Reading
At Barnburgh Primary School we aim to provide a positive and stimulating environment in which
our pupils are able to develop their Literacy skills and appreciation. Reading is much more than the
decoding of marks on a page, it is a search for meaning which requires the reader to be an active
participant in the process. Pupils must have a wide exposure to many different types of Literature
and plenty of opportunities to practice the strategies they need for fluent reading. The aim is for
all pupils to achieve their potential and become confident and discriminating readers of a variety
of texts.
Aims:
To enable pupils to become fluent, discriminating readers, who see books and other
written materials as an enjoyable, informative and worthwhile part of their lives.
 To increase pupils' ability to read challenging texts, to reflect on their meaning,
analyse and discuss.
 To give pupils experience of a wide variety of good quality texts, both fiction and nonfiction, and to be aware of the reasons for reading.
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Objectives:
Develop a whole school approach to the systematic teaching of reading skills using Letters
and Sounds as a strong foundation to build upon year after year.
• Provide opportunities for children to develop their ability to read in terms of
fluency, accuracy, understanding and enjoyment.
• Ensure children are encouraged to respond imaginatively to the plot, character ideas,
vocabulary and organisation of language in Literature. They should be able to evaluate texts
they read and support their opinions with relevant passages.
• Develop an awareness of print in a variety of formats according to the audience and
purpose.
• That children be able to adopt appropriate strategies for their reading purpose, including
skimming, scanning and detailed reading.
• Provide extra support for pupils with special needs.
• Develop role-play and drama skills through reading and non-reading based activities to
enhance understanding.
• Be interested in books, read with enjoyment and evaluate and justify their preferences.
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Children will have the opportunity to develop the following reading skills:
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Build up a sight vocabulary.
Extend vocabulary using picture, phonic and context clues.
Predict meaning with contextual clues.
Review text to check understanding.
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As reading skills develop children should:
• Grow familiar with a variety of texts.
• Read aloud with expression to convey meaning.
• Develop the habit of silent reading.
• Know letter sounds and names and understand alphabetical order.
• Recognise letter/sound correspondence - phonic alphabet.
• Understand and use concept of letter, word and sentence.
• Develop a word attack strategy based on prediction from context checked by initial
sound.
• Attempt new vocabulary using a range of strategies (phonic, context, picture and
informed guess).
• Understand demarcation by punctuation.
• A growing awareness of variety of functions of print.
• Demonstrate a critical awareness.
Children should have the opportunity to develop these further reading skills;
• Respond imaginatively to the plot, characters, ideas and vocabulary of a piece of
literature.
• Be able to use inference and deduction.
• Be able to evaluate a text.
• Use relevant passages to support their opinions of a piece of Literature.
Children will need specific teaching and activities in order for these skills to be developed.
As stated in the National Primary Project,
'Children become successful readers by learning to use a range of strategies to get at the
meaning of a text'. Children need to be aware that skills and strategies can be adapted for
different reading tasks and shown how the skills that they have can be utilised for a variety of
tasks. Shared and guided reading should provide a focused time in which reading skills can
really be developed.
Implementation
The National Primary Strategy and the English curriculum both make it clear that children
should be encouraged to develop as enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers. Children
in both the key stages should be introduced to a wide range of literature and have
opportunities to read for their own interest and pleasure. These opportunities should include
teacher modelling, particularly in key stage one, independent and shared reading by groups and
the whole class.
The Reading Environment
We aim to create a happy, positive environment within school where reading can be seen as an
enjoyable, exciting encounter rather than a laborious compulsory activity. There is a wide range
or reading material in school to enable children of all ability to have access to literature,
either fiction or non-fiction.
When different topics are studied each classroom will have relevant books for the children to
read in their own time.
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The library contains a large selection of fiction and non-fiction texts and children are able to
borrow books on a regular occasion. These books can be taken home by the child along with their
individual school reading book.
As a way of promoting a ‘love’ for reading the school aims to hold exciting themed days such as
World book day and the Big read, where children can take part in reading related activities and
dressing up as their favourite book character.
