St. Finian's Catholic Primary School

In Key Stage 1 and 2, our formal teaching of reading focuses on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab. Our long term plan sets out how we ensure full coverage in each year group of the range of text types that children should listen to and read.

Reading for Fluency

Research shows that reading aloud accurately and at a reasonable pace are important aspects of the reading process. If a child can do this, then ‘cognitive space’ is freed up to allow them to concentrate on taking meaning from the text. ​Fluent reading supports comprehension because children's cognitive resources are freed from focusing on word recognition and can be redirected towards comprehending the text.

Fluent reading involves the ability to read accurately, at an appropriate pace (speed), with expression and an understanding of how to ‘read’ punctuation. These four skills are explicitely modelled and demonstrated by teachers and our teaching of reading fluency follows the 'I do' / 'We do' / 'You do' model, moving from explicit modelling, to collaboration between the teacher and children, to opportunities for children to practise the modelled skills in paired reading with peers. 

The structure of a fluency lesson is as follows: 

Modelled Read (I do)- the teacher reads the text aloud to the children, explicitely modelling the four aspects of fluency in reading (accuracy, pace, expression and punctuation). The text is read 2 - 4 times during this modelled read.

Survey the Text - the teacher points out the clues (using the interactive whiteboard) in the text which tell the reader how to read the text. Our Progression in Fluency document sets out the specific aspects that teachers focus on across year groups. 

Echo / Choral Read (We do) - the teacher reads the text with the children. During an echo read, the teacher reads a sentence or more adn the children repeat the same sentence/s back to the teacher, aiming to replicate the teacher's model. During a choral read, the teacher and all children read the text at the same time. Children are encouraged to read fluently by listening to those reading around them and adapting their reading to match the fluent readers. The teacher will provide feedback at this stage. 

Paired Reading (You do) - the children apply the strategies of choral and echo reading in pairs as directed by the teacher, allowing time for independent paired practise of reading fluency. The teacher will circulate and provide feedback to children during this stage of the lesson.

All classes use the following visuals to support the teaching of reading fluency:

Children are given repeated opportunities throughout the week to reread the same text thus developing their fluency in reading. 

Our year group reading timetables set out the amount of time spent on the explicit teaching of reading fluency from Years 2 - 6. Our Progression in Fluency document sets out the fluency foci across year groups. 

Additional strategies that are used by teachers to develop children's reading fluency include reading aloud to children on a daily basis and engaging in assisted reading: children read a text whilst listening to a fluent reader reading the same text aloud. 

Reading for Meaning

During reading lessons, we look closely at a range of text types, fousing in particular on vocabulary and word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and language choices; the effect of punctuation within a text and the overall impact and/or meaning of a text. As children move higher up the school, we begin to make comparisons across different texts in relation to the above. As part of this formal teaching of reading for meaning, teachers use VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Sequencing/Summarising) to develop children's comprehension skills. Each of these relates to an aspect of reading for meaning and children are explicitely taught the skills that accompany each aspect.

As a school, our teaching is guided by key pedgogical principles and this is the same in our reading lessons. We understand the importance of high-quality discussions as a key tool for deepening children's understanding of meaning in texts. In addition to this, through the discussions that surround texts, children have a chance to experience the excitement, wonder and fascination that can come from reading, to feel what it is like to lose themselves in a story. Through wide and regular reading, children develop their vocabulary and strong background knowledge.

Curriculum Coverage

Our text types curriculum coverage document sets out the text types to be covered in each year group. Within this, children read, listen to and talk about contemporary and classic writing by a broad and diverse range of authors. Children will hear and be introduced to different texts beyond this as part of their 'reading diet' at St Finian's. Pupils engage in reading and listening to a mixture of extracts from texts, and whole books within our writing curriculum and as part of our Reading for Pleasure strategy.  

