Our Reading Curriculum
Progression
Through our reading curriculum, we ensure that:
- All pupils learn to read easily and fluently through daily phonics in Early Years and Key Stage One, regular reading to adults in school, reading partners and independently
- Any child who requires additional support has daily keep-up support, delivered by a trained adult
- All pupils are encouraged to read widely, through our use of differing class texts, library visits and having high quality attractive books in classrooms
- All pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure using quiet reading time, library time and listening to an adult read
- All pupils are exposed to a range of books/texts/stories during their school experience
- All pupils are frequently read to by an adult, developing a love of reading
First and foremost, we want all children at Snapethorpe to develop a life-long love of reading that begins as soon as they step foot through our doors in nursery. At Snapethorpe Primary School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. For more information about how we teach "Phonics and Early Reading", click here. Across school, reading is taught within and across the curriculum and, wherever possible, teachers use books/texts as a stimulus for learning.
In Early Years, children begin their reading journey through the delivery of the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme, building on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. At Snapethorpe Primary School, we recognise the importance of speaking and listening as part of the reading curriculum. Within the EYFS setting, children develop their vocabulary through purposeful role-play opportunities, child-led discussions, planned talk and oral sentence building. Children are given plenty of opportunities to develop their love of reading in a book-rich environment. As the children move through early years, the teacher introduces the concept of print and reading skills are taught through reading practice sessions, the use of big books and sound bags, individual reading with an adult, regular sharing of big books, story sacks, rhymes and jingles, daily story sessions and sharing of chosen library books.
In Key Stage One, their reading journey continues and children's reading and comprehension skills are developed through through the continuation of the teaching and support of Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. Children in Key Stage One are exposed to regular shared reading and interactive books, story sessions – reading books together, shared reading practice sessions, whole class guided reading, individual reading with an adult and sharing of chosen library books. Children have access to a range of books in the classroom that support their interests and broadens their exposure to a variety of attractive texts.
In Key Stage Two, the progress made in Key Stage One is built upon. Any children who are not secure with their reading are provided with additional support to help them to catch up. As children move into Key Stage Two, children are exposed to a wider range of styles of texts and genre. As they progress through the years, the texts that children meet add more challenge to their abilities to comprehend and infer. Throughout their journey in Key Stage Two, the focus is on developing higher order reading skills such as inference and deduction and the ability to read texts critically. Where necessary, specific phonic support is used to develop pupil’s reading skills through the use of interventions. Reading skills are taught through regular shared reading, whole class guided reading - which include explicit teaching of reading skills and exposure to a wide range of question types and vocabulary, individual reading with an adult, school library sessions timetabled weekly, home-school reading of reading scheme and chosen library books. Towards the end of Key Stage Two, children refine their skills, using all the knowledge acquired during their time in school. They continue to develop their vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation and summarising skills to read and understand longer and complex texts, understanding technical and more obscure vocabulary. All pupils are encouraged to choose books which they are interested in and this helps promote reading for pleasure.
Reading in Reception and Year 1
Once children are secure with several GPCs and can blend, we teach children to read books through reading practise sessions three times a week. These:
- are taught by a fully trained adult to small groups of approximately six children
- use books matched to the children’s secure phonic knowledge
- are monitored by the class teacher, who rotates and works with each group on a regular basis.
Each reading practise session has a clear focus, so that the demands of the session do not overload the children’s working memory. The reading practice sessions have been designed to focus on three key reading skills:
- decoding
- prosody: teaching children to read with understanding and expression
- comprehension: teaching children to understand the text.
In Reception these sessions start in Week 4. Children who are not yet decoding have daily additional blending practice in small groups, so that they quickly learn to blend and can begin to read books.
In Year 2, we continue to teach reading in this way for any children who still need to practise reading with decodable books.
Following the weekly practise, children then take these books home for additional practise.
Reading (Years 2 – 6)
Pupils are provided with both individual reading opportunities and guided reading. In Years 3-6, all children are given the opportunity to read their books for pleasure during our “ERNI” time – Everyone Reading, No Interruptions.
Classes have an individual reading file set up according to the following guidance:
Individual Reading File – Years 2-6
- Individual Reading File Guidance
- Assessment information: Phonic check, Salford, Otrack, NFER etc.
- Weekly Individual Record sheet- (class list with identified daily- 3 x week- 1 x week readers)
- Daily home reading record sheet-(class list to identify pupils who are not reading at home)
- Reading Progression
- Daily Reading timetable (class timetable with identified individual/ daily reading times)
- Pupil’s individual book record (to record current home reading book)
- Pupil’s individual reading record sheet to record progress against an identified area of reading.
