Reading and Phonics at Front Street

Teaching Reading

Competence in reading is a life skill and the key to independent learning. Therefore, the teaching of reading is given a high priority by all staff at Front Street Primary School.

We recognise that reading is a multi-strategy approach to understanding the written word. It is not simply mastering the art of decoding but involves the ability to read a wide range of texts with understanding. The texts will include: fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

At Front Street we aim to:

Foster an interest in books and a love for reading.
Ensure children can read with confidence, accuracy, fluency and understanding.
Develop their imagination and become critical readers.
Expand their written and oral vocabulary.

Early Reading

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides many opportunities for the children to be immersed in language and early reading routines as we strive to develop their interest in books. This includes regular story time and themed role play, with plenty of repetition of stories that the children will enjoy and can ultimately join in with. Activities follow on from story time, helping children understand common story conventions such as things happening in a set order. As the children move through EYFS, they are exposed to a wide variety of text types and begin to make links between reading, extracting meaning from reading and writing. Reading is about being able to decipher the print and to understand what the writer is attempting to communicate. As a result, reading is a complex process which involves many skills. At Front Street we teach synthetic phonics as our main strategy for decoding, this is referred to as Read Write Inc (RWInc). Phonics teaching takes place daily to develop early reading and build familiarity with graphemes and phonemes. This is supported by the teaching of sight vocabulary (high frequency words), using picture clues and using the context of what we are reading to make sense and understand.

Key Stage 1

In Key Stage 1, children continue to learn phonics, with the aim to complete this aspect of their learning by the end of Year 1. From then on, their phonics knowledge continues to be developed through their ongoing guided reading in school. In Year 2 they bridge the difficult challenge of choosing from the graphemes (different spellings for sounds) when they are spelling and the introduction of spelling rules. Any children who have gaps in their phonics understanding undertake intervention for as long as necessary – these children are regularly assessed to understand their progress. The children’s reading books are carefully matched to their phonic ability.

Key Stage 2

By the end of Key Stage 1 and into Key Stage 2, reading is taught as a specific lesson with the whole class. Lessons focus on the key skills outlined in the National Curriculum; understanding inference and deduction and higher order reading skills. In Key Stage 2, children are taught more about understanding the texts they read so that they can share literal answers but also express their responses to the texts and eventually interpret the writer’s intentions. These skills are taught through whole class guided reading. Careful planning of questions, ensures that the children are immersed in the vocabulary from the text and that they address a range of reading skills required to have a secure understanding of what a text is about and the choices the author has made.

Oxford Reading Buddy – Years 3 and 4

Oxford Reading Buddy is a digital reading programme to help develop important skills in reading and to encourage our children to read more. It contains hundreds of digital books from Oxford University Press’s well-known reading series including Project X and the Biff, Chip and Kipper stories from Oxford Reading Tree – all matched to the child’s reading level. It offers special Coaching eBooks to develop comprehension.

Reading Plus – Year 5 and 6

Reading Plus is a targeted programme which bridges the gap between the functional literacy skills of reading and reading for meaning. It builds on the three domains of reading:

Physical – developing the ability to read silently fluency and stamina
Cognitive – building vocab and comprehension
Emotional – increase interest and enthusiasm for reading.

This is started in Year 5 and continues into Year 6 and works to rapidly increase how quickly they can read a piece of writing while absorbing key information.

Home Reading

It is widely recognised that regular practice allows children to continue to develop their reading skills as well as develop their love for reading. We encourage an adult to read with their child/ren as often as possible and in EYFS and KS1 make comments in the children’s reading journals. All children at Front Street are given the opportunity to change their reading book on a weekly basis. We have a variety of phonic and reading schemes including: Oxford Reading Tree, Project X and Tree Tops as well as a variety of classic children’s literature.

Barney

At Front Street we are very lucky to have a PAT (Pets As Therapy) dog, who is kindly brought in by a volunteer every fortnight. Barney listens to the children read and they get the opportunity to stroke the dog and talk to our volunteer in a relaxed and comfortable environment. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to build their confidence and enhance their well-being at the same time.