In addition to the above document, our Poetry Spine sets out the poems that children will encounter in each year group for a range of purposes: listening to poems for enjoyment, learning poems to perform aloud, poems to read and study in our formal reading lessons and poems to study as part of our writing curriculum. The poems children will hear and read are not limited to the Poetry Spine, as we also subscribe to weekly poems from 'Poetry by Heart', celebrate national events such as National Poetry Day in October and share poems that reflect times and events which are inspiring to the children. 

Reading for Pleasure

We recognise the importance of promoting reading for pleasure and the wider benefits this has for children both within the curriculum and for their personal development. Our reading culture at St Finian's values and supports reading for pleasure and this is seen as a collective responsiblity across the school. We use a range of strategies to promote reading for pleasure.

• Children are given daily opportunities to listen to an adult read aloud to them, for the purpose of sharing and enjoying a range of books together. Teachers select a mixture of whole novels, poems from anthologies and non-fiction texts. These texts are updated yearly to reflect new works and the interests of children within classes. 
• Through pupil questionnaires and research, we are increasing the range of text types that are on offer in the library and classroom reading corners. Children are encouraged to visit the school library regularly to seek out new and exciting texts and broaden their reading diets. 
• Our new Home Learning approach has a dedicated ‘Reading for Pleasure’ section with suggestions of different text types that parents abd children may enjoy exploring together. in addition to this, we send out a Reading Review Scrapbook to one child from each class each week in which they chose a favourite book to review and recommend to their peers. 

• We have Reading Ambassadors who are available every morning in the library on a rota basis to help organise the library; help other children select new books; and promote new authors or genres. Other responsibilities include:
  -paired reading with a partner year group of younger children.
  -reading recommendations both orally and in writing.
  -identifying reading preference trends in the school and researching similar authors and books to promote.
• We regularly sign up to live zoom author events through websites such as The Book Trust and Reading Zone to provide opportunities for our children to see and hear modern authors discussing their books and how they became writers. We also host in-person author visits, such as a recent visit from Simon Murray, the author of the Icky Do Dah series. 
• Children are given a weekly dedicated time in the timetable for 'Reading for Pleasure'. During this sessesion, children are engouraged to read with their friends, discuss books that they have read, listen to adults in the room read aloud and generally 'get lost' in a story or book of their choosing.

“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on oldenday sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.” Matilda by Roald Dahl.

Book Club

Teachers lead their classes in regular 'Book Club' sessions, during which both adults and children promote books and share book recommendations with the rest of their class. Time is scheduled for this in every year group's timetable. These sessions support our culture of promoting talk about books and reading. 

Performance - Poetry, Plays, Stories

In each year group, children learn a range of text types off by heart in line with National Curriculum objectives. These are mapped out in our Poetry Spine and long and medium term plans for Years 2 - 6. These texts are also shared with parents as part of our half termly home learning. In EYFS and Year 1, the children learn a wide range of nursery rhymes, songs and poems off by heart. There are benefits to learning and performing poems, plays and stories for both reading for pleasure and reading attainment. 

"Once you have learned a poem, it doesn't just live in your head, it lives in your heart forever and keeps giving new gifts back to you. It can mean one thing to you when you are seven, and something quite different when you are seventeen or seventy. It's like having a superpower that will stay with you for the rest of your life." - Imtiaz Dharker

Further information on the benefits of learning poems by heart can be found here.

Our reading curriculum is designed to foster a love of reading and to develop confident, fluent readers. Through a carefully structured approach, children make rapid progress in their reading skills, building strong foundations for academic success. By engaging with a wide range of texts, children not only improve their decoding and comprehension abilities but also develop critical thinking and empathy. As a result, children leave our school with the skills and confidence to read independently, enjoying books and using reading as a tool for lifelong learning.

Through our wide ranging curriculum, 

• children will develop a deep love of literature across a range of genres, cultures and styles. 
• children will have a good knowledge of a range of authors.
• access to knowledge and information will be unlocked from which they can make their own judgements about the wider world.
• children will develop personally and socially as they develop empathy for characters and situations they read about, enabling them to make links within their own lives and the lives of others. 
• with the transition to secodanry school in mind, our children will finish year six confident and fluent readers with a passion for reading for pleasure and reading to further their own knowledge ready to progress onto secondary school.
• parents and carers will have a good understanding of how they can support children with their reading.

