Mickleton Primary School
To become the person I need to be
Reading
LITERARY WEEK !! 23rd - 27th JANUARY 2023
We are holding our first literary week, celebrating reading, writing and speaking. We have author visits and workshops, a speech competition, Scholastic book fair, live online author and illustrator events, sponsored Readathon and even a Book at Bedtime story in our pyjamas!!
Reading
Mickleton places reading and books at the centre of the curriculum. We want to foster a love of reading, where children can not only demonstrate an understanding of what they have read, but also show enthusiasm and excitement for it. We believe that reading is an integral part of a child’s learning and development and that it underpins all other learning. Therefore, reading is at the heart of the school curriculum.
Children begin with reading books matched to their phonetic ability through Read Write Phonics in Reception Y1 and Y2, before moving onto the AR reading scheme. As the children progress, they read increasingly complex books, which depart from phonics. The reading scheme comprises books from a range of text types and genres, including children’s classics and children’s versions of adolescent and adult classics. Reading books are taken home by the children so that they can be shared with family members. See below for more information on how you can help your children with reading!
VIPERS
EYFS/KS1 KS2
Throughout the school we use VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Summarising/Sequencing) to ensure the National Curriculum skills are covered. VIPERS is not a reading scheme but rather a method of ensuring that teachers ask, and students are familiar with, a range of questions. They allow the teacher to track the type of questions asked and the children’s responses to these which allows for targeted questioning afterwards.
Reading Spine
To develop imagination, vocabulary and a love of literature children should have a rich curriculum of high-quality stories. Each class has a writing anchor book, this book is used to help the children develop their writing skills within in English writing. Each class will also have a VIPERS anchor book, which focuses on teaching their skills of reading through a range of activities.
Reading Spine examples:
Please see your year group’s Reading Spine below to know which selection of books each year group uses.
Reading for Pleasure
Children and staff in our school have the opportunity to read at least once a day for pleasure. This is timetabled into the school day. Children have access to high quality texts from classroom book corners and also get the opportunity to visit the library on a weekly basis. Teachers also prioritise reading aloud to their classes; in EYFS/KS1 this happens a minimum of once a day and in KS2 a minimum of 3 times a week.
Home reading
Every child takes a reading book home daily and we expect parents and carers to complete a home reading diary to record when they have read at home, ideally daily.
For those developing their phonic skills, they will take a book matched to their current phonic ability. For those working beyond this, children can select their own AR reading book, with support from adults if required. We believe that reading is an integral skill to learn, and we strive to have a partnership between school and home so that this continues seamlessly.
As well as a levelled reading books, children are also invited to take home a book, which promotes reading for pleasure, from our school library once a week. These books are chosen solely by the children based on their interests and have inspired our children to widen their book choices.
As the child moves through the school, the amount they try to read each night should increase. In EYFS, sharing a book with your child for ten minutes will help them greatly. In Year One pupils should aim to read (or share a book) for 10 minutes. In Years 2 and 3 the target is 15 minutes and in Years 4, 5 and 6 it is 20 minutes. We expect all children to read at least five times per week and for this to be recorded in their Reading Records. These are then handed in to class teachers on a Monday morning.
Reading for Pleasure at Home Tips
For guidance on how to support your child with reading for pleasure at home, have a look at this leaflet, which has some great ideas on how to promote enjoyment in reading all the way up to Year 6 and beyond:
You can also use these great supportive resources from the Education Endownment Foundation to guide you when reading with your child/children.
Top tips for supporting your children with reading in reception year 1 and year 2. 2. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Covid-19_Resources/Resources_for_schools/7_Top_Tips_to_Support_Reading_at_Home.pdf
Top tips for supporting your children with reading in Key Stage 2.
If your child is a devoted Tom Gates or David Walliams fan and you are looking for ideas of books to encourage them to branch out, have a look at the 'Tube Map' for your child's age group which suggests books linked to your child's preferred authors or book genre:
Phonics
The school follows Read Write Inc Phonics to ensure our phonic programme is delivered with rigour and fidelity. We teach our phonics, so that is accessible to all, by planning for 100% engagement from each child. Synthetic systematic phonics is a key skill that supports the development of early reading.
We place our quality phonics teaching in a language rich curriculum, with exposure to a range of both physical and digital texts. We continually aim to make strides towards closing the word gap.
Working alongside parents and carers we want to provide our pupils with the skills they need to have a successful start to their lives as readers and to ensure that our children develop a love of reading.
Our children enjoying reading
Other useful websites for parents