Reading and Phonics at Riverside
Reading at Riverside
“Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.” - William Faulkner
At the heart of our curriculum is reading.
In our youngest classes, phonics is taught daily in a fun, engaging and rigorous way, which gives the children an excellent start to their enjoyment of reading.
Throughout their time here, children are encouraged to read for pleasure – we want them to learn to appreciate a range of literature and gradually develop personal taste. They discuss books, recommend titles to each other and are encouraged to branch out and try new and exciting books, alongside their reading book which is set for them by the class teacher, which matches their current reading level. In addition, every class has a class story/novel, exposing the children to new authors and supporting them in comprehension, inference and prediction skills.
Written tasks are designed to complement the chosen literature, whilst ensuring a wide range of appropriate writing genre are taught and revisited during their time here, at Riverside. Emphasis is on teaching children how to write effectively, using presentational features and language appropriate to the audience. A fundamental aspect of writing is the editing process and throughout Riverside, children are taught that their ‘best’ writing is unlikely to be their first draft! Right from the start, children evaluate their own writing and comment on the work of others; they do this with increasing skill during their time here.
Spelling, handwriting and grammar are also viewed as key elements of the English curriculum and children are taught to take pride in their work and its presentation in every year group.
Supporting your child with reading
Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home.
There are two types of reading book that your child may bring home:
A reading practice book. This will be at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently.
A sharing book. Your child will not be able to read this on their own. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together.
Reading practice book
This book has been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading.
Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise – celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.
Sharing book
In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The sharing book is a book they have chosen for you to enjoy together.
Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!
Our Library
We have a wonderful new library that has opened up next to the school hall. The furniture and some of the new books were generously donated by the FOR, our fabulous PTA.
Year 6 are responsible for maintaining the library through our monitor timetable. Each class has one lunchtime per week to choose a new library book.
As the children move through school we encourage them to work their way through '100 books to read before you leave school' list.
We also hold book fairs termly when children are able to buy new books and some of the profit from this is given back to the school to be used to fund more books for the library.
Phonics
At Riverside we use Little Wandle Phonics (follow this link for more information)
‘There is extensive research on how children learn to read and how best to teach them. One of the most consistent findings from methodologically sound scientific research is that learning to decode words using phonics is an essential element of early reading instruction’
Hulme, C. & Snowling, M. J. (2013) ‘Learning to read: what we know and what we need to understand better’
The ability to read is within the reach of every child. The most direct route to reading for the vast majority of children is through systematically taught, ‘synthetic phonics’. At Riverside, we begin our phonics journey through reaching out to the wider community to share resources and ideas for children to gain a foundation of understanding upon entry, specifically phase 1. Our teaching and learning follows the Little Wandle Phonics Scheme, organised into 6 phases and enhanced for the expectation of the 2014 National Curriculum. It is crucial that this is taught through a systematic and interactive approach using the same processes and resources to ensure cohesion between the phases.
We ensure the teaching of phonics is pacy and offers opportunity to apply immediately to writing and reading. We firmly believe that children should all have the same exposure to all phonics teaching with a ‘keep up, not catch up’ approach. Where needed, daily and concise phonics intervention is used to plug gaps. To further embed our application of phonics, we use ‘Bug club’ reading books to ensure blending and segmenting is achievable through a combination of high quality phonics and daily opportunities for reading.
Here is an example of a child saying the first sounds we teach in Autumn Term 1 in Reception. More guidance is available via the Little Wandle website under the parents section:
Phonics support sheets for parents/carers:
Grapheme (sound) and tricky word sheets to view or download can be found below. They are broken down into school terms and year groups as well as SEND support:
