Reading

Learning to read is the most important thing your child will learn at our school. Everything else depends on it, so we put as much energy as we possibly can into making sure that every single child learns to read as quickly as possible.

We want your child to love reading – and to want to read for themselves. This is why we put our efforts into making sure they develop a love of books as well as simply learning to read. Here at Chopwell Primary School, we put READING at the heart of our curriculum.

Reading Intent
At Chopwell Primary School we intend to:
•Ensure our children have access to a high-quality English curriculum that is both challenging and enjoyable.
• Provide our children with a variety of high-quality reading materials & opportunities which will enable them to develop as lifelong readers with a love of reading.
• Enhance all children’s vocabulary and use of standard English both written and orally
• Ensure all children are confident and independent readers.
• Develop inquisitive readers who ask questions about the text . For example: Child response: “I think…, because…, In my option…, The writer…so that…, …led me to think that…”
• Equip all children with the reading skills needed to successfully research areas of personal interest.
• Support children and parents in taking reading into the home. For example: home readers, Phonics and reading workshops and stay and play events.

Reading Implementation

 Here at Chopwell Primary School we have a love of reading and a love of books: books are widely available in classrooms and corridors. Reading is encouraged during children’s free time in order to develop a lifelong love of reading from a young age. Pupils enjoy daily independent reading sessions, whole-class guided reading lessons, as well as a daily time to listen to a class novel. Children are immersed in a range of stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction.

Children particularly enjoy their class novel with their teacher. 

"I love it when the teacher does the different voices, especially when they did Florida's voice in Cosmic." Taylor Year 6.

" I like it because sometimes the teacher does really loud voices. One time, she was so loud, I nearly fell off my chair!" Mason Year 2.

As well as being carefully selected by class teachers to develop pupils’ reading skills such as vocabulary and language comprehension, chosen class texts are also used to inspire the lifelong love of reading. We know that our children learn best when knowledge is linked, so they are always offered and exposed to a range of fiction and non-fiction that complements their learning across the curriculum (for example, in history, geography, science and art) as well as challenging and engaging age-appropriate books on a range of topics and themes appropriate to their age and interest level.

We know that reading is a vital skill to help children grasp the future with excitement and confidence, and developing early fluency and expression through the rigorous teaching of phonics and early reading allows our children to quickly develop into confident and capable readers, making rapid and clear progress.

Across our entire curriculum, we embrace computing and the use of apps to compliment the teaching of reading and development of reading skills in school (for example, the use of Reading Plus, MyON and Accelerated Reader). We understand that active learning plays a key role in the development of skills across the curriculum and we strive to weave this into our teaching of reading wherever possible.

Reading Areas

We love to celebrate our DIFFERENCES here at Chopwell Primary School. In our reading area, we have a selection of books celebrating diversity: disabilities, families, women, neuro diversity and cultures from around the world. We also have a topic table where children have access to a range of non fiction and poetry books. Our "Feel Good Books" section has a focus children's mental health and managing feelings.

Reading Impact

Children at Chopwell Primary School love reading; they love talking about books; they love discovering new characters and worlds; and they love finding out new information. Reading underpins whole-school events such as STEM Week, the Lumiere festival and World Book Day. Through their participation in our engaging, creative and vocabulary-rich reading curriculum, Chopwell Primary School children are becoming a generation of confident, capable and enthusiastic readers.

The outcomes of our reading curriculum ensure children are well-prepared to succeed in the next stages of their education and as adults in the workforce of the future.

Children enjoyed reading about space on our topic table.

 Accelerated Reader

At Chopwell Primary, we have introduced the Accelerated Reader programme from Year 2 to 6 to monitor and manage independent reading practice. Research shows that Accelerated Reader enables teachers to target instruction and accelerate reading growth for students of all ability levels.

AR has the ability to:

• Personalise and guide independent reading practice.
• Develop lifelong readers and learners.
• Tap into unlimited access to all quizzes and enjoy online support.
• Increase school-to-home communications.

We believe that reading is all about practice. AR encourages differentiated reading practice to create strong readers. All classes allow at least 30 minutes each day for AR reading practice.

Each child is given a ZPD and asked to choose an appropriate book from their level. After reading each book, they can then take an online quiz to earn points towards their target. In their reading time, children have access to i pads which they can use to take their quizzes. 

This program is designed to motivate children to read and so far our children love it, often asking to take their quiz as soon as they walk into school. Children are rewarded in school for their progress with motivational stickers, extra break times and having their photograph added to our AR display in the entrance. Children also enjoy a "special treat" at the end of each term for achieving their targets. 

We encourage all parents to get involved with their child's reading. The link below opens the 'At Home' page where parents can log in and see their child's progress using the user name and password. (If you have lost your home connect password and user name, please ask your child's teacher for another one).

Each classroom has a well-stocked library of Accelerated Reader books which every child can access, making choosing a book easy. We also have a "special" books library where children can sign out a book of their choice. These "special" books consist of the latest Accelerated Reader titles as well as complete series. The children love signing out one of the "special" books. 

How much reading must my child do to make good progress?

Research shows that children should read for at least 20 minutes a day to make good progress.

What scores should my child be getting on their quizzes?

Children who score over 85% on their quizzes make the best progress.

How can I help my child reach 85%?

If you child is struggling to reach 85% correct, ask them questions about the book as they read it. If it's a shorter book they could read it twice to ensure they've read it thoroughly. Each quiz should be taken within 24 hours of reading to ensure it's fresh in the child's memory.