Beginner readers are taught:
Grapheme – phoneme correspondences in clear stages (linking spellings and sounds).
The important skill of blending (synthesising) phonemes.
Segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to aid reading and spelling.
At the end of Year 1, there is a statutory assessment (Year 1 phonics screening check), which takes place in June each year. Parents are informed of the outcomes of this check.
Whole Class Reading
All children have the opportunity to take part in a shared reading experience in their class guided by an adult. We use a range of text types from a selection of reading schemes, as well as ‘real ‘ texts such as news articles to ensure that children experience a broad range of texts and subjects. One of the main emphasis is the teaching of vocabulary and also the teaching of specific skills in relation to reading.
Whole class reading takes place on a daily basis, in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. In the Early Years Foundation Stage guided reading starts when the teacher feels the children have reached the appropriate level of maturity and skill.
Shared Reading
This takes place during a literacy session and as such is planned within the literacy plans. This includes big books or texts displayed on the Interactive White Board. During this time, specific reading skills or features of a differing genre will be taught. This is an opportunity to discuss the use of language, widen the children’s vocabulary and focus on higher order reading skills.
Individual Reading
Children have regular experiences of reading throughout the school day and through a range of subjects. They may be researching information on the internet or using nonâfiction books in History or RE, or finding out about processes in science. Opportunities for individual, paired and group reading take place throughout the curriculum. All children have at least one Home Reading Book from the schools graded reading scheme and a School or Class Library. The school uses a colour banding scheme which links to the ‘guided reading book bands.’ By using this banding, we are able to place books from a wide range of published reading schemes into our graduated and progressive scheme which allows for the progression of skills and difficulty of texts.
