Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

“Children should be immersed in a recursive reading curriculum where they are able to explore, rehearse and revisit aspects of the key skills, developing and deepening their understanding each time.” Hampshire Services

Our aim at Cupernham Juniors: For our children to: Love reading! Have the skills to decode new words Be able to apply good comprehension skills in a variety of genres Have the ability to infer hidden meanings that enrich overall understanding

Why is it important? A fundamental life skill It helps to develop and exercise the mind Transferable skills to other aspects of life not just reading It develops the imagination Good readers are often good writers

Key skills: Decoding – the ability to decipher letters and sounds in order to blend words Comprehension – making meaning from text Retrieval – locating relevant information from a text Inference – reading between the lines

Rose Report 2008

How will this be achieved? Reading regularly (home and school) Listening to stories (home and school) Focused Guided Reading sessions 1:1 Reading with a teacher/LSA Small booster reading groups Literacy lessons using quality texts School Library service – independent choice

Supporting emerging readers Phonic groups for emerging readers Structured reading schemes Sound Start, Oxford Reading Tree, Ginn Paired reading intervention Lots of emphasis on confidence, fluency, expression and understanding, i.e. getting meaning from the words – which is what reading is all about. Little and Often

What might the setting be? Who might the characters be? What might the plot of the story be? What might the atmosphere be?

Guided Reading in the Lower School Class book Rotation of activities to work on the key skills Class Teacher lead task Comprehension task supported by LSA 2 x independent tasks about the text with an assessment focus or a SPAG task.

Guided Reading in the Upper School A class book Rotation of tasks Teacher lead activity Comprehension 2 x independent tasks (responding to reading) Using evidence from a text SATs 1 paper of 60minutes

What you can do… Lower School – read everyday with your child Upper School – hear your child read at least once a week but encourage them to read daily and tell you about what they have read Read to your child Story tapes Use the bookmark of key questions Take your child to the school & local library Promote a positive attitude towards reading

Useful websites/Apps Websites Authors websites e.g. Apps “Read me stories: learn to read” “Read unlimitedly! Kids ‘n’ books”

There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all. –Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis