Reading
"Books are a uniquely portable magic.”― Stephen King

National Curriculum Aims for English

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

read easily, fluently and with good understanding
develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

Spoken language

The national curriculum for English reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically. Spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding for reading and writing. Teachers should therefore ensure the continual development of pupils’ confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills. Pupils should develop a capacity to explain their understanding of books and other reading, and to prepare their ideas before they write. They must be assisted in making their thinking clear to themselves as well as to others and teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions. Pupils should also be taught to understand and use the conventions for discussion and debate.

All pupils should be enabled to participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with the artistic practice of drama. Pupils should be able to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role. They should have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances.

Statutory requirements which underpin all aspects of spoken language across the six years of primary education form part of the national curriculum. These are reflected and contextualised within the reading and writing domains which follow.

Reading

The programmes of study for reading at key stages 1 and 2 consist of two dimensions:

word reading
comprehension (both listening and reading).

It is essential that teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both dimensions; different kinds of teaching are needed for each.

Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics should be emphasised in the early teaching of reading to beginners (i.e. unskilled readers) when they start school.

Good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and grammar) and on knowledge of the world. Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils must be encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. Reading widely and often increases pupils’ vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure-house of wonder and joy for curious young minds.

It is essential that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.

Writing

The programmes of study for writing at key stages 1 and 2 are constructed similarly to those for reading:

transcription (spelling and handwriting)
composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing).

It is essential that teaching develops pupils’ competence in these two dimensions. In addition, pupils should be taught how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing. These aspects of writing have been incorporated into the programmes of study for composition.

Writing down ideas fluently depends on effective transcription: that is, on spelling quickly and accurately through knowing the relationship between sounds and letters (phonics) and understanding the morphology (word structure) and orthography (spelling structure) of words. Effective composition involves forming, articulating and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Writing also depends on fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting.

Progression of English through School

Please view:

English programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2

English Appendix 2: Vocabulary, grammar and Punctuation

Glossary for the programmes of study for English

Intent

At Mexborough St John the Baptist we value reading as a key life skill and are dedicated to ensuring our pupils become lifelong readers. We aim to foster an outstanding reading culture through the teaching of reading skills and promotion of reading for pleasure. Our goal is to provide pupils with many opportunities to read throughout the school day to build reading fluency and most importantly to enjoy a text. Our reading curriculum ensures pupils are exposed to a wide range of books throughout the year. By the time pupils leave Mexborough St John the Baptist, we hope they have built a love of reading which grows with them as they continue their education.

Implementation

There is a clear rationale behind our curriculum, and careful thought out planning has gone into each area of learning.

At Mexborough St John the Baptist a range of strategies are employed in order to teach reading. We recognise the need to balance the teaching of the mechanics of reading, developing comprehension skills and fostering a love for reading. Therefore, organisation of teaching of reading has a degree of flexibility whilst ensuring rigour and quality.

Intelligent repetition of key word reading and comprehension enables children to strengthen memory over time, thus leading to deeper understanding of word meaning and texts. It is essential that children remember the knowledge that they have been taught so that learning ‘sticks’ for them to understand new knowledge, make learning links and apply this is different contexts. The core skills of recall, understand, connect, and apply are used to facilitate this.

Teaching in reading lessons, focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both word reading and comprehension as outlined in the National Curriculum Programme of Study for reading. Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. This is why, at Mexborough St John the Baptist, phonics is the key to early reading.

In EYFS the teaching of reading is implemented by:

Having books in provision that are accessible, owned and loved by children, indoors and outdoors.

Using core books to plan for children’s interests and class topics.
Children identified through the 'Little Wandle' assessment reading with an adult using the levelled reading books at least once a week.
Changing books regularly during a week
Having enthusiastic staff who share their excitement about books with children.
Having books available in all areas of the classroom.
Using story props, sacks and boxes to enhance core books.
Having well planned shared reading sessions that all practitioners are confident to take part in
Opportunities for children to learn reading behaviours, for example, the recognition that print conveys meaning, the left and right directionality of English text, the purpose of punctuation.
Involving parents in understanding the importance of early literacy through parent workshops, letters, home shared reading and reading books. Book at bedtime is a key part of our F1 provision.
Listening to a variety of genres, for example, non fiction, poems, taped stories, rhymes.
Opportunities to retell and to act out stories using props and story maps.

