English

READING & WRITING READING AT MEADOWS FIRST SCHOOL

Please scroll down for reading and writing at Meadows:

1.READING

Our Curriculum Intent

At Meadows we believe that reading is the life skill that makes all other learning possible. Our priority is to ensure that all children are taught the essential skills that enable them to read with confidence, fluency and secure understanding.

With a variety of high quality texts and exciting reading events, our mission is to capture their interest and inspire a life-long love of reading.

We aim to develop a consistent approach to the teaching of reading across the curriculum, widening children’s reading experiences and offering challenge to all pupils whilst maintaining a strong focus on those who need targeted support to keep up with National standards.

Phonics and Early Reading

Wide-ranging research shows that teaching phonics is the most effective approach for building early reading skills in Reception and Year 1. To allow our pupils to develop a strong phonic awareness, with the ability to blend and decode confidently, we have chosen to use a DfE validated synthetic phonics programme called Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.

This systematic programme is linked directly to a comprehensive scheme of reading books published by Collins Big Cat. As the children learn new graphemes (a letter or letters that represent a sound), they are given regular opportunities to apply their knowledge in context by reading books that are matched to content taught. Our reading curriculum promotes confidence by enabling children to read and re-read texts, developing decoding and comprehension skills as well as inspiring a love of reading.

Support to catch up

Teachers at Meadows monitor pupils closely through observations and assessment, identifying those who require further challenge or need additional support to keep up with National standards. Using Little Wandle Keep Up support, interventions are carefully planned for by assessing individual gaps in phonic knowledge.

Reading at home

We recognise the vital role that parents play in developing children’s reading. Our children each have a reading diary to maintain the link between reading at school and home. Pupils take home books for reading practice that are matched to their phonic stage. In addition, they have opportunities to choose a sharing book that they will not be able to read on their own. These are for parents and children to read and enjoy together.

Phonic Resources

Grapheme Mat - Phase 2 and 3

Grapheme Mat - Phase 2,3 and 5

Little Wandle Programme Overview - Reception and Year 1

Little Wandle Phonics Support for Parents

Developing fluency and understanding

By the end of Year 2, the National Curriculum expectation is that children will read with an appropriate level of fluency. The Collins Big Cat reading scheme supports children as they develop into confident, fluent readers. These are colour coded and organised to match closely with the children's developing knowledge of phonics. Pupils are able to move through each level systematically and at their own pace.

In Key Stage 2, the focus moves away from decoding words to comprehension. From Year 3, we use Accelerated Reader (AR) which enables pupils to select from a wide range of books at their own level.
We determine a child’s reading level by using a STAR Reading test, as well as using professional judgement based on our knowledge of a child. STAR Reading is a computerised reading assessment that uses computer-adaptive technology. Questions continually adjust to a child’s responses. The test uses multiple-choice questions and generates a 'ZPD' level for each child. The children read books at their own pace and when finished, they take a short quiz on the computer. These are completed in school. (Passing the quiz is an indication that a child understood what was read.) AR gives both children and teachers feedback based on the quiz results. This helps us to set targets and direct ongoing reading practice. We have additional, ongoing support in place for pupils who need extra practice in order to keep up with their peers.

In addition to regular reading practice, we teach reading skills in whole class lessons using the VIPERS approach from Year 2 onwards. VIPERS stands for the key reading domains of Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Sequence or Summarise.

Our children are also surrounded with high quality literature in other English lessons, which we use to guide and inspire writing. To promote a love of reading, each class has lots of opportunities to ‘Drop Everything And Read’, where we share lovely stories, poems and interesting non-fiction texts more informally together.

How can I help my child become a better reader?

As with anything, performance improves with practice. Encourage your child to read at home. Create a culture of reading in your household by reading with your child, starting a home library, visiting your local library or bookshop on a regular basis, letting your child see you reading and discussing books that each of you have read. When reading with your child, stop and ask questions to be sure your child is comprehending what is read. Reading with your child, no matter what the child’s age, is an important part of developing a good reader, building a lifelong love of reading and learning and creating a loving relationship between you and your child. Make learning a family affair!

Please find below suggested reading lists for each year group: