1. Developing as a Reader through Lower Juniors
St. Aldhelm’s Church Primary School
Developing as a Reader through Lower Juniors
What we do in school
and
how you can help your child at home

2. Our School Aims for Reading
To teach children the necessary skills to enable them to become fluent and independent readers.
To develop and extend the skills of analysis, prediction and interpretation.
To enable children to respond to a range of texts and show an understanding of ideas, themes, events and characters.
To develop a love of reading.

3. Key aspects of Reading Word recognition: Comprehension:
decoding - phonics
sight reading of High Frequency words
Comprehension:
understanding and interpreting texts
engaging with and responding to texts
Enjoyment and Confidence

4. Simple view of Reading

5. How we teach reading in Y3 and Y4
For emergent readers, we encourage ‘phonics first’ approach
We do lots of shared reading of texts within English time, using Reading Detectives and/or Reading Response activities
Daily opportunities for independent reading within lessons and within reading time
Timetabled 1:1 reading with teacher, teaching assistant or adult volunteer reader (this is less frequent than guided reading)
Children progress from reading ‘colour book-banded’ scheme books to choosing from extensive stock (guided, independent choice)
Hearing books read aloud on a regular basis – class ‘readers’
Focused reading tasks (other curriculum areas)
Reading targets – helping children to know their next step

6. Guided reading
This is the main way in which teachers work with children at KS2 to develop the children’s reading comprehension skills.
Children are grouped by ability to enable focused teaching at an appropriate level for the child.

7. Texts used
We use a range of short stories, poems and non-fiction texts: our focus is on comprehension, use of vocabulary and knowledge of text structure. Although many children like to pick the thickest book off the shelf, within guided reading we find short chapter stories are much more effective for ‘digging deeper’.

8. To progress as readers AND writers, children in Y3 and Y4 need to be able to:
- read significant ‘chunks’ of text with good fluency, so they can ‘hold’ the key information in their heads (accuracy, pace and stamina)
- dig deeper to understand how characters are feeling and why (infer/deduce)
- expand their knowledge and understanding of more adventurous vocabulary (language acquisition)
- know how and why texts are structured and presented the way they are (esp. non-fiction) (knowledge of different text types)

9. Reading for Meaning
In Year Three, for most children, we focus on four out of the seven assessed aspects of reading:
Read It! (AF1) Use a range of strategies including accurate decoding of text, to read for meaning
Find It! (AF2) Understand, describe, select or retrieve information, events or ideas from texts
Think about it! (AF3) Deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts
Look at it! (AF4) Identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts, including grammatical and presentational features

10. Reading for Meaning
In Year Four, we make sure we are confident and secure with AF2, 3 and 4, and also do lots of work on:
Listen to It! (AF5) Explain and comment on writers' use of language
Respond to It! (AF6) Explain an author’s purpose and find evidence in the text of an author’s viewpoint
More advanced readers in Year Three will also touch on aspects of AF5 as part of their guided reading.
For less secure ‘decoders’, their main focus is Read It! And Find It! (AF1 and AF2) but with work on other relevant AFs, too.

11. On the next page, you will find an overview of the progression of children’s reading skills, within each of the assessed reading strands. The text is quite small, but you should be able to read it.

