Reading Curriculum Statement of Intent
It has always been our aim at St Mary’s Island CEA Primary School to create a love for Reading and understanding that it is not just a subject, but a life of opportunities. From the start at our school, we prepare our children in every way to become passionate readers and allow them to understand why reading is such a valuable skill. We also see Reading as a much wider picture across our curriculum. Whether it is finding out geographical facts about volcanoes or looking at a timeline of historians, we appreciate how Reading is so influential within every subject. We also see Reading as something which should be celebrated and hold regular events such as World Book Day and the visit of the Scholastic Book Fair. Whole-class reading, visits to the school library and reading buddies are some other examples of how our children are getting every opportunity possible to become a dedicated reader. Children do not just leave St Mary’s Island CEA Primary School in Year 6 as knowledgeable readers but see Reading as something pleasurable and valuable in their lives, which we know will always have a positive impact for every child moving forward.
Reading Implementation
We want our children to experience a variety of different texts and genres, therefore the whole school has mapped out the texts the children will experience in their English lessons. Each year group will encounter different genres which will vary from fiction to non-fiction, poetry and playscripts.
As pupils move through the steps, they will be reading materials closely matched to the learners’ phonics knowledge. In this way, pupils will be encouraged to use their phonics skills and knowledge as their primary reading strategy. As pupils find that they can decode words quickly and independently, they will read more and more so that the number of words they can read automatically builds up. Increasing the pace of reading is an important objective. Pupils will be encouraged to read aloud as well as silently for themselves.
As children progress and move beyond phonics, many pupils will begin reading longer texts with more complex words independently and with increasing fluency.
This process culminates in a shift from learning to read to reading to learn. Pupils then move on to reading both for pleasure and for information.
When reading a class text, teachers will make use of a variety of strategies including, shared reading, whole class reading, close reading and paired reading.
Reading focus in lessons will consist of a comprehension focus. However, we want our children to see this as much more than just answering questions about texts, but opportunities for discussion, self-reflection and understanding. Teachers always plan their lessons with particular skills in mind. To give our children a clearer understanding of the reading skills we want them to learn, we use a framework called Reading VIPERS.
VIPERS stands for:
Vocabulary: Draw upon knowledge of vocabulary in order to understand the text. Find and explain the meaning of words in context.
Inference: Make inferences from the text. Make and justify inferences using evidence from the text.
Prediction: Predict what you think will happen based on the information that you have been given or implied.
Expression or Explanation: Explain your preferences, thoughts and opinions about the text. Explain how content is related and contributes to the meaning as a whole.
Retrieval: Retrieve and record information and identify key details.
Sequence or Summarise: Sequence the key events in the story. Summarise the main ideas from more than one paragraph.
Teachers may focus on one of these particular skills in a lesson, however, might also teach about several of them if necessary.
Children in each year group also complete an assessment for their Reading, three times a year. This is in the format of a comprehension task specific to the year group they are working at and is judged alongside their Holborn Reading Test. This provides teachers with a clear understanding of the progression their children are making in Reading, which also gives them a clear idea of how their children can move forward in the subject.
For those children who are identified as needing extra support with their reading comprehension, they will work in the SHINE reading intervention. For each year group, the reading assessment information will be used to identify the area(s) where extra support is needed and will then work on strategies about how best to answer these types of questions. This allows the children to consider the skills that help them understand their texts. The aim behind the scheme is to build on the children’s comprehension skills and confidence as well as provide opportunities to close any reading gaps.
Reading time
Throughout school, teachers will use a mixture of one-to-one reading time and whole-class reading with their children during the week. During this time, teachers focus on both the children’s fluency and understanding while reading a variety of text types. Children progress through different reading stages as they move through school, which allow them to continue learning new reading skills and become more familiar with different text types.
Children take home their school reading books every day. Books and authors are carefully considered in each classroom so we know children are getting the best out of what they read.
Reading Impact
As a result of a variety of engaging reading resources in place, a variety of reading strategies used and taught, a progressive phonics system and many independent reading opportunities, we know our children will leave our school as confident readers, as well as hold a natural interest towards the subject. Our children are confident at talking about books they have read and this is a result of their detailed understanding of many reading skills and how to best comprehend in the subject.
