Reading Implementation: How we teach and learn...

Here at Cranham C of E Primary, we support all children to learn to read through consistent teaching and learning approaches and regular monitoring and assessment, along with a joint commitment between school and home. Teachers draw upon careful observations and continuous assessment to ensure children are challenged and to identify children who may need additional support. Timely intervention is planned for those children working below expected levels as soon as their needs are identified.  All children have the opportunity to regularly read aloud during phonics or whole class reading. In addition, many pupils read daily with a teacher, teaching assistant or reading volunteer, with our focus on KS1, disadvantaged children and those who need extra support in KS2.

How we teach Early Reading:

Pupils start Jolly Phonics when they enter Reception. We group children by their reading progress during RWI sessions. The sessions are daily and we re-assess children every half term so we can place them in a group where they will make the most progress. One to one or small group sessions may be provided for some children. Staff may also make time to revisit key sounds/words at incidental points throughout the day throughout EYFS and Key Stage 1.  Jolly Phonics is presented in a simple but exciting format so that pupils can learn how to read and write sounds effortlessly. First we teach pupils the different pictures and actions that relate to the sounds in the programme. This is introduced in Reception so that pupils are familiar with the images in preparation for further learning. This is followed by learning one way to read and write the first 40+ sounds in English, using the pictures and actions to help identify the different sounds.  

Reading Experiences in KS1 and KS2:

In class we read in a variety of ways.

• We read to the children daily. We choose a selection of challenging and well recognised titles appropriate to their age. These give them an insight into stories that may be beyond their personal reading ability. Our class reading texts are usually linked to our topic and are often used as inspiration for our writing.
• Children read individually and are frequently heard reading 1:1 by their class teacher, teaching assistants and volunteers.
• We hold whole class reading sessions.  Here books are chosen to support learning themes in class, new vocabulary is explored and text structures and themes are studied.
• We frequently use a reciprocal reading approach to explore texts as a class.

Reciprocal Reading:

Reciprocal reading refers to an activity in which pupils become the teacher in small group reading sessions. The pupils are involved in learning within a mixed ability peer group. This can encourage pupils to take a more active role in the learning experience and gain confidence in their own abilities. Teachers model, then help students learn to guide group discussions using four strategies:

• Summarising

• Questioning

• Clarifying

• Predicting

Once students have learned the strategies, they take turns assuming the role of teacher in leading a dialogue about what has been read.

Why use Reciprocal Reading?

• It encourages students to think about their own thought process during reading.
• It helps students learn to be actively involved and monitor their comprehension as they read.
• It teaches students to ask questions during reading and helps to make the text more comprehensible.
• It helps pupils engage with text and read it beyond face value.

Reader's Theatre:

Once a week, we focus on Reader's Theatre, which is a strategy validated by the Education Endowment Fund (EEF). It teaches fluency, through children listening repeatedly to, and analysing, a passage being read aloud by the teacher. This repeated modelled reading is an invaluable scaffold for learning. Children may be asked to focus on pace, volume, expression, punctuation for clarity or enunciation. In pairs or small groups, the children then annotate, practice and perform the extract to the class. Reader's Theatre builds children's understanding of vocabulary, punctuation and grammar at the same time as increasing their confidence with performance - it links perfectly with drama performance and has a huge impact on confidence in school productions.