12. (average child end of Y2)
Assessment
Focus
AF1 – use a range of strategies, including decoding of text to read for meaning
AF2 – understand, describe, select or retrieve information or ideas from texts and use quotations
AF3 – deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from text.
AF4 – Identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts including grammatical and presentational features at text level
AF5 – explain and comment on writers’ use of language, including grammatical and literary features at word and sentence level
AF6 – Identify and comment on writers’ purpose and viewpoints, and the overall effect of the text on the reader
AF7- relate texts to their social, cultural and historical traditions
MIDDLE
LEVEL 2
(average child end of Y2)
I use phonics, my memory and the meaning of what I am reading to work out new words.
I can use index pages, glossaries and chapter headings to find information and answer questions.
I can ask and answer ‘why’ questions about what I have read and give reasons for my answer.
I notice the punctuation and fonts in texts e.g. italics, exclamation marks, bullet points.
I can notice new or interesting or powerful words and say why I think they are good.
I can find words and sentences that give a strong feeling e.g. scary, magical, funny.
I make links between things I read and notice if something reminds me of another book.
LEVEL 3
(higher attainer end of Y3; average child end of Y4)
I can use different skills to help me read and understand new words (e.g. phonics, syllables, meaning).
I can find the main facts from a text and put them in my own words.
I can make predictions about what might happen in a story by thinking about what has happened so far.
I can use technical words to explain how a text is organised e.g. heading, sub-heading, paragraph, introduction.
I can talk about how a writer has used some words or phrases to create a particular effect.
I can explain an author’s purpose in writing something and say how it makes me think or feel.
I can notice a range of similarities and differences between books on the same topic or by the same author.
LEVEL 4
(higher attainer end of Y4; average child end of Y6)
Not applicable
I can find the most relevant facts from across a chapter or section to answer a question.
I can justify my opinion about a character or event by finding more than one piece of evidence in the text.
I can describe the organisation and presentation of a text and say how it helps the reader.
I can talk about a writer’s use of language e.g. similes and metaphor .
I can explain an author’s viewpoint by finding examples across a chapter or section.
I can compare several versions of the same text/information e.g. news reports from different papers.
LEVEL 5
(higher attainer, y6)
I can identify the main points in a longer text and locate these by scanning.
I can find examples of subtle or inferred meaning and recognise the theme of a book.
I can describe the organisation and presentation of a range of genres and say how it helps the reader.
I can explain how writers create a range of effects e.g. tension, chaos, mystery, humour.
I can identify an author’s purpose and viewpoint and give several clear examples of how this is conveyed.
I can compare and contrast versions of the same text from differing sources e.g. creation myths from different cultures.
Easy-speak assessment focus
DECODING
(Read it!)
LITERAL MEANING
(Find it!)
INFERRED MEANING
(Think about it!
TEXT ORGANISATION (Look at it!)
LANGUAGE EFFECTS
(Listen to it!)
OVERALL EFFECT (Respond to it!)
LINKS AND CONNECTIONS
(Connect it!)
Key Question
How can we work out this word?
Who? What? When? Where?
Why do you think..?
How is this text organised?
Why is this word/phrase effective?
How does it make you think/feel?
What does it remind you of?

13. Ten ways you can help your child to be a great reader
So how can you help?
Ten ways you can help your child to be a great reader

14. 1 Encourage your child to enjoy reading
eg. joke books, comics, magazines, picture books, books related to their latest interest/hobby, favourite authors

15. 2 Listen to your child read …REGULARLY
Establish a daily ‘read to me’ routine:
This can be your child sat at the breakfast bar reading aloud, whilst you make tea. Or even them sat on the toilet reading aloud, whilst you listen on the stairs!
Regular reading aloud to an adult helps children build stamina and to work on expressive reading. It also allows them to ask about the meaning of unknown words and to discuss the ideas/themes they encounter.
We are asking children to make sure that an adult at home listens to them AT LEAST three times per week.
Please see our Reading Miles booklets for Y3 and Y4.

16. 3 Talk to your child about their reading
Ask them questions, to get them
making predictions of what will happen and why
spotting how someone is feeling
talking about: characters, places and events; themes; author style; genre; their likes & dislikes.
Discuss the meaning of unknown words: this is hugely important as studies have shown that VOCABULARY development is CORE to improving your child’s comprehension of more advanced texts.

17. 3 cont’d TALK to your child Use your child’s reading target to support their reading development at home. Sticker example (L4)

18. 3 cont’d TALK to your child Use your child’s reading target to support their reading development at home. BOOKMARK example (L3)

19. 4 Help your child to take pride in their Reading Journal
Encourage your child to be a ‘reflective reader’:
Each time they read, they should write a short comment (one or two sentences) about what they have read. These comments should be more reflective in Y4.
Make sure your child completes:
a Reading Detective and/or
a Fiction / Non-Fiction Reading Response activity at least once a week. (next 3 slides have examples) 3) When they have completed a book, encourage your child to write a book review.