In Key Stage One the teaching of reading is implemented by:

Three, small group reading practise sessions a week focusing on: fluency, prosody and comprehension.

Whole class reading in Year 2 once children have completed the phonics
1:1 reading opportunities with teachers, parents and volunteers
Vocabulary building
Daily phonics lessons
Cross curriculum reading opportunities
Author studies

In Foundation Stage and Key Stage One, children take home books which matches their phonics assessment band. In Key Stage 2 the children take one book home. This is a book chosen from their year group shelf and is for pure enjoyment.

In Key Stage Two the teaching of reading is implemented by:

phonics teaching if required
small guided reading sessions for those catching up with phonics interventions.
whole class reading
vocabulary building
shared reading of class texts

In Key Stage 2, reading is explicitly taught at least four times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes. The reading curriculum at St John’s has been carefully curated to include a wide range of diverse, challenging text extracts which are linked to history, geography and science units, where appropriate.

Each reading lesson starts with a vocabulary focus. Key vocabulary is identified from the text and pupils are encouraged to use the clues in the text as well as resources to work out the meaning of the word as well as how to use it in a sentence. Every lesson includes the teacher modelling reading and decoding and pupils reading the text out loud, independently or in pairs. The lesson will then include a range of retrieval questions to ensure key understanding of the text before delving deeper into other reading skills. The sequencing of learning is recorded by pupils in reading books.

Impact

Pupils’ learning over time, reflects the intended curriculum. The concepts and big ideas provide the schema through which meaning is made and helps to ensure long term knowledge growth. This in turn ensures pupils know more and can do more.

Research shows that repetition of course content leads to sticky learning; the transfer of knowledge from the short term to long term memory. At Mexborough St John’s, we achieve this through regular retrieval practise. Children can speak with confidence about what they have learnt and how they can apply this to other parts of their learning.

Leadership and Governance evaluate the teaching and learning of Reading half termly through lesson drop ins, book looks and pupil interviews. Reading data is analysed to identify key groups of pupils and priorities/ areas for improvement so that these can be swiftly addressed. Assessment is in accordance with the Early Learning Goals (ELG) in Foundation Stage, and the National Curriculum criteria for the end of Key Stage 1 and 2.

Assessment for Learning is carried out through questioning, discussion, observations and the marking of work. PIRA tests are carried out 3 times a year to support teacher assessment. Assessment of learning (summative assessment) is inputted by class teachers into the school’s summative database. This provides the evidence of learning and achievement, enabling an accurate summative assessment to be made at the end of each school year, and at the end of Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 & Key Stage 2

Children in year 1 will take the phonics screening to assess their ability in decoding real and non real words. In order to effectively track pupils progress in their phonetical development, phonic assessments will take place at the end of every half term in order to rigorously track progress in year 1, and for some children in year 2. Information gained from this assessment will identify children who need further support and identify gaps in learning for specific groups or cohorts of children. Phonic assessments will come in the form of phonic tracker assessments and previous phonic screen tests which will check children’s blending and segmenting abilities.

The impact of our curriculum will be seen not only in measurable attainment and progress (see our school data) but that St John the Baptist Primary School creates polite, well-mannered caring members of our school community who understand and respect everybody’s differences and needs.

Reading for Pleasure

Every class has specific, timetabled slots which are dedicated to reading for pleasure. Children have opportunity to read at their own pleasure. It is expected that staff also read during this time, modelling the behaviours and discipline required when reading.

The reading diary is used as a liaison between parents and teachers. In Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2 parents are expected to listen to their child read, discuss the book and write a comment each time they read with their child. In Upper Key Stage 2 parents are expected to discuss their child’s reading book with them and sign the reading journal each time they discuss the book or hear them read.

To further encourage positive attitudes towards reading, every week a child is selected by the class teacher to win a golden coin which can be used in the school book vending machine. The book that the child selects can be taken home as a gift. Children may be picked for the following reasons:

The child’s attitude towards reading
The child’s effort and/or progress in reading
The child’s willingness to engage in recommendations of books towards peers

Mexborough St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School
Together we believe, together we succeed

Reading
"Books are a uniquely portable magic.”― Stephen King

Reading Curriculum Maps

Reading "Books are a uniquely portable magic.”― Stephen King

Reading
"Books are a uniquely portable magic.”― Stephen King