How we teach Reading at Meadowbank Primary School? Helping our children to become life-long readers "I like how you can turn a page to find out more."
"It helps me escape to somewhere else, somewhere exiting."
"Reading helps me discover more about the world around me."
“I like to imagine what is happening in my head.”
Why is Reading so important? As stated in the Reading Framework, “Reading is fundamental to education. Proficiency in reading, writing and spoken language is vital for pupils’ success. Through these, they develop communication skills for education and for working with others: in school, in training and at work. Pupils who find it difficult to learn to read are likely to struggle across the curriculum, since English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching.”
What does it mean to be a reader? We believe that a love of reading runs parallel with the progression of word recognition and language comprehension as children move through school. In every year, your child will be taught the fundamentals for word recognition and application as well as how to retrieve key information; sequence stories and events; make inferences and use evidence, make predictions from what they already know; explain the mean of key terminology and comment of the use of vocabulary; summarise the main themes and events in a text and explain how authors convey meaning. This progresses as the children move from Key stage 1 to Key stage 2 while providing them with opportunities to practice and apply these skills to a range of quality and enriching literature. Reading is a gateway to the rest of the curriculum and the world around each and every child and here at Meadowbank, every child is given the key to that gateway of possibilities.
Developing a love of reading Children are exposed to high quality texts across all years groups here at Meadowbank and teachers work collaboratively with the children to select engaging texts and authors that the children are interested in. Within every classroom, there is a reading area with a wealth of literature for the children to choose from including: The Teacher's Favourite Authors Our Favourite Author's Aspirational Reads Texts linked to our current learning
Whole class texts are used with the children within our group reading sessions, linking to the classes half termly "Big question". We believe in modelling and leading by example, promoting role models within our children. We set reading buddies across the key stages, targeting our early readers and allowing them opportunities to read and share with the older children in school. Our UKS2 buddies are well trained in supporting both fluency and decoding as well as providing challenge and discussion.
Our Reading Curriculum Teaching Reading across FS and KS1
It is important to equip the children with the essential skills and experiences, which underpin the early teaching of reading and in Foundation stage, the children are immersed in an environment to support their development of Spoken Language, Physical Activity, Meta-Linguistic awareness and opportunities to symbolise these skills through facilitated activities. Within Early Years and Key stage 1, the FFT Success for All synthetic phonics programme is followed, where children progress through the phrases through discrete daily sessions. Our children are then exposed to high quality experiences to allow them to apply these discrete skills into their wider environment and community. All our staff in school receive regular training to ensure they are confident and secure in the teaching of early reading, drawing upon expertise across the school – we see all staff as teachers of reading and ensure appropriate training and professional development opportunities are provided to allow adults to reflect on their own expertise and develop themselves as life-long learners.
Our Reading Curriculum Teaching Reading across key stage 1 and 2
At Meadowbank, a whole approach to the delivery of reading sessions is followed. We encourage the use of a whole class text, where possible, in order to ensure wide and rich exposure to high quality texts to all children – there is no limits to the expectations of children. Our teaching staff are highly skilled in providing children with purposeful experiences to develop the key skills that the children are assessed against at the end of KS1 and KS2, but more importantly, help them to in “Reading to learn” and understand the wider world. These skills include: Key stage 1 - Vocabulary, Retrieval, Inference, Predict and Sequence Key stage 2 - Vocabulary, Retrieval, Inference, Predict, Sequence, Summarise, Compare, Comment on structure and layout We use the VIPERS acronym, which is displayed across school, as a consistent approach in aiding the children to recall these main reading domains and to become fluent and confident within their language comprehension.