20. Reading Detectives – examples (more information later in slide show)

21. Reading Response Activities – examples Your child has a copy of the relevant level of these activities glued into their reading journal, so that they can choose an appropriate task independently. Year Three will use these later in the year, after becoming familiar with Reading Detectives.

22. Reading Response: Non-fiction example

23. 5 Make sure your child does their reading homework: PLEASE!
It is part of your child’s responsibility as a reader to prove what they can do independently.
It also forms part of our ‘evidence base’ for assessing your child’s reading level.
It is grim for all concerned if children don’t bother, or do their work shoddily.

24. 6 Read to your child regularly – bedtime story
Children LOVE it!
and there are HUGE benefits…
You can read ‘higher level’ books to them…
You can bring stories alive with voices…
You can explore some of the big themes which affect your child’s life (friendship, loyalty, family, worries, passions…)

25. Make sure your child sees you reading – then they will value it.
7 Vary the voice!
Story tapes/story CDs
Dad/Mum/Grandma/Older siblings
Make sure your child sees you reading – then they will value it.
This is especially true for boys.
Visit bookshops and libraries
10 Reading Rewards – money ONLY to spend on books, magazines or comics

26. Curl up with a good book…or magazine… or newspaper
Book Club: every Thursday lunchtime
Comics/Magazines: First News
Our School website – Classes page – for further advice and links to book websites

27. Ten ways your child can help himself/herself become a great reader
Practise reading every day

28. Home-school reading partnership: using Reading Detectives and Reading Response Activities
Designed to develop children’s comprehension and to improve their depth of response to reading
Used within whole class, group and individual reading sessions
These form a main part of your child’s reading homework

29. Reading Detectives Illustrator Word Finder Question Finder
Feelings Finder
Link-maker
Summariser
Actor
Mind-mapper
Director
Passage Seeker
Style Seeker
Opinion Spotter

30. Illustrator Word Finder:
AF 1 and AF2
Draw what you read about – a picture, cartoon or diagram.
Label with phrases from the text to show why you have drawn what you have drawn.
Word Finder:
AF1, AF2, AF4, AF5 AF
Look for words that are interesting or confusing or new. Write them down and, where necessary, look up their meaning in a dictionary. Use them in a sentence.

31. Question Finder
AF1 – 3 , AF7
Make up questions about what you have read. Where, what when, who, how, why etc… for someone else to answer.
Put the page number next to the question. Also, write the answers (turn page upside down!) so that the person can check if they have the same as you!
Actor
AF1, AF3 AH
Prepare and present a passage, reading fluently and expressively and responding to punctuation.

32. Feelings Finder Link Maker
Find the parts that tell you about feelings – happy, sad, exciting, scary etc…
AF3 , AF6, AF7
Link Maker AH
Does the passage or story remind you of something else – a book, film, TV programme, a person or something that’s happened to you?
AF3, AF7

33. Director
AF3 , AF6, AF7
Direct a group to create a still picture of an important moment. OR
Write directions for how an important moment could be acted/filmed. AF
Summariser
Tell the group what the whole story or passage is about. Or write a paragraph about the key points.
AF2, AF4, AF6

34. Mindmapper Passage Seeker
Draw a mind map of the most important events / information in the passage or story.
AF2 AF4
Passage Seeker
Find the most interesting passage or section and explain why. AH
AF5 AF6

35. Style Seeker Opinion Spotter
Look for language pattern, rhythms and tones used by the author.
AF5
Opinion Spotter
Uncover attitudes and opinions of the author. Which phrases show you what the author thinks? AF
AF 6

36. And finally…
We are always keen to recruit parents and grandparents as Volunteer Adult Readers to listen to children read on a 1:1 basis in school. An ideal time is the a.m. slot we use every day across the whole school for reading, just after the morning ‘drop off to school’.
If you are interested, please get in contact with Mrs Kaunhoven.