Guided Reading
Guided reading sessions take place in Year 2 -6. In Years 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, they take part in whole class guded reading every day. Each week follows the same structure to allow for coverage of skills and consistency across school. The skills are taught based on the year group, the curriculum requirements and the needs of the class.
We use the Literacy Shed’s “Reading Vipers” in our whole class guided reading in Year 2-6. The reading Viper approach helps to develop key comprehension skills and enables the children to become more successful readers. Each of the letters stand for one of the key areas of reading:
V- Vocabulary
I – Infer
P- Predict
E- Explain
R – Retrieve
S - Summarise
The structure of the teaching sequence is shown below:
Lesson 1 – Developing fluency and prosody (choral and echo reading)
Lesson 2 – Developing understanding of the text (The Hand, The Big Ding)
Lesson 3 – Teaching of reading skill (e.g. retrieval, inference, vocabulary)
Lesson 4 – Teaching of reading skill (e.g. retrieval, inference, vocabulary)
Lesson 5 – Reading for pleasure. Opportunity for class teacher to listen to children read.
In Year 2, if there are children who still need to practise reading with decodable books, we continue to teach reading following the “reading practise sessions”, as per the Little Wandle Phonics Programme.
Progression in Reading Skills
Click on the links below to discover the curriculum skills taught within each year group.
Our Library
The school library is a wonderful resource to help children with their learning. We have a class timetable to allow each class the opportunity to come and explore the books we have to offer each week. Each child can borrow a book from our library to take back to their classroom to read for pleasure. We have a wide range of non-fiction books to link with class topics and fiction books to suit every type of reader. Having close links with the Schools Library Service, provides us with a wide range of books that are changed and updated regularly. This service also allows classrooms to loan books to suit the needs of their children, whether that be a particular topic they are studying or to cater for children's specific interests. We're so lucky to have a bright and colourful community hub, where a love of reading can be nurtured; it is filled with exciting new books for pupils, parents and staff to discover together.
How can I help my child at home?
To support your child in their development of reading, we recommend that you spend at least 10 minutes per day reading with your child. This can be a combination of you listening to them read their school book, them listening to you read a story book or even taking it in turns. The sharing of reading is a valuable experience for you and child as it gives you the opportunity to discuss new vocabulary as well as characters, themes and even facts that a range of books can offer.
Here are some other things you can try:
- Make books part of your family life - Always have books around that you and your children are ready to read whenever there is a chance.
- Join your local library - Get your child a library card!
- Match their interests - Help them find the right book - it doesn't matter if it's fiction, poetry, comic books or non-fiction.
- All reading is good - Don't discount non-fiction, comics, graphic novels, magazines and leaflets. Reading is still reading!
- Get comfortable! - Snuggle up somewhere warm and cosy with your child, either in bed, on a beanbag or on the sofa.
- Ask questions - To keep them interested in the story, ask your child questions as you read such as, "What do you think will happen next?" or "Where did we get to last night? Can you remember what has happened already? How do you think the story will end?"
- Read whenever you get the chance - Bring along a book or magazine for any time your child has to wait, such as at a doctor's surgery.
- Read again and again - Encourage your child to re-read favourite books and poems. Re-reading helps to build up fluency and confidence.
- Bedtime stories - Regularly read with your child or children at bedtime. It's a great way to end the day and to spend valuable time with your child.
- Rhyme and repetition - Books are great for encouraging your child and children to join in and remember the words.
Reading for pleasure
Here at Snapethorpe, we value the importance of reading for pleasure and provide children with plenty of opportunities to read their own books independently. In addition to this, we also have sessions where the teacher (or other adults) will read a wide range of great books, that they potentially cannot access themselves. Learning to read is about listening and understanding, as well as working out what’s printed on the page. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a wide range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read or develop their reading journey. It’s important for them to understand how stories work too. Even if a child doesn’t understand every word, they’ll hear new sounds, words and phrases which they can then try out, copying what they have heard. Our staff model what good reading looks like and enjoy sharing and exploring new texts with the children. Each classroom ensures children are thriving in a book rich environment, to help foster their love of reading. Take a look at some of our reading areas below.
Recommended Reads
100 books to read before you are 5
Suggested reading list for Reception
Suggested reading list for Year 1
Suggested reading list for Year 2
Suggested reading list for Year 3
Suggested reading list for Year 4