Reading scheme
Our reading scheme consists mainly of Oxford reading tree and Rigby star.
Organisation of teaching and learning
Shared reading:
The aim of the shared reading is to extend skills in line with the objectives in the text level
column of the framework. The teacher will support the reading, which provides the chance for
pupils to work from texts beyond their reading levels. In key stage one it helps the children to
become familiar with the shapes and sounds of the letters and words and also enables them to
make predictions regarding certain words. In key stage two shared reading is used to focus on
comprehension and on specific features e.g. word building, spelling patterns, punctuation, layout
purpose and structure of sentences.
Guided reading;
Guided reading is focused more upon in key stage two. It provides opportunities for reading in a
group and also silent reading. The teacher can listen to children read individually and the chance
for questioning and discussions/out text also takes place. Generally the children are grouped with
others of a similar ability so that the text can be matched accordingly. All teachers choose to do
their guided reading session outside of their literacy sessions. Independent skills are focused
upon rather than the teacher modelling skills.
Promoting reading in school
On Friday mornings the whole school takes part in ERIC (Every Child Reading In Class). The whole
class read quietly to themselves and/ or are read to. Every other Friday the whole school swap
classes to take part in buddy learning. These reading activities promote reading and confidence in
mixing with children in other classes.
The school hold exciting days to promote a love for reading such as World book day and the big
read. The children take part in exciting activities to encourage reading and stimulate their
imaginations.
Children's individual reading:
In the key stage one classrooms there are a variety of levelled reading books that are best suited
to the reading age of the children in that particular class. In key stage two the reading books are
situated on shelves in the corridor so that the full range of books is accessible to children in each
of the classes. There is also a range of fiction books available for those children who are on 'free
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readers'.
In both key stages the individual books are used to enable the children to develop reading skills
and competence as a reader. It is not expected that a child has to read every book in a level
before moving on, or has to pass through every level. Books are changed on a weekly basis.
Children are encouraged to take their books home and share them with their family. The family is
encouraged to fill in their child's reading diary.
In key stage one the teacher will listen to the children read individually on a regular basis. In key
stage two the teacher focuses more on guided reading and expects the children to read their
individual books at home. At least once every half term the key stage two teachers will listen to
the child read individually in order to assess whether or not the level of the book that the child is
reading is suitable, the teacher may move the child onto the next level.
Special Educational Needs
It is expected that children with SEN will read more frequently than other class members, either
with the class teacher or with a classroom assistant. The opportunity should also be given for
sharing books with other children. This should help to emphasise the fun aspect of reading rather
than always reading for practice.
Children with a statement of Educational Need will follow the programme outlined in their
statement. Children with identified SEN will have a programme and targets as specified in their
IEP.
For children with a lower reading ability or those who find the acquisition of reading skills difficult
then suitable books and groupings will be arranged for guided reading sessions. This will enable
the group to have teacher support whilst at the same time sharing books with other children of a
similar level. Children will have an individual reading book that is aimed at their specific level.
Equal Opportunities- Inclusion
All pupils have equal opportunities to develop their skills of reading regardless of their ability.
The school builds on previous achievements and challenges every child to further their skills. All
teachers provide learning opportunities that are matched to the individual needs of the children.
Through using the learning environment the teacher also tries to cater for the different learning
styles of the children.
Our school aims to be an inclusive school. This means that equality of opportunity must be a
reality for our children. We make this a reality through the attention we pay to different groups
of children within our school:
• Girls and boys;
• Minority ethnic and faith groups;
• Children who need support to learn English as an additional language;
• Children with special educational needs;
• Gifted and talented children;
• Any children who are at risk of disaffection or exclusion.
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Personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship
The teaching of reading develops skills through which our children can give critical responses to
the moral questions they met in their work. An understanding and appreciation of a range of texts
brings them into contact with their own understanding and appreciation of a range of texts from
other cultures. The organisation of lessons allows children to work together and gives them the
chance to discuss their ideas and results.
