Class story time at the end of the day for all children to hear stories read out loud with relish and enthusiasm.
- Accessible class reading areas
- Free choice books to promote a love of reading and expose children to new vocabulary.
- Weekly school library visit to promote a love of reading.
- Opportunities within lessons for children to discuss texts with their peers, making links with other texts and recommended books to their peers/teachers.
- School trips to the local library
- Participation in events within school such as books fairs and World Book Day.
- The celebration of reading through incentives
Home Reading Books
At Red Rose, we have recently been reviewing and updating our current reading book scheme within school to ensure that reading books are closely matched to the children’s learning needs. Children will receive a Floppy’s Phonics/Oxford Reading Tree text closely matched to their ability. Once fluent, they will access Accelerated Reader.
Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader is a computer program that helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child picks a book at their own level and reads it at their own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer – passing the quiz is an indication that your child has understood what has been read.
Passing a quiz means scoring 80% or above. Children are encouraged to develop at their own pace and to take pride in their achievements as they progress through the Accelerated Reader programme. Accelerated Reader gives both children and teachers feedback based on the quiz results which the teacher then uses to help the child set targets and ongoing reading practice.
Here are snapshots of our monthly and yearly acheievements on the Accelerated Reader Scheme.
For more information about Accelerated Reader, please see the attached parent guide.
How can you help at home?
- Make sure your child always has the Accelerated Reader book in school.
- Encourage your child to read each day, preferably in a quiet space where there are fewer distractions.
- Discuss their books with them and ask them questions about what they have read.
- Be positive about the system and ask them how their quizzes have gone.
- Listen and make suggestions on how things can be improved if they have scored less than 80%
Writing
At Red Rose Primary School, our writing curriculum provides pupils with:
- the ability to write fluently and with interesting detail on a number of topics throughout the curriculum.
- A vivid imagination which makes readers engage with and enjoy their writing.
- A highly developed vocabulary and an excellent knowledge of writing techniques to extend details or description.
- Well-organised and structured writing, which includes a variety of sentence structures.
- Excellent transcription skills that ensure their writing is well presented and punctuated, spelled correctly and neat.
- A love of writing and an appreciation of its educational, cultural and entertainment values.
We develop pupils’ communication skills through promoting:
- An exceptional talent for listening attentively so as to understand what is being said.
- A rich and varied vocabulary that gives clarity and interest to conversations.
- Clear speech that can be easily understood by a range of audiences.
- An excellent grasp of the rules used in English conversation, such as tenses and the grammatical structure of sentences.
- A highly developed ability to tell stories that capture the interest and imagination of the audience.
- A delight in initiating and joining in conversations.
- Respect for others when communicating, even when views differ.
Handwriting
Here is a useful guide to the Letter-join scheme that we use to develop handwriting in school.