1. READING At Priorslee Primary Academy A Parents’ guide1

2. Making meaning from text
What is reading?
Making meaning from text
Decoding print 2

3. The Searchlight Model (Primary National Strategy 2003)
Text
Phonics (sounds and spelling)
Word recognition and graphic knowledge
Grammatical
knowledge
Knowledge
of context 3

4. The Rose Report Simple View of Reading 2006
The SVR was adopted by the Rose Report and forms a central part of the Primary National Strategy’s view of literacy learning (Rose, 2006; DfES, 2006). 4

5. What we do when we read 5

6. What do we do when we read?
Make predictions or give opinions, then decide if we are right
Think about why the writer has used certain features e.g. layout and words
Decide whether we think it is a good book or not
Work out the main characters and the main themes
Think of questions that we want to find out the answers to
What do we do when we read?
Compare the book to others that we have read
Try to understand what the author’s message is
Decide whether we agree with what characters do, or how our lives are the same or different to theirs 6

7. How Do We Teach Reading At School?
Early Years and Key Stage One
Daily session using Letters and Sounds with teachers, supported by TAs
Phonics
End of Year 1 – Year 6
Working in small groups, reading and discussing reading, once a week with a teacher. Other reading activities take place every day
Guided Reading
Individual Reading
Early Years and Year One
Reading to a member of staff; parent; volunteer.
Year Two – Year Six
Daily independent reading opportunities.
Shared Reading
All ages
One text on whiteboard or individual copies in lessons

8. Reading Early Learning Goals
Assessment of Reading
EYFS (Reception)
Reading Early Learning Goals
Children read and understand simple sentences.
They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read then aloud accurately.
They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read. 8

9. Assessment of Reading Assessment Foci
AF1 Use a range of strategies including accurate decoding of text, to read for meaning (until National Curriculum Level 3, then not assessed)
AF2 Understand, describe, select or retrieve information, events or ideas from texts and use quotation and reference to text
AF3 Deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts
AF4 Identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts, including grammatical and presentational features at text level
AF5 Explain and comment on writers' uses of language, including grammatical and literary features at word and sentence level
AF6 Identify and comment on writers' purposes and viewpoints and the overall effect of the text on the reader
AF7 Relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts and literary traditions 9

10. Individual Reading
Individual reading with an adult takes place in Early Years and Year One classes.
These children read once a week to an adult in school (a teacher, a teaching assistant or a volunteer helper.)
Children read books from the banded reading scheme.
When their teachers think they are ready, pupils move their way up through the book band stages as their fluency and their comprehension improves.
Reading books are changed twice a week in Key Stage One.
Key Stage Two children also have daily opportunities to read to themselves. 10

11. Guided Reading Sessions
Guided reading begins to take place later in Year One (when children are ready to read as part of a group.)
Children are put into groups according to their ability.
Each group reads with a teacher once a week.
During this session, children may read aloud, read to themselves and/or listen whilst the teacher reads sections of a text.
Each session will have a particular assessment focus.
With younger children, the focus may begin on decoding words and improving reading fluency. 11

12. Guided Reading Sessions
Once children are fluent readers, the teaching focus will be on comprehension skills.
Using assessment of each child’s needs, teachers will direct their questioning to improve understanding.
Children will be challenged to read beyond the literal, using inference and deduction skills.
On the days when the children are not reading with their teacher, they will be given individual reading opportunities and reading activities to extend their understanding. 12

13. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
Be a great role model:
Read stories to them (even Year 6 children love it!)
Let them catch you reading
Find some time in the week to read yourself
Let your children see that you get pleasure from reading
Share your favourite books /reading material with them
Show them the value of being able to read 13

14. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
Make the experience pleasurable
Find a comfortable place
Give plenty of time
Avoid interruptions - no TV and no siblings (unless purposeful choice).
Keep the time positive
Stay clear of ‘competition’ and comparisons with the ability of others- ‘readingschemeitis’! 14

15. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
Reading with younger children
Encourage your child to read EVERY DAY.
Look at the cover and talk about what it could be about.
Allow your child to ‘read’ the book by looking at the pictures first. Discuss what is happening.
For very young children, read the text to them first. (You may need to do this several times).
Encourage your child to read some sentences using picture cues to help them.
If they get ‘stuck’ on a word, encourage them to read on in the sentence to see if the meaning helps their decoding.
Encourage your child to segment (break up the word into sounds) and blend (put the sounds back together).
Ask your child what is happening and why.
Learn stories and rhymes off by heart.
Give them LOTS of praise!
Record their progress in their reading records each week. 15

16. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
Reading with older children
Encourage your child to read for at least minutes EVERY DAY.
Take an interest in their reading. Ask them what is happening in their book.
If they are fluent readers, encourage them to read independently.
Even if they are fluent readers, try to read WITH your child at least twice each week.
Read sections of the book to your child and encourage them to read to you too.
Discuss the text. (See ‘Suggested Questions’ section).
Give them LOTS of praise!
Record your child’s progress in their homework diary every week. 16

17. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
Provide a wide range of reading material
A school reading book is only one small part of
a child’s reading repertoire!
Fiction - picture books; short stories; chapter books; magazines; comics; annuals
Non fiction- brochures; catalogues; flyers; newspapers; guide-books; take-away menus; instructions
Visit the library
Go to a bookshop
Online texts and websites 17

18. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
Recommended Books:
See our website for lists of ‘Terrific Texts’ for every year group. 18

19. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS WHEN YOU READ WITH YOUR CHILD
AF2: UNDERSTAND, DESCRIBE, SELECT OR RETRIEVE INFORMATION, EVENTS OR IDEAS FROM TEXTS AND USE QUOTATION AND REFERENCE TO THE TEXT
Title
What is the title of this story?
Can you suggest an alternative title?
Can you predict what the text might be about from the title?
General
Which words tell you that…?
What do you think will happen next?
Where will you find the index? What job does an index do?
Find 3 facts which show that…
Which fact/s supports the idea that...?
What does this word mean?
Can you think of a similar word? 19

20. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS WHEN YOU READ WITH YOUR CHILD
Setting
Where did they go on holiday?
Which word is used to describe the…?
How has the author created…?
Plot
What is this story about? (Give lists of choices)
Can you describe in your own words, what has happened so far in the story?
Can you retell this episode from the viewpoint of another character?
Key ideas in a paragraph
Name two things that this paragraph tells you about…?
What is this passage describing?
Can you tell me the key points?
Can you find the part of the text which shows/tells us that..?
How is this page set out? 20

21. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS WHEN YOU READ WITH YOUR CHILD
AF 3: DEDUCE, INFER OR INTERPRET INFORMATION, EVENTS OR IDEAS FROM THE TEXT.
What sort of person is...? What makes you think that?
What is your opinion of this character?
How do you know (character) was feeling:
happy, sad, scared, excited?
Why do you think (character) did (state action)?
Why do you think… said ”…”?
Why does the author describe the main character in this way?
Can you put the following events in the order that they happen in the story?
Why do you think the author describes the setting as “…”? 21

22. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS WHEN YOU READ WITH YOUR CHILD
AF 4: IDENTIFY AND COMMENT ON THE STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION OF TEXTS, INCLUDING GRAMMATICAL AND PRESENTATIONAL FEATURES AT TEXT LEVEL
Can you explain what information you will find in a glossary?
Where will you find the contents in a non-fiction book?
What are the differences between fiction and non-fiction?
Why do you think that the writer/editor has set the page out like this?
Why do you think that the writer included a map at the beginning of the book?
What features on the page indicate that this is a ……..?
What information does this diagram tell you?
Why do you think the author chose to use arrows/lines in this diagram?
How are these two texts similar? How are they different? 22

23. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS WHEN YOU READ WITH YOUR CHILD
AF 5: EXPLAIN AND COMMENT ON WRITERS’ USE OF LANGUAGE, INCLUDING GRAMMATICAL AND LITERARY FEATURES AT WORD AND SENTENCE LEVEL
Which words rhyme in this poem?
Why do you think this is an effective way to describe…?
Which words tell you in which way the character spoke?
What does the sentence”...” tell you about the way the
character was speaking/feeling?
Which words or phrases create suspense in this piece of writing?
Why do you think the author chose to write the sentence in this way?
What is the effect of the ……….. here? 23

24. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS WHEN YOU READ WITH YOUR CHILD
AF 6: IDENTIFY AND COMMENT ON WRITERS’ PURPOSES AND VIEWPOINTS, AND THE OVERALL EFFECT OF THE TEXT ON THE READER.
Did you enjoy the story? Why?
What, in your opinion, was the most exciting part of the story?
How does that sentence / paragraph / chapter make you feel?
Why do you think the author used these similes?
Can you think of an alternative ending?
Does the story have a moral/message?
What can we learn about…from reading
this non-fiction report? 24

25. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
Recommended Websites: 25

26. What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
So, in summary:
Provide the texts
Discuss the texts
Provide the time
Provide the atmosphere
Provide the role model
Discuss what they are choosing to read
Discuss what they are reading
Ask questions about the text 26