English - Reading

Our approach to Reading:

"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”

Margaret Fuller

At St Bartholomew’s, reading is at the heart of everything that we do.

It is our aim to provide a rich, comprehensive reading programme, offering children a range of opportunities to develop as fluent, enthusiastic, confident and life-long readers, who read for interest, information and enjoyment. We aim to develop learners who are passionate about reading but who also have a deeper understanding of the world around them.

Reading is at the core of our curriculum and is an integral part of all curriculum subjects. Where possible, we teach using a cross curricular approach in order to make learning meaningful for the children. Quality books, both fiction and nonfiction, are utilised throughout the varying topics across the curriculum giving our children the opportunities to read widely, experience topic-related vocabulary in context and to deepen their understanding and curiosity for the topic itself.

Our reading curriculum is designed to:

To encourage both boys and girls, of all levels and abilities to develop a love of reading.
To foster an interest in words and their meanings and to gain an appreciation and life-long love of books from a variety of genres
To enable children to find books interesting, to read with enjoyment and to evaluate and justify their preferences
To enable our children to read confidently, fluently, accurately and with understanding
To employ a full range of reading cues- phonic, graphic, syntactic, and contextual- to allow the children monitor, correct and make sense of their own reading.
To develop a suitable technical vocabulary through which children may discuss the understanding of their reading
To develop reading skills in tandem with those of writing, so that the children may function in society as literate readers for life.
To develop and create reading opportunities across the curriculum, to make it meaningful and relevant to the children.
To be able to use books confidently and accurately in order to find out about the World and develop deeper understanding.
To use reading and books as a tool to explore fundamental world issues which the children are passionate to learn more about.
To ensure that the key issues of equality and diversity are represented through the books explored within school giving the opportunity for children to see themselves within books.
To celebrate the gift of reading and appreciate the rich variety of books, stories and texts we have in school, in libraries, online and at home

Guided Reading:

At St. Bartholomew’s, we deliver guided reading sessions as a whole class. These sessions provide us with the opportunity to expose the children to more quality texts and stimulus. Each session focuses on a different reading skill that the children are aware of throughout the whole school. Teachers aim to develop these skills through class and peer discussions as well as providing time for independent thinking. During these sessions, children are exposed to a range of quality texts/literature that cover different themes/genres which promote the importance of equality and diversity, while also striving to capture children’s interest. Our children develop clear reading comprehension skills alongside a love of reading.

DEAR Time:

Throughout the school week, children are given the opportunity to read independently a book of their own choosing. At St Bartholomew’s, we call this D.E.A.R. Time (Drop Everything and Read). In KS2, this is a daily activity where children can read their home readers, class or key stage library books, magazines, newspapers or whole class reader, as appropriate. In KS1, children have the opportunity to choose phonics books from the appropriate phase to read independently or other age-appropriate narratives, pictures book and non-fiction resources. In the EYFS, appropriate books are placed in different areas for the children to explore, enjoy and develop a love of reading.

Reading Dogs:

The ‘Reading Dogs’ scheme is used throughout school to focus on and develop children’s comprehension skills and strategies. The texts explored (both whole class narratives and guided reading focus texts) are carefully monitored to ensure children have experience of a breadth of good quality literature while also exploring significant themes.

At least three guided reading sessions per week are planned for which are carried out within a whole class context with a specific teacher led focus group. Questions focusing on different comprehension skills are modelled by the teacher and then applied independently by the children. The foci covered include: