Reading

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and at St Mary and St Joseph's our aim is not only to teach our pupils to become fluent and accurate readers, but to enthuse our children to have a life-long passion and love for reading.

In Key Stage 1 we use the Read, Write Inc scheme to teach reading. RWI is a method of learning based upon letter sounds and phonics, and we use it to support children in their reading and writing. Using RWI, the children learn to read effortlessly so they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read. It also allows them to spell effortlessly so they can put all their energy into composing what they write. The children are assessed regularly and grouped according to their ability. They will work with a RWI trained teacher or teaching assistant. In addition to the RWI, children will also be working on writing skills in their classes with their own teacher. 

Children will bring home two RWI home readers each week, one of which is familiar as it has been read in school, and a new book to consolidate learning. All of our home reading books are fully decodable and matched to the reading level of each individual child. For further information on the Read, Write Inc. scheme and advise on reading these books at home please visit the Phonics section on our curriculum webpage for further information.

We encourage our children to read at least three times per week at home and provide a home reading record to allow parents to comment on their child's reading. The children work towards achieving their Bronze, Silver and Gold bookworm badges when they have read 25, 50 or 75 books.

Reading in Key Stage 2

Each day, children read as part of a whole class session. This is called ‘Shared Reading’ and is taught through the Literacy Counts Ready Steady Read Together program. These lessons are built around beautiful texts which broaden the reading experience and deepen curriculum knowledge. Through these units of work teachers teach all aspects of word reading and comprehension through high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts. The Steps to Read program is -

• Is sequenced, coherent and progressive
• Uses language-rich texts for vocabulary teaching
• Includes all elements of comprehension, taught sequentially across an academic year
• Has a clear focus on the skills and strategies needed to be a proficient and confident reader
• Uses engaging texts to promote a life-long love of reading

Every week all pupils in Key Stage 2 take part in a guided reading session.  Pupils work in small groups studying texts specifically matched to their age and reading ability. Working with small groups enables the teacher to discuss texts in depth at a level which is appropriate to pupils.

Reading for Pleasure

A love of reading is promoted in the classrooms in a range of ways. We read and explore a range of high-quality texts which form the basis of our English lessons. Each year we celebrate World Book Day through various themed sessions to explore a range of authors and texts. In each class, teachers read a class novel to the children. Key Stage 2 pupils receive an annual book challenge to support them in reading a range of books from different genres and every class has a special book box of 50 great reads.

Accelerated Reader

In Key Stage 2 we use Accelerated Reader as our independent home reader program. 

AR is a computer program that helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child picks a book at his own level and reads it at his own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer. (Passing the quiz is an indication that your child understood what was read.) AR gives children, teachers, and parents feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher then uses to help your child set goals and direct ongoing reading practice. Children using AR choose their own books to read, rather than having one assigned to them. This makes reading a much more enjoyable experience as they can choose books that are interesting to them. Teachers help your child choose books at an appropriate readability level that are challenging without being frustrating, ensuring that your child can pass the quiz and experience success.

As with anything, performance improves with practice. Encourage your child to read at home. Create a culture of reading in your household by reading with your child, starting a home library, visiting your local library or bookstore on a regular basis, letting your child see you reading, and discussing books that each of you has read. When reading with your child, stop and ask questions to be sure your child is comprehending what is reading. Reading with your child, no matter what the child’s age, is an important part of developing a good reader, building a lifelong love of reading and learning, and creating a loving relationship between you and your child. Make learning a family affair!

We enjoy celebrating the success of our young readers. Our pupils use their Accelerated Reader profile to track their own reading progress and work towards achieving their personal targets. We celebrate our success in our weekly assemblies and on our Reader Leader Board.

Use the links below to view information for parents on the Accelerated Reader official website.

• Accelerated Reader Bookfinder - Parents Guide

• Parents Guide to Accelerated Reader

• Accelerated Reader - A guide for parents

We value pupil voice and believe that our children should drive forward change and be involved in decisions to continuously develop and improve our school. This half term all of the pupils in Key Stage Two answered a questionnaire to allow the school to find out if our investment in Accelerated Reader is continuing to have a positive impact upon pupils' reading habits. Use the links below to see the Year group results and how the pupils responses have helped us to improve reading at St Mary and St Joseph's. 

AR Pupil Voice Survey 

• Accelerated reading questionnaire - You said, we listened, we did
• Accelerated Reader Year 6 Pupil Voice
• Accelerated Reader Year 5 Pupil Voice
• Accelerated Reader Quiz Year 4 Pupil Voice
• Accelerated Reader Quiz Year 3 Pupils Voice

End of Year Expectations

Each year group in the school has a set of 'End of Year Expectations' in Reading.  It is hoped that children will achieve these expectations and even move on to achieve some of those included in the following year group.  Click on the links below to view the expectations for your child's year group.

End of Year Expectations

• Reception Class - Early Learning Goals
• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3
• Year 4
• Year 5
• Year 6

Useful websites

• The Magic Key Link to lots of activities linked to the Oxford Reading Tree books and characters.

• Spot the dog Official website of Spot the dog. Lots of interactive games related to this popular stiry character.

• Paddington Bear Meet the creator of the famous Paddington Bear stories. Play games, listen to stories and even e mail the bear himself!

• The World of Eric Carle Official Eric Carle website. Famous author of The Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider and much more! Listen to stories, learn about the author and get to know the characters.

• Roald Dahl Enter the official website of Roald Dahl.

• Lewis Carroll The Official website of Lewis Carroll famous author of Alice in Wonderland.

• Dr Suess Enter the world of Dr Seuss. Famous author of The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax and much more. Meet the author, research his books and learn about the characters.

• Petter Rabbit Link to the official Peter Rabbit website. Learn about the author, meet the characters and play the games.

• The World of David Walliams Games, activities and printables.

• Fairytales Links to a variety of activities based on popular Fairytales.

• Traditional tales Links to a range of resources for many Traditional tales. Including The Gingerbread man, Jack and the Beanstalk and many more!

• Traditional tales Use the back drops to create the story of Cinderella

• Oxford Owl Create a free log in to access hundreds of online books and lots of support for parents.