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20 Mar
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27 Mar
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29 Mar
Introduction to how we teach reading at Air Balloon Hill Primary
In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 (for the first two terms), phonics is taught on a daily basis for at least 20 minutes every day. The sequence of lessons follows the progression of Unlocking Letters and Sounds.
In Reception children begin to learn the main sounds heard in the English Language and how they can be represented, as well as learning ‘Common Exception’ words for Phases 2, 3 and 4. They use these sounds to read and write simple words, captions and sentences.
Actions and images phase 2 and 3
In Year 1 children start from phase 4 consolidation then move on to learning alternative spellings and pronunciations for graphemes and additional Common Exception Words in Phases 5.
In Year 2, phase 5 is revisited to ensure children are secure in reading and spelling alternative sounds for graphemes. Any child who does not meet age related expectations will continue to receive support to close identified gaps.
For further details please see the Unlocking Letters and Sounds progression:
Unlocking Letters and Sounds Progression Overview
To ensure no child is left behind at any point in the progression, children are regularly assessed and supported to keep up through bespoke 1-1 interventions. These include GPC recognition and blending and segmenting interventions.
Reading Scheme:
At Air Balloon we promote a ‘phonics first’ approach in both our guided reading sessions at school and in the books children take home. The texts are very closely matched to a child’s current phonics knowledge so that every child can experience success in their reading. When reading decodable books children’s progress can be tracked through the phase levelled books they are reading.
These decodable books are ideal for a child to read independently to their adult at home. To further promote a love of reading, children also take a ‘Shared Reader Book’ home. This book is to be read by both adult and child.
Once children progress beyond decodable texts, they move onto our book scheme so that they can continue to develop their decoding, fluency and comprehension skills.
Supporting Reading at Home
We appreciate your continued support by reading at home with your child at least 3 x a week
When supporting your child, the aim is to make reading an enjoyable experience. Consistency is essential if progress is to be made. Try to:
Remember that reading is a complex skill. Decoding, fluency, retrieval, vocabulary and inference all contribute to deepening your child’s understanding of what they are reading. For more information about these skills please see below. Here are some ideas to further promote some of these skills whilst reading at home:
To practise your child’s fluency you could reread a book or section of a text. You could also model a section of the text with good expression and get your child to copy you.
To develop your child’s vocabulary you could bring their attention to repetitive and/or interesting letter and sound/ spelling patterns and discuss the meanings of words- discussing associated words and synonyms.
To explore inference when reading you could ask your child about what a character might be thinking or feeling or what is going to happen next in a story. Make sure to ask them to explain their answers using clues from the text.
Teaching Reading:
Reception – As well as the daily teaching of phonics, children have a weekly 1:1 and guided reading sessions with their teachers.
Year 1 – As well as the daily teaching of phonics, at the beginning of the academic year children have weekly guided reading session with their teachers. Towards the end of the academic year, Year 1 start Whole Class Reading lessons.
Year 2-6 – Whole Class Reading is taught daily for at least 30 minutes. Teachers provide the children with a variety of challenging text extracts from books and teach them how to appreciate and understand these texts by focusing on the following skills:
We are using different breeds of dogs as a simple metaphor to describe the different skills needed to really comprehend what children are reading. Ask your children about them!
Teachers constantly assess the needs of their class and where necessary teachers integrate phonics into these sessions to further support children’s next steps and make the texts accessible for all. If your child needs extra support they will also receive extra 1:1 reading sessions with their teacher.
Teachers also promote reading for pleasure by visiting the library every week, sharing class books using ‘The Reading Spine’ and allowing quiet, individual reading to take place.
Story Telling
At Air Balloon we have put story telling at the heart of our English curriculum. Therefore, each year group has a core of key books called ‘The Reading Spine’, which all the children will experience.
The ‘Reading Spine’ has been developed as not only do we want every child to be exposed to rich, challenging texts, we also want to provide children with the opportunity to explore a variety of complex issues through literature at the same time as representing all of our community in the books we read.
