Reading
Intent
At Chater Junior School, our intention is that all pupils develop a passion for books and a life-long love of reading. Through access to a varied range of texts, we aim to provide pupils the opportunity to pursue their individual interests whilst learning to appreciate all forms of literature.
We believe reading allows children to have new experiences beyond their own and explore different perspectives. Reading is the key to all learning and an essential skill to access the wider curriculum therefore we weave reading into every subject we teach. Our English curriculum is constructed from a variety of inspiring, thought-provoking and ambitious texts that consist of diverse representations. Pupils are encouraged to identify themes and messages throughout literature that they can take forward into their own lives.
Our school community share their love of reading and talk passionately about books; encouraging pupils to take part in meaningful and educated dialogue with their peers. Valuing positive attitudes towards reading and the enjoyment reading brings is celebrated as much as the reading attainment outcome.
Implementation
Guided Reading
Guided Reading lessons include a combination of tiered vocabulary exploration, teacher-led discussion, skills-based tasks, comprehension activities, and independent reading. Opportunities to read for pleasure are also included in the timetable. Throughout carefully planned lessons, all children have access to the same high-quality text and vocabulary.
Regular opportunities to read aloud are offered through choral reading, presentations and both fiction and non-fiction texts.
Class teachers here every child read regularly (at least once a fortnight) and all classes read their class novel at the end of each day.
Chater Junior School uses the skills-based approach to teaching reading; VIPERS, which is an acronym for the six reading domains. These reading skills are six vital areas that enable pupils to develop secure understanding and comprehension in reading:
- Vocabulary
- Inference
- Prediction
- Explain
- Retrieve
- Summarise
Throughout the school, Guided Reading is taught four times a week. During these sessions, pupils develop their comprehension skills through a variety of high-quality texts that have been selected to cover a diverse spectrum of representations and genres. Pupils engage with texts through quality first teaching, tiered vocabulary exploration and skills-based questioning. This enables pupils to deepen their understanding and thus develop confidence and joy in reading.
Reading for pleasure and Home Reading
Every child is given a home reading book and a library book they can take home and enjoy in their own time. We encourage all children to read daily, though many children exceed this. Our expectation is that a family member listens to their child read their book and makes a comment in their child’s school reading record.
We have an inviting school library and a team of dedicated librarians from Year 6. Every class has a weekly visit to the school library. During this time, pupils can browse the books and choose one to take home. Teachers also use this time with their class to read a high-quality text in an immersive experience that promotes reading for pleasure. The library is also utilised to enhance the mastery of foundation subjects. Encouraging the use of non-fiction texts for fact-finding and research.
Every classroom has an engaging reading corner which includes a diverse range of high-quality fiction texts as well as non-fiction books that enrich the content of the broad curriculum. Chater Junior School recognises the importance of celebrating the joy that reading can bring and our reading corners play a role in ensuring the prominence of reading. We recognise the importance of reading to children in addition to the teaching of reading and all children listen to a class novel at the end of each day and experience the expression and intonation from the storyteller.
Impact
What will this look like?
Through pupil voice we will see:
- - Pupils discuss what they are currently reading and books that have brought them pleasure and why.
Through learning walks we will see:
- - Pupils exposed to a wide range of texts of which they can compare and discuss regularly.
- - Pupils have an awareness and experiment with ambitious tiered vocabulary both in discussion and in written form.
In the pupils’ learning we will see:
- - Pupils infer understanding from the books that they have read.
- - Enthusiastic and motivated readers who are confident and enjoy reading a wide variety of genres and text types.
- - Scaffolds that enable all pupils to make progress.
