Implementation

We use the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework for Reception and the National Curriculum from Y1-Y6 to teach reading at Holy Family.

Guided Reading - EYFS and KS1 (up until phonics is secured)

Guided Reading is taught daily using a 2-week cycle.  The children are split into reading ability groups. One group reads with the class teacher using books from Ransom Reading Stars Phonics to ensure complete fidelity to the Unlocking Letters and Sounds scheme we follow. The other groups participate in independent reading activities e.g. comprehension activities; lowest 20% readers with TA; 'Drop Everything and Read!' sessions with follow-up activities; extra phonics lessons for those with gaps in phonetic knowledge - especially from remote learning - and phonics activities to consolidate learning from that day. 

With the class teacher the children will:

WEEK 1: Modelled Reading

Phonemes and common exception words that the children will encounter in the book are revisited and reviewed. Vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to the children is introduced and meaning is discussed. The teacher leads a short introduction to the book: reading the title, discussing what characters might be in the book and predictions using the front cover. The teacher will read the book and the children will track along with their fingers - left to right. The teacher will model reading with prosody, using punctuation appropriately. The children will be encouraged to join in with repeated phrases exploring prosody in reading themselves. The book is then discussed as a group making connections book-to-self, book-to-world and book-to-book’.

WEEK 2: Independent Reading

Phonemes, common exception words and vocabulary from the previous session are revisited. The children then read aloud as a whole group (This is often done back-to-back). The teacher travels around the group listening to each individual child and provides them with appropriate feedback and support to read with fluency and prosody. Discussions continue as per WEEK 1 and children answer comprehension questions verbally about what they have read. 

Whole Class Reading - KS2 (or when phonics is secured)

Teachers provide a daily 30-minute reading session using an age-appropriate text. On one day, the children explore a fluency lesson using their class book. During this lesson they learn to use prosody in their reading and also how to use punctuation etc. On day two, the children have a Book Club session where new books are shared and recommendations of different books or authors are made between staff and peers. On the other three days of the week, every class explores a variety of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts or a song/film. At the start of every lesson, teachers introduce/review vocabulary. Moving on to reading the extract as a class, every child is provided with an extract and read along, tracking with their fingers/ruler. Then the children answer questions, staying in the story where possible.

Please see the tabs to the right for example planning for EYFS & Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and other useful documents.

Impact

Children’s progress in reading is continually reviewed through phonic assessments, assessing against the National Curriculum and our own Reading Progression, our Holy Family Reading assessments – which were created using the ‘The Book Band Guide’ by BookLife –, regular one-to-one reading, the Phonics Screening Check at the end of Year 1 and using the statutory assessments at the end of Key Stage One and Two. These results are measured against the reading attainment of children nationally. However, we firmly believe that reading is the key to all learning and so the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond the results of the statutory assessments. By teaching high quality phonics and early reading, we give all children the opportunity to enter the magical worlds that books open up to them. We promote reading for pleasure as part of our reading curriculum. Children are encouraged to develop their own love of genres and authors and to review their books objectively. This enhances a deep love of literature across a range of genres, cultures and styles.