Miss Giles – Reading Leader
EYFS
Julian is a mermaid by Jessica Love
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
Barabara Throws a Wobbler by Nadia Shireen
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
Handra’s Surprise by Eileen Browne
Mr Grumpy’s Outing by John Burningham
Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins
Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore
The Smeds and the Smoos by Julia Donaldson
Mrs Armitage by Quentin Blake
The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas
Proud of my Family by Suzanne Lang
Whatever Next by Jill Murphy
On the Way Home by Jill Murphy
Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise
Shhh! by Sally Grindley
Year 3
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
Ruby’s Star by Maria Farer
Cat Tales: Ice Cat by Linda Newberry
The Sheep Pig by Dick King-Smith
A Dangerous Game by Malorie Blackman
The Abominables by Eva Ibbotson
Rumaysa a Fairytale- Radiya Hafiza
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
The Battle of Bubble and Squeak by Philippa Pearce
Hansel and Gretel by Anthony Browne
Year 6
Wonder- R J Palacio
Holes by Louis Sachar
Lightning Catcher- Clare Weze
Clockwork by Philip Pullman
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein
Skellig by David Almond
Fireweed by Jill Paton Walsh
River Boy by Tim Bowler
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
Year 1
It’s a book by Lane Smith
Peace at Last by Jill Murphy
Can’t you Sleep Little Bear? by Martin Waddell
The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Mixed by Aree Chung
The Elephant and the Bad Baby by Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs
Avocado Baby by John Burningham
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
Ruby’s Worry by Tom Perceival
Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
Beegu by Alexis Deacon
Billy the Beast by Nadia Shareen
Dogger by Shirley Hughes
Cops and Robbers by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Elmer by Davis McKee
All the Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell
Avocado Asks by Momo Abe
Year 4
Bill’s New Frock by Anne Fine
Charlotte’s Web by EB White
Evie and the Animals by Matt Haig
Why the Whales Came by Michael Morpurgo
The boy at the back of the class- Onjali
The Unforgotten coat- Frank Cottrell Boyce
The Firework-Maker’s Daughter by Phillip Pullman
The Snow Walker’s Son by Catherine Fisher
Perry Angel’s Suitcase by Glenda Millard
Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
Year 2
Traction Man is Here by Mini Grey
Tadpole’s Promise by Jeannie Willis
Look Up by Nathan Byron
Meerkat Mail by Emily Gravett
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Book? by Lauren Child
The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield
Dr Xargle’s Book of Earthlets by Tony Ross
The Worries by Jion Sheeban
Not Now Bernard by David McKee
Tuesday by David Wiesner
The Flower by John Light
Gorilla by Anthony Browne
Emily Brown and The Thing by Cressida Cowell
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson
Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
The Hodgeheg by Dick King-Smith
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
Year 5
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Allen
Varjak Paw by SF Said
A kind of Spark- Elle McNicoll
Jaz Santos Vs the World- Pricilla Mant
Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver
Street Child by Berlie Doherty
The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars
Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
FArTHER by Grahame Baker-Smith
When supporting your child, the aim is to make reading an enjoyable experience. Consistency is essential if progress is to be made. Try to:
Learning to read is like trying to crack a code. Children should be encouraged to look for different clues to help them understand what they are reading. Learning individual words is important but they are really aiming to work out the whole message.
When you hear your child read, let them hold the book. Encourage them to use the following strategies to solve words:
It is important not to confuse your child so concentrate on developing a few skills at a time.
REMEMBER to give lots of PRAISE, and be specific!!!
“Well done, you had a go on your own.”
“Good try, but did that make sense?”
“I like how you read that bit again to check it.”
“Well done for using your sounds”
More Tips
For more help and tips on supporting your child to read at home, we would recommend reading this article on the BBC website: BBC Bitesize – Top Tips to support reading