​​Everybody loves a good story. Even small children who have difficulty focusing in class will sit with rapt attention in the presence of a good storyteller. But stories are not just fun. There are important cognitive consequences of the story format. Our minds treat stories differently than other types of material. People find stories interesting, easy to understand, and easy to remember.

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Creating a love of reading in children is potentially one of the most powerful ways of improving academic standards. We want children to learn how to read AND we also want them to ENJOY reading.

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(From Early Reading Framework)The reading framework - teaching the foundations of literacy (publishing.service.gov.uk)

'The reading and writing of Standard English, alongside proficient language development, is the key to unlocking the rest of the academic curriculum. Pupils who struggle to read struggle in all subjects and the wonders of a knowledge-rich curriculum passes them by unread. Fluency of reading is also a key indicator for future success in further education, higher education and employment

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Children do not just ‘become’ readers and reading engagement is not possible if children struggle with the basic mechanics of reading. Fluency and enjoyment are the result of careful teaching and frequent practice. Ensuring children become fluent and engaged readers at the very earliest stages also helps avoid the vicious circle of reading difficulty and demotivation that makes later intervention more challenging.'

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Teaching children to read

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​Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language. Teaching children to blend the sounds of letters together helps them decode unfamiliar or unknown words by sounding them out.

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It is important for early readers to learn letter-sound relationships because English uses letters in the alphabet to represent sounds. Phonics teaches this information to help children learn how to read. Children learn the sounds that each letter makes, and how a change in the order of letters changes a word's meaning.

At Newbottle and Charlton we use Essential Letters and Sounds to teach phonics these happens daily in Year 1 and 2. Click here to find out more information.

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​​​​​​​​​In Year 2-6 we carry out formal whole class reading sessions focussing on comprehension following the Literacy Leaves scheme of work from Literacy Tree. We enhance reading comprehension with sequenced activities that guide children through whole books, creating critical readers. These use novels, poetry collections, and high-quality non-fiction books. See long term overview for key texts used. 

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We read regularly in class across the curriculum and have reading for pleasure books which we read aloud to children daily- including picture books, novels/chapter books, non-fiction books and poetry.

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Click below for key texts shared by teachers (these will be regularly updated as new quality fiction gets published):

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​READING AT HOME

 

There is nothing more important that you can do at home than support your child’s reading as this unlocks the whole curriculum for them. 

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Reading at home is also really important for a child’s development. This year all children will have reading records, written in by parents and staff and this is an effective source of communication between home and school and will help to support those children more that don’t have as many opportunities to read at home.

 

Parents and carers, you play a vital role in supporting your child in becoming a fluent reader who is confidently able to apply their reading skills across all areas of their lives. Research suggests that children who read regularly outside of school perform significantly better and so your support at home is essential in ensuring that your child makes the progress they are capable of.

 

You can help your child to achieve their full potential by listening to them read regularly, reading regular bedtime stories and by encouraging them to enjoy reading and sharing books together. Reading widely through all of these approaches will help develop your child’s vocabulary, which in turn will make them more confident when reading more challenging books .

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​Click here for more details on homework and how to develop reading ay home.​​​

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