Reading

Aims of the meeting To inform you about how we teach reading in school To discuss how you can support your child at home and to reassure Opportunity to look at the resources

Reading in school Reading is happening all of the time in the classroom and in school. It is taught specifically but children are also practising and using their ‘reading’ constantly. Signs, information books, sharing books, labels, games, charts, computers etc all teach reading skills

As a school we firmly believe in learning to read in order to read to learn. Reading is our number one priority. Aim to ensure that every child can decode by the age of six. If a child can read then it opens up all types of opportunities for them and the quicker we can do that the better it is for the child.

Phonics As a school we use Read, Write, Inc. Read Write Inc is a inclusive literacy programme. It concentrates on word recognition processes (synthetic phonics) but also recognises the importance of language comprehension. Scheme that is proven to work. It’s fun, interactive and has superb resources.

How we use read, write inc. In nursery we start by ensuring the children are tuned into sounds. They develop essential speaking and listening skills Develop vocabulary. Constantly share books. We have a selection of key books that we have chosen.

Reception In Reception they will start the Read, Write Inc, programme. The programme runs alongside normal everyday practice. At the beginning of the year the children have a short focus session with additional input in small groups.

As the children move through the programme, they will eventually be working on Read, Write Inc for 1 hour everyday. They will move to their Read, Write, Inc group after worship. The lesson consists of reading and writing activities and is very lively and interactive. Mrs Mudge will now demonstrate!

Understanding Phonics Read, write inc is part of the Oxford group. phonic sounds http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ Top ten tips for phonics https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/reading-owl/expert-help/phonics-made-easy/

Top ten tips for phonics 1. Saying sounds correctly 2. Linking sounds to letters 3. Two letters one sound 4. Practise, practise, practise 5. Putting sounds together to make simple words 6. Tricky words 7.Reading books 8. Using pictures 9. Writing letters 10. Read to your child

English alphabetic code 44 sounds Over 150+ graphemes One of the most complex alphabetic codes in the world. In English we have more than 150 ways to represent 44 sounds, using the 26 letters in the alphabet. This means we have to group letters together to write some sounds. Show with a grapheme such as ‘igh’. This makes our language one of the most complex in the world!

Speed Sounds chart We use this Speed Sounds chart in Phonics lessons. It shows the most common graphemes for each sound. Each box is a sound box showing different ways to read and write the sound. Demo the ‘f’ sound box with examples of words ‘fun’, ‘huff’, ‘photo’ and the ‘or’ sound box with examples of words ‘or’, ‘door’, ‘more’, ‘dawn’, ‘author’.

Blending using Fred Talk p sat mat d i t sad n Once the children know the pure sounds, we teach them to blend sounds to read words. We also teach children to spell the words they learn to read. We use Fred Talk to help children read and spell words.

Storybooks Alongside learning each set of sounds, they read Storybooks that only contain the sounds and words they can read. This sets them up to succeed in their reading. We discuss and write about the ideas in these Storybooks. We also teach children to read common exception words – words like ‘said’ and ‘they’.

Reading with a partner Work with a partner. One person points to the text while the other reads. Swap over after each page. Have a go at blending to read more difficult words.

How does Read Write Inc. teach spelling? Read question.

Fred Fingers We use Fred Fingers to help children sound out words to spell easily. It means they do not have to memorise lists of spelling words. It is a tool so they will be able to spell any word. Demonstrate how to use Fred Fingers.

Home readers The children bring home the sounds for you to practise at home. Reading pack that must be brought to school daily. They don’t bring home the RWI books until we feel ready Other books can be selected from the classroom

Handwriting In school we use a cursive script. This helps all children to form the letters correctly including those children who are struggling. Important to encourage the correct pencil grip.

Essentials Have fun. The process of reading must be enjoyable. Talk, tell stories Listen to stories, read favourites over and over again. In school we do this all of the time as it is vital in the child’s developing understanding of language. Boys in particular benefit from seeing others males reading.

Play games – I spy Sing songs, Act out stories Go to the library Share fiction and non fiction Share your reading experiences with us by writing in the yellow reading records.

Talking Talk to your child as much as possible and ‘feed’ them new and ambitious vocabulary. “Let’s eat our lunch now.” “Let’s munch our lunch now.” “Let’s scoff our lunch now.” “Let’s devour our lunch now!” You’re looking ... not just... but... Click through and read examples to parents. Use ambitious vocabulary with your children and encourage them to use these words for themselves in both their speech and writing. Build interesting sentences with your child. A rich vocabulary is essential for high levels of comprehension. The more words your child has in his/her head when they come to school, the quicker they will understand when they read, e.g. “You’re looking pleased… not just pleased but delighted!” (thrilled/ecstatic/euphoric! Etc)

Vocabulary Enrich conversations through description: “Look at that rain. It looks like little diamonds sparkling on the window pane!” Have fun with words and language. “I’m as hot as a spud in a cooking pot!” Praise your child for using new words or interesting phrases Help grow your child’s vocabulary by enriching conversations through description. Click and read examples. Give other examples if you want to.

Finally please ask if you have any worries or concerns.

Reading feeds the imagination, it expands horizons and offers new and exciting ways of seeing and making sense of our lives and of the world around us. Michael Morpurgo