Assessment and recording
In Key stage 2 Optional SATS are used to assess a child's reading achievements. Following the
test teachers will mark each paper and will then evaluate areas of strength and weaknesses, all
staff will then share their observations and collectively areas for improvement, within the key
stage, will be decided upon.
When children are involved in guided/shared reading, teachers will make observations and may
record some of these. Staff have levelled assessment criteria to assess reading against. The
teacher will use the targets on this sheet to pick out the main focus for that particular session
and if a child achieves the target then it will be highlighted on his/her sheet. The target
statements range from Reception to Year 6 and each child will have the sheet that best fits them
not necessarily the sheet for their specific year group.
The Co-ordinator
It is the role of the co-ordinator to be available to colleagues for consultation and advice, attend
relevant courses and to pass information on to the staff. It is also the co-ordinator's
responsibility to monitor the planning and to ensure that staff have the relevant resources to
assist them in carrying out their teaching effectively.
If at any point a member of staff is concerned about a child's reading, the Literacy coordinator or SEN coordinator will be available for consultation, who will then seek further
assistance if necessary.
Resources
In each of the Key stage 2 classrooms there is a wide selection of big books and reading books. In
key stage 2 their is a range of reading books and other fiction books available for the children to
choose. The school library also have a large selection of both fiction and non-fiction books which
the children can borrow.
A wide range of resources are used as reference for teachers and include:• Literacy World books in each year group i.e. Teacher's copy, big books and guided reading
books.
• Non- fiction big books.
• Poetry big books.
• Access to school library
• Story sacks
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•
Puppets to develop reading through drama or speaking and listening
Appendix
Taken from Primary Framework for Literacy and Numeracy
5.Word recognition: decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling)
Foundation Stage
 Explore and experiment with sounding the letters of the alphabet
 Recognise letter shapes and say a sound for each
 Use a pencil and hold it effectively to form recognisable letters, most of which are
formed correctly
 Hear and say sounds in words in the order in which they occur
 Read simple words by sounding out and blending the phonemes all through the word from
left to right
 Children move from reading simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words as ‘cat’ and
‘bus’ to longer CCVC words such as ‘clap’ and ‘stop’, and CCVC words such as ‘fast’ and
‘milk’
 Recognise common diagraphs
 Read some high frequency words
 Use phonic knowledge to write simple regular words and make phonetically plausible
attempts at more complex words
 Read a range of familiar and common words and simple sentences independently
 Read texts compatible with their phonic knowledge and skills
 Read and write one grapheme for each of the 44 phonemes
Year 1
 Recognise and use alternative ways of pronouncing the graphemes already taught, for
example, that the grapheme ‘g’ is pronounced differently in ‘get’ and ‘gem’, the grapheme
‘ow’ is pronounced differently in ‘how’ and ‘show’.
 Recognise and use alternative ways of spelling the phonemes already taught, for example
that the /ae/ sound can be spelt with ‘ai’,’ay’ or ‘a-e’,that the /ee/ sound can also be spelt
as ‘ea’ and ‘e’, and begin to know which words contain which spelling alternatives
 Identify the constituent parts of two syllable and three syllable words to support the
application of phonic knowledge and skills
 Recognise automatically an increasing number of familiar high frequency words
 Apply phonic knowledge and skills as the prime approach to reading and spelling unfamiliar
words that are not completely decodable
 Read more challenging texts which can be decoded using their acquired phonic knowledge
and skills, along with automatic recognition of high frequency words
 Read and spell phonically decidable two-syllable and three-syllable words
Year 2
 Read independently and with increasing fluency longer and less familiar texts
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 Spell with increasing accuracy and confidence, drawing on word recognition and
knowledge of word structure, and spelling patterns
 Know how to tackle unfamiliar words that are not completely decidable
 Read and spell less common alternative graphemes including triraphs
 Read high and medium frequency words independently and automatically
6. Words structure and spelling
Foundation Stage
 Use phonic knowledge to write simple regular words and make phonetically
 Plausible attempts at more complex words
Year 1
 Spell new words using phonics as the prime approach
 Segment sounds into their constituent phonemes in order to spell them correctly