Our Reading Curriculum Teaching Reading across key stage 2
As the children move into Key stage 2, Group Reading is taught daily, alongside 1:1 readers and personalised programmes, with explicitly taught skills through the use of the VIPERS acronym. Class texts are chosen based on the half termly “Big Question focus” to fully immerse children and aid their articulation of learning. We want to ensure we provide children with a rich reading capital and our aim is to expose our children to a wealth of literature that is engaging, challenging and diverse. We have a clear teaching sequence for reading in KS2, where all teachers plan opportunities over the week for whole class discussions and explicit skill development. Children will: Read independently and aloud to adults to develop their fluency Discuss the text with adults to support their articulation Question their peers and deepen their thinking Apply their understanding to explicit skill based learning Become familiar with unseen texts and responding to these It is important to us that reading is embedded in our whole curriculum offer for children to cultivate the importance of "reading to learn and understand the world".
Our Reading Curriculum We are proud of the reading culture we have fostered over the years and the enrichment we offer to our children here at Meadowbank. Our curriculum runs on six key concepts: Reading to Learn Texts are planned in line with our half-termly big questions to immerse the children in their learning – including fiction, non-fiction, picture books and poetry. Leaders of all subjects plan for texts to support and enrich learning. Choice Children have agency in what they want to read alongside class texts. Books clubs are a part of lunchtime provision. Classes visit the library regularly, where they will share a book together or use their library card to choose their own book. Community Children are role models for reading - reading buddies and reading ambassadors play a key leadership role within school. Classes visit local libraries over the year, to celebrate reading in the community. World book day is celebrated as a WHOLE school, sharing a high quality and meaningful text from FS through to KS2. Leaders provide parental workshops, providing support and resources In Foundation stage, we host mystery readers, encourage parents to share stories and are a part of the Book trust Book start, gifting books to our early readers.
Our Reading curriculum Book Talk Teachers model and promote discussion of literature with children through development of key reading skills. Teachers talk to children about their reading interests, sparking discussions and recommendations. Learning time is dedicated to discussions around Literature. Children are encouraged to share their reading with adults and school, with some children reading daily. Rich Literature Teachers are ambitious for all children and expose them to a wealth of class reads over the children celebrating male and female authors, authors from other cultures and historical fiction. Every classroom offers a stimulating reading area, where children can select age appropriate texts to read themselves. Story Sharing Time is dedicated to sharing stories in class, away from learning daily. These are from our class aspiration reads and stories brought in from home.
Our recommended reading lists We love for our children to share and recommend their favourite authors and stories with us in class as well as providing them with our recommendations too. Here are some of our TOP picks of books to read before leaving primary school.
Foundation Stage
Goldilocks and the Three Bears – Nicola Baxter The Stickman - Julia Donaldson Peace at Last – Jill Murphy What a Ladybird Heard - Julia Donaldson We’re going on a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosen The Three Little Pigs – Ed Bryan Stanley's stick – John Hegley Bog Baby – Jeanne Willis The Wonder – Faye Hanson Tree – Patricia Hegarty
Our recommended reading lists We love for our children to share and recommend their favourite authors and stories with us in class as well as providing them with our recommendations too. Here are some of our TOP picks of books to read before leaving primary school.
Keystage 1
Supertato by Sue Hendra Here we are by Oliver Jeffers The Grufalo by Julia Donaldson Where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak The tiger who came for tea by Judith Kerr The day the crayons quit by Drew Daywalt Beegu by Alexis Deacon Meerkat Mail by Emily Gravett Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers The Queen's hat by Steve Anthony
Our recommended reading lists We love for our children to share and recommend their favourite authors and stories with us in class as well as providing them with our recommendations too. Here are some of our TOP picks of books to read before leaving primary school.
Lower Keystage 2
The boy in the dress David Walliams My brother is a Superhero by David Solomons How to train your dragon by Cressida Cowell Charlotte’s web by EB White The Suitcase Kid by Jaqueline Wilson Werewolf Rules by Joseph Coelho The Borrowers by Mary Norton The 13 Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths
Our recommended reading lists We love for our children to share and recommend their favourite authors and stories with us in class as well as providing them with our recommendations too. Here are some of our TOP picks of books to read before leaving primary school. Upper Keystage 2 Skellig by David Almond The Hobbit by JR Tolkien Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman Lemony Snickett’s - A series of unfortunate events by Daniel Handler Booked by Kwame Alexander A boy called hope by Lara Willamson Illegal by Eion Colfer