Reading 

"If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” - Maya Angelou

Reading allows us to be travel between worlds! When we enter into the realms of a book, we can explore lives, worlds and cultures (both real and fictional) that are completely different to our own. Through our reading we broaden our vocabulary, gather new knowledge, empathise with emotions and acquire new skills. 

"Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.” - Roald Dahl

Reading after Read Write Inc

Once the children have graduated Read Write Inc, they are ready to delve deeper into reading. 

They will still need their phonics knowledge to help them decode new or unfamiliar words and all teachers will continue to show fidelity to our phonics scheme. 

For more information on our phonics visit : Phonics | The Blessed Edward Campion Federation (secure-primarysite.net)

Reading Ninjas

Once children have completed Read Write Inc, they will be assessed and assigned a ninja belt. The belt corresponds to a coloured book belt – these are based upon the Oxford Reading Levels.

Children are expected to read a series of training books matching their ninja belt before being assessed in a reading ninja trial to determine if they are ready to move on to the next belt. 

The ninjas trial assessment tests the child’s fluency but also, importantly, their comprehension. Once the child is able to demonstrate the skills needed to achieve that belt level, they will be moved on to the next belt.

Children will have access to a range of training books including fiction and non-fiction. Belted, training books are intended to support the children in developing their fluency and comprehension however we understand that is important that children also develop their love of reading and to explore topics of interest to themselves. Because of this, all children should also have a ‘rainbow read’. This is a non-belted book that your children can choose from the class books, library or books from home.

The children should read and discuss their belted ninja read regularly with an adult to ensure that they are demonstrating their fluency and having an opportunity to discuss the text to develop their comprehension. Each ninja belt book contains some ideas for discussions points and questions on the inside of the front or back cover as well as opportunities to develop specific vocabulary and revise taught graphemes. 

Once the children have achieved all of their BM badges, they will become a black belt reader. This means they know longer needed to select their ninja read from the belted books and can focus on reading challenging age-appropriate texts - each class has a range of these available in their rainbow reading area.

Reading at Home

All children should be reading at least five times a week at home.

As the children develop their ability to decode phonetically and read fluently, the comprehension of text increases in importance so discussion about the text is vital. Through this regular reading, the children develop their ability to decode phonetically, read fluently with stamina and develop their comprehension of the text.

As they get older, much of this reading may be done independently but we encourage pupils to read to an adult or other able reader at least three times a week to allow them the opportunity to discuss the content and vocabulary of what they are reading. 

In Key Stage Two, children can record their own reading in their reading journal but this must be signed by an adult at the end of the week in order to be entered into the raffle. More information about our reading raffle can be found further down this page. 

Reading Rewards 

Each week, children have the opportunity to enter into the reading raffle.  

Five signed reads will gain them a green card entrance to the raffle.

Five unsigned reads will gain them a green card.

Four reads will gain them two house points. 

Once a child has been in the raffle 10 times, they will get the opportunity to attend Cathedral Club with the Reading Grand Master. 

This is a great opportunity to share their favourite reads over a hot chocolate or squash and a sweet treat! 

Reading in the Curriculum 

In school, we build reading into every element of the curriculum and children are encouraged to reading both to support their learning and for pleasure. 

Guided Reading 

Once children have completed the RWI programme they progress to guided reading sessions to develop their comprehension skills.

Guided reading follows the following structure. Each has been linked to questions that you may wish to use when discussing your child's reading at home. 

Monday - Thinking Like A Reader

The teacher reads a text to the class whilst modelling decoding, visualising, summarising and predicting as well as reflecting on any new or exciting vocabulary. 

What do we think about the text so far? What your favourite part and why? What can I see when I read this part? How can I work out what this word means? 

Tuesday - Exploring Vocabulary

The children read a text and consider questions involving word meaning and author's vocabulary choices. 

Show me a word that means _______.

Why did the author use that word/phrase _____? 

What does that word or phrase tell us about _______?

Wednesday - Retrieval

The children read a text and answer questions that require them to find and identify information in the text. This also includes summarising the text. 

Tell me three things about...

What did _____ say or do when ______ ?

Where or when did ______ happen?

Can you tell me what happened in 10 words?

Thursday - Inference

The children read a text and answer questions that require them to form answers based on evidence from the text. This also includes making predictions.

Explain how _____ felt about _____

Why do you think ______ did/said that?

What do you think will happen next? Why?

Friday - Bible Club  

The children read and discuss the gospel using their vocab, retrieval and inference skills. 

What happened in this reading? 

What do you think it can teach us? 

Reading Support 

In school, children needing additional support in reading will take part in small-group guided reading where they can receive additional support and guidance whilst still being expose to high-quality age-related texts.

Some children may also be part of a reading intervention designed to rapidly improve fluency and comprehension whilst building confidence in reading or receive additional targeted phonics support. 

We also have adults dedicated to supporting targeted readers including those with English as an additional language and we have a regular rota of volunteer readers.