Reading
National Curriculum:
Teachers should develop pupils’ reading and writing in all subjects to support their acquisition of knowledge. Pupils should be taught to read fluently, understand extended prose (both fiction and non-fiction) and be encouraged to read for pleasure. Schools should do everything to promote wider reading. They should provide library facilities and set ambitious expectations for reading at home. Pupils should develop the stamina and skills to write at length, with accurate spelling and punctuation. They should be taught the correct use of grammar. They should build on what they have been taught to expand the range of their writing and the variety of the grammar they use.
(Department for Education, 2013)
Reading Programmes of Study
The programmes of study for reading at key stages 1 and 2 consist of two dimensions:
- word reading
- comprehension (both listening and reading).
It is essential that teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both dimensions; different kinds of teaching are needed for each. Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics should be emphasised in the early teaching of reading to beginners (i.e. unskilled readers) when they start school.
Good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and grammar) and on knowledge of the world. Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils must be encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. Reading widely and often increases pupils’ vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure-house of wonder and joy for curious young minds.
It is essential that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.
(Department for Education, 2013)
Our Vision for Reading
At Sholing Junior School, our aim is for every child, regardless of their background, to develop the skills and knowledge required to become a confident, fluent reader who can access and appreciate a variety of texts. We nurture this journey with kindness, ensuring that every child feels supported and valued as they grow. The ability to read is essential for every child to access the curriculum and the wider world beyond their educational years, and we encourage curiosity so that reading becomes not just a skill, but a gateway to discovery. Emphasis is placed on the development of fluency within reading, to ensure the core skills are learned, embedded, and celebrated as milestones of success. Vocabulary is a key thread throughout all reading lessons, providing opportunities to enrich children’s understanding of language and helping them to make sense of the world around them with empathy and confidence.
Purposeful experiences of reading comprehension skills through the use of high-quality texts allow our children to immerse themselves in language, explore with curiosity, and show a deep understanding of what they have read. We engage with a wide range of fiction and non-fiction literature in many forms, encouraging children to ask questions, seek meaning, and discover new information.
Through rich literary experiences, children develop a love of reading, finding joy in listening to and reading stories for pleasure. They are taught and encouraged to reflect on their own preferences, to speak proudly about themselves as readers, and to recognise that kindness, curiosity, and success are all part of their reading journey.
Reading Domains
At Sholing Juniors, reading is both taught explicitly, and linked through all curriculum areas.
Children read in order to gain the knowledge required for specific curriculum focuses and to be entertained across a range of subject areas.
We explicitly teach the following skills during our reading lessons:
- Decoding
- Vocabulary
- Retrieval
- Summarising
- Inference
- Prediction
- Authorial Choice
- Comparing