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English Reading (including Phonics)

At Bude Primary Infants reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We believe that learning to read is a fundamental skill that opens the doors to a whole world of possibilities, not least to a love of books. Each classroom has a reading area filled with books that are chosen to engage and excite young readers from EYFS to Year 2. We also have a new library which is a wonderful space to share books together.

The importance of reading at home and sharing stories

We also understand that reading at home (with and to your child) is crucial, not only for reading but for language development. In a study of our EYFS children last year, children who were reading 3 times a week or more were exceeding in their reading at school.

Taken from the Pearson website:

"Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures."

A recent study showed that children who never have stories read at home could potentially know over a million less words than children who have stories daily by the age of 5.

We will be relaunching our exciting Rocket Reader Scheme which celebrates reading at home by obtaining certificates and prizes from Miss Holt.

Storytimes are an important part of our school day. Staff love to share their enthusiasm of books by getting into character and having fun with our stories. In EYFS, children vote each day for a book they want to share as a class.

How do we teach reading/phonics?

At Bude Primary Infants we use Read, Write Inc phonics scheme daily to teach children the sounds that letters make. We learn to read these sounds and then blend through Fred talking e.g. c...a....t...... makes cat.

There is a great video here to watch that shows you all of the sounds that letter make, either singly or with special friends (e.g. sh, igh). There is also lots of information about phonics for parents in the link below.

Children are regularly assessed for their phonics knowledge and then re-grouped with children across their bubble who are developing at a similar level. This allows teaching to be fast paced and carefully matched to their needs.

Each day, children have a speed sound lesson which recaps the sounds they need to learn and introduces a new sound each day. Children then ready green words with these sounds in to practise what they have learned and red words which are not decodable (cannot be Fred talked like was which sounds like it should be woz). Red words just need to be learned through repetition and reading.

Children are then given the opportunity to practise writing words using their new sounds and also read a text, taking turns with a partner.

Children bring 2 reading books home. A copy of the book they are reading in class and another that links closely to their class book.
 
 
What happens once children have completed RWI?

When children are confident readers and have finished RWI we want them to enjoy reading and engage with a wide range of high quality texts. Children will read a wide range of whole books within their daily lessons that are carefully planned to promote pupils’ comprehension and understanding and most importantly their love of books. We start with high quality picture books and then move onto chapter books towards the end of Year 2 .  At the end of each book we also use programme called 'Cracking Comprehension' to assess children's comprehension skills formally.

We aim to promote reading for pleasure as this itself plays a major role within reading development. We are aware that promoting reading in this way can also provide our pupils with a creative outlet and an alternative to the digital distractions that can affect their personal wellbeing. 


 
 What difference does learning to read make?

Children will:
 
  • Have the fundamental skills needed to be able to read.
  • Be passionate about reading, developing positive attitudes and understanding what they have read.
  • Talk positively about books and recommend them.
  • Understand how to infer, retrieve, predict, summarise and explain.
  • Leave us with the necessary skills to access the reading and vocabulary demands of the Junior curriculum and for them to be successful communicators throughout their lives.  
Reading files
Each child will have their own reading file. This is full of information on how we teach reading at school and how you can support your child at home. You can find each part of the reading file in the files below.

Bude Primary Academy - Infants
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