Implementation
Reading Implementation
Greville Progression in Reading
Early Reading
Reading and phonics
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.
What is phonics?
Phonics is the method of teaching reading through the identification of sounds and graphemes. All words are made up of individual sounds and these sounds are blended together to form words. A grapheme is another name for the letters we use to write the sounds - the spelling of that sound on the page. The National Curriculum requires that all children are taught phonics systematically through a program, giving children to tools to read and write any word. At The Greville, the program we have chosen is Read Write Inc. This scheme has been validated by the Department for Education and follows current best practice on the teaching of phonics and reading and educational research about the way that children learn best.
Early reading
Under Read Write Inc, the children are taught a new sound each day. They practise using this sound to read both real and alien words, and to use it in their writing. They read books with this sound in, and revisit it frequently so that it is kept in their long term memory.
The children are assessed each half term, and then placed into groups depending on what they need to learn next. Thanks to our fantastic teaching assistants, we are able to cover a wide range of groups. Each reading teacher is highly trained to deliver the sessions, and Read Write Inc has a culture of constant training and practise so that the teaching standard remains high.
For more information about Read Write Inc, please visit: https://www.ruthmiskin.com/parents/
Reading at Home
Please see below for a copy of the presentation from our most recent parent workshop for YR and Y1 parents about early reading.
Love of Reading
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.
Stories are a key pillar of learning in Reception and Year 1. Children enjoy getting to know a carefully selected range of high quality stories at school. Some are limited to learning across the curriculum and others are shared for pure engagement, allowing even the youngest children at The Greville to know the delights of being ‘lost’ in a book.
Accelerated Reader
From partway through Year 2, up to Year 6, children at The Greville transition onto Accelerated Reader when they are ready. Children who have reached the end of Read Write Inc Phonics, are assessed using the Star Reader, which carefully matches them to the appropriate Accelerated Reader level (their ZPD). Children are then free to choose their reading book from a range of books at their level. We have a fantastic library for children to choose their books from, as well as small year group libraries in Years 3 and 4. Children are able to take ‘quizzes’ on the book they have just read and are assessed at four points in the year to ensure they are reading the correct books. Daily, independent reading is a key part of Accelerated Reader and children have time daily to read independently in class.
A parents' guide to Accelerated Reader
Whole Class Reading
Our Greville Whole Class Reading Curriculum is carefully aligned with our writing curriculum, exposing children to a wide range of texts and genres. The whole class reading approach provides a fantastic opportunity to build reading skills and confidence within the classroom. It encourages whole-class discussion and allows students to share ideas, as well as learn from other students around them. Our whole class reading sessions include a range of activities, not all of which have to have a written outcome, that enable pupils to develop their vocabulary and comprehension skills. This approach means our children are regularly immersed in high-quality children's literature and are able to improve speaking and listening skills, as well as developing their comprehension skills. Our teachers are also able to give more time to modelling reading skills rather than just assessing ability.