Reading
Intent
At Kings Hill School & Nursery, we want all pupils to be confident and competent readers. We promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language; and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. We ensure that pupils:
- read easily, fluently decoding words 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 the spoken language
- appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
- use discussion in order to learn ; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
- read for pleasure and for purpose
- hear adults read often to model prosody
Implementation
Decoding (word reading)
From Year 2 onwards, children use their phonics knowledge (taught in the earlier years) as a foundation to build and develop their decoding skills. Children read the Big Cat Collins books to develop and practice their phonics knowledge. This is a progressive scheme; books are phonetically decodable to ensure consistency and natural development of word reading. When children complete the Big Cat Collins books, they move on to a Lexile scheme. Regular informal assessment, ensures that children are choosing books at the correct reading Lexile for their ability.
Reading for pleasure
Children are encouraged to read for pleasure. This could involve sharing a book with an adult if they are not able to fully decode the book themselves. There is a wide range of reading material available: book corners have carefully selected literature and our award-winning library has a plethora of books and magazines across a wide genre. Our experienced librarians are able to recommend and locate reading materials.
Story time takes place daily in every classroom. Teachers carefully plan story time sessions to develop a love for reading and expose children to a wide range of topics and ambitious vocabulary.
Comprehension (understanding)
Reading comprehension is taught to ensure that children understand what they are reading. This happens informally when hearing individual children read and through class discussion in all subjects. Comprehension is also explicitly taught in Guided Reading lessons. Comprehension includes:
- retrieval of information
- prediction
- deduction
- inference
- analysing
Through Talk Together Learning children have the opportunity to develop their comprehension skills, expressing their opinions and commenting on the author’s work.
Guided Reading Lessons
Guided reading lessons are taught through weekly short texts. These are carefully selected for their ambitious vocabulary and literary content. They often complement and broaden knowledge in other subjects (for example science) or are related to current affairs.
Impact
Our reading curriculum is of a high quality and ensures there is a clear progression. In order to measure the impact, we gather a variety of data to ensure learning has occurred and progress has been made. This information directly informs future planning and learning opportunities, allowing us to be responsive to the needs of our pupils. We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
- A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes;
- Children can understand and apply the fundamental principles of decoding and comprehending;
- Children can evaluate, improve and redraft their verbal and written comprehension.
- Children are competent, fluent readers with a love for literature.
Reading News
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Tuesday 3 October 2023 Neal Zetter Poetry Slam It was great to have Neal Zetter visit us to help celebrate National Poetry Day. The children attended workshops throughout the day where they recited lots of his poems and were taught how to perform in front of an audience. The poetry slam was excellent and it was wonderful to see so many children taking part and enjoying performing poetry.
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Friday 3 March 2023 World Book Day 2023 Children really enjoyed celebrating World Book Day this week. Children wrote about their favourite characters, discussed the talking point question, ‘ Is reading still important in the modern world’ and of course took part in lots and lots of reading.
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Tuesday 11 October 2022 Author Visit - Cath Howe Cath Howe, an author from South West London, has published a number of books. Her stories are an excellent way for children to develop friendships and empathy, as well as an understanding of bullying.
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Friday 11 March 2022 Storytelling It was wonderful to see so many children enjoying the storytelling sessions recently. Roy (of Rocking Chair Tales) engaged all of our children, including our youngest children in Nursery, in exciting storytelling activities. It was great fun interacting with the props and hearing all of the different voices that he created.
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Friday 4 March 2022 World Book Day What a fun day the children had for World Book Day this week. There were lots of activities throughout the day and many prizes won. There was a giant book swap, live events and a competition to create their very own book jacket.
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Friday 4 March 2022 Reading Magazine Our pupil librarians and Mrs Etheridge have produced another fantastic reading magazine with a huge collection of recommended reads, author features, poetry and more . Please do take a read ! It really is impressive.
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Friday 4 March 2022 Book Selfie Competition It was great to receive so many wonderful entries for the book selfie photo competition too. Children and families were invited to recreate their favourite book covers and we were amazed at the fantastic effort put into this by so many of you.
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Friday 28 January 2022 Phonics and Early Reading Workshop Please remember to book yourself a space on the Phonics and Early Reading Workshop. It is an informal, practical session to help you understand and support your child’s reading in a positive and enjoyable way.