 Children move from spelling simple CVC words to longer words that include common
diagraphs and adjacent consonants such as ‘crush’, ‘crunch’
 Recognise and use alternative ways of spelling the graphemes already taught, for example
that /ae/ sound can be spelt with ‘ai’, ‘ay’ or ‘a-e’, that the /ee/sound can also be spelt as
‘ea’ and ‘e’, and begin to know which words contain which spelling patterns
 Use knowledge of common inflections in spelling, such as plurals,-ly, -er
 Read and spell physically decidable two-syllable and three-syllable words
Year 2
 Spell with increasing accuracy and confidence, drawing on word recognition and
knowledge and knowledge of word structure, and spelling patterns including common
inflections and use of double letters
 Read and spell less common alternative graphemes including trigraphs
Year 3
 Spell high and medium frequency words
 Recognise a range of prefixes and suffixes, understanding how they modify meaning and
spelling, and how they assist in decoding long complex words
 Spell unfamiliar words using known conventions including grapheme-phoneme
correspondence and morphological rules
Year
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4
Use knowledge of phonics, morphology and etymology to spell new and unfamiliar words
Distinguish the spelling and meaning of common homophones
Know and apply common spelling rules
Develop a range of personal strategies for learning new and irregular words
Year
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5
Spell words containing unstressed vowels
Know and use less common prefixes and suffixes such as im, ir, -cian
Group and classify words according to their spelling patterns and their meanings
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Year 6
 Spell familiar words correctly and employ a range of strategies to spell difficult and
unfamiliar words
 Use a range of appropriate strategies to edit, proofed and correct spelling in their own
work, on paper and on screen
7. Understanding and interpreting texts
Foundation Stage
 Know that print carries meaning and, in English, is read from left to right and top to
bottom
 Extend their vocabulary, exploring the meanings and sounds of new words
 Show an understanding of the elements of stories, such as main character, sequence of
events, and openings, and how information can be found in non-fiction texts to answer
questions about where, who, why and how
 Retell narratives in the correct sequence, drawing on the language patterns of stories
Year 1
 Identify the main events and characters in stories, and find specific information in
simple texts
 Use syntax and context when reading for meaning
 Meake predictions showing an understanding of ideas, events and characters
 Recognise the main elements that shape different texts
 Explore the effect of patterns of language and repeated words and phrases
Year 2
 Draw together ideas and information from across a whole text, using simple signposts in
the text
 Give some reasons why things happen or characters change
 Explain organisational features of texts, including alphabetical order, layout, diagrams,
captions, hyperlinks and bullet points
 Use syntax and context to build their store of vocabulary when reading for meaning
 Explore how particular words are used, including words and expressions with similar
meanings
Year 3
 Identify and make notes of the main points of section(s) of text
 Infer characters’ feelings in fiction and consequences in logical explanations
 Identify how different texts are organised, including reference texts, magazines and
leaflets, on paper and on screen.
 Use syntax, context and word structure to build their store of vocabulary as they read
for meaning.
 Explore how different texts appeal to readers using varied sentence structures and
descriptive language.
Year 4
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 Identify and summarise evidence from a text to support a hypothosis.
 Deduce characters’ reasons for behaviour from their actions and explain how ideas are
developed in non-fiction texts.
 Use knowledge of different organisational features of texts to find information
effectively.
 Use knowledge of word structures and origins to develop their understanding of word
meanings.
 Explain how writers use figurative and expressive language to create images and
atmosphere.
Year 5
 Make notes on and use evidence from across a text to explain events or ideas.
 Infer writers perspectives from what is written and from what is implied.
 Compare different types of narrative and information texts and identify how they are
structured.
 Distinguish between everyday use of words and their subject specific use
 Explore how writers use language for comic and dramatic effects.
Year 6
 Appraise a text quickly, deciding on its value, quality or usefulness.
 Understand underlying themes, causes and points of view.
 Understand how writers use different structures to create coherence and impact.
 Explore how word meanings change when used in different contexts.
 Recognise rhetorical devices used to argue, persuade, mislead and sway the reader.
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