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning

What does Reading look like at St Finian’s?

We use a variety of approaches and strategies including:

·      Hearing children read individually

·      Teaching reading through phonics

·      Whole class reading lessons to teach and practise specific reading skills 

·      Exploring class texts and story books through Foundation curriculum lessons 

·      Listening to class stories/poems for enjoyment

·      Talking about and celebrating words and books every week in our Mission assembly

·      Setting reading challenges linked to the curriculum in Key Stage 2

·      Paired reading sessions

·      Buddy reading sessions

·      Book week celebrations

At St Finian’s we have developed a reading spine for our school (see attachments below).  This provides a set of core texts for every year group that will be used to teach reading and ensures clear progression in difficulty of texts and themes as well as exposure to a variety of genres and authors. Teachers may choose to supplement these core texts with other high quality texts that will appeal to, inspire and challenge the children. In addition, we have developed a clear progression of reading skills that links to the National curriculum and comprehension skills. (See Appendix 2). This ensures that all teachers have a clear understanding of the expectations for their year group, as well as enabling them to support and challenge children in their class.   

In EYFS, there is a strong emphasis on enjoyment of books and exploring language alongside the formal teaching of phonics through the Letters and Sounds scheme. As the year progresses, the children engage in daily ‘reading lessons’ where they read a book together and discuss it, sometimes recording their discussions in a floor book. This is then developed further in Year 1, with children becoming increasingly familiar with ‘book talk’.

As children move through the school, they are taught reading more formally and rigorously in discrete daily reading lessons. These lessons afford teachers the opportunity to model reading and to develop fluency and comprehension skills in our children.  These lessons will always involve reading which may be teacher-led, pupil-led, choral or individual.  We look closely at texts – in particular we examine word meaning in context; grammatical arrangement of sentences; writers viewpoints and reasons for choice of language; the effect of punctuation within a text; the overall impact and/or meaning of a text.   

Teachers use the ‘Vipers’ acronym to help develop these specific comprehension skills - V I P E R S. Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Sequence or Summarise. 

Every reading lesson from Year 2 upwards begins with vocabulary, as we recognise how crucial understanding new or unfamiliar language is to aiding comprehension.  This might be introducing new vocabulary linked to the text we will read, or it might be revision of words that have already been introduced.  The lesson will then move on to reading of a text and either discussion of a text or a focus on specific reading skills.  Over the course of a week, there may be a mixture of verbal and written tasks. Children will revisit the same text, or specific parts of the text during the course of a week. This helps develop fluency and confidence.  The text used will be one from the school reading spine, poetry spine or a non-fiction text which could be linked to another area of learning or may link with a theme in the class novel or poems 

At St Finian's, we believe that reading unlocks a world that is fundamental to the progress and well-being of every child.  Our intention is to provide a culture around reading which encourages and supports all children to

• develop a love of books and reading across all curriculum subjects
• consider themselves 'readers'
• use literature to formulate their own ideas and opinions and learrn to express themselves confidently
• develop socially, emotionally, culturally and spiritually through their reading

Reading is a powerful tool for teaching empathy and allowing children to explore, learn about and immerse themselves in the lives and perspectives of other people and other cultures. This is crucial for preparing children to enter and contribute to a plural society as they grow up. 

We aim for all children to be able to read fluently and for meaning in order to be able to fully access the National Curriculum across all subjects during their time at primary school and beyond. We are passionate about the importance of this in enabling children to reach their full potential and allowing them to contribute to and suceed in the wider world as adults. 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Our formal teaching of reading focus on two key aspects: reading for fluency and reading for meaning. For information on phonics, please refer to English: Phonics under the Curriculum tab.

Reading for Fluency

Reading for Meaning