Fryent Primary School

Reading

Here at Fryent Primary School, we really value reading, we aim to develop readers who:

Have a love and enjoyment of reading
Value the power of reading
Have excellent decoding and comprehension skills
Are exposed to a variety of high-quality texts

Reading is taught every day in every year group across the school. We use a range of teaching and learning approaches to develop children’s ability to read. Children develop new skills through daily reading sessions which take place in the form of phonics and guided reading in Key Stage 1 and through a mix of Guided Reading and Reciprocal Reading in Key Stage 2. In addition children also benefit from daily opportunities to enjoy listening to adults reading aloud and from independent reading time which promotes a love of reading for pleasure.

Reading in Key Stage 1

In addition to using Phonics as our main approach to the teaching of early reading, we supplement this by using Daily Supported Reading (DSR) in Key Stage 1. This ensures children experience reading a wide range of high quality texts so that by the end of Year 1 they have enjoyed approximately 70 more stories. Please read on to find out more.

What is Daily Supported Reading (DSR)?

Daily Supported Reading (DSR) is a targeted reading program designed to help young children develop their reading skills in a structured and supportive environment. It ensures that every child receives daily practise in reading, tailored to their individual level, to build confidence and competence.

How Does DSR Work?

Small Group Sessions:

Children are grouped according to their reading levels. These small groups ensure that each child gets the appropriate level of support and challenge.

Daily Reading Practise:

Every day, children engage in a reading session where they practise reading aloud. This daily practise is key to building fluency and improving comprehension.

Trained Adults:

Each reading group is led by a trained adult, which could be a teacher, teaching assistant, or volunteer. They guide the children through the reading material, providing support and feedback.

Age-Appropriate Books:

The books used in DSR are carefully chosen to match the reading levels of the children. These books are engaging and age-appropriate, helping to maintain the children’s interest and motivation.

Focus on Skills:

DSR sessions focus on developing essential reading skills such as decoding (sounding out words), fluency (reading smoothly), and comprehension (understanding what is read).

Benefits of Daily Supported Reading:

Improved Reading Skills:

Regular, focused practise helps children develop stronger reading skills more quickly.

Individualised Support:

Small group settings mean that each child gets the attention and support they need to progress at their own pace.

Increased Confidence:

As children become more proficient readers, their confidence grows. This can lead to a greater love of reading and learning.

Consistent Progress Monitoring:

Regular assessment and feedback allow for continuous monitoring of each child’s progress, ensuring they are on the right track and getting the help they need when necessary.

How Can Parents/Carers Support Their Child’s learning?

Read Together:

Spend time reading with your child every day. This not only reinforces what they learn in school but also fosters a love of reading.

Practise at Home:

Encourage your child to practise reading and writing at home. Reading together and discussing stories can reinforce what they learn in school. Encourage your child to read aloud to you or other family members. Praise their efforts to build their confidence.

Use Provided Resources:

Take advantage of the resources and materials provided by the school, such as access to the Oxford Owl online E-Book Library, weekly sounds homework, and levelled decodable reading books.

Stay Involved:

Attend information meetings, live lesson demonstrations, parent-teacher meetings and stay informed about your child’s progress. Communicate with teachers about any concerns or questions you may have.

By working together, we can ensure that your child develops the essential literacy skills needed for lifelong learning and success. If you have any questions about ELS or DSR, please feel free to contact the school.

Reading in Key Stage 2

In Key Stage 2 reading is taught through a combination of approaches.

Reciprocal Reading

In reciprocal reading, the teacher facilitates the discussion of questions based on a book, chapter, video or photograph. This allows the children to develop a range of different comprehension skills using a range of different media.

The children are asked a range of literal retrieval questions as well as questions drawing on their own experience, values and opinions. This takes place in a mixed ability group of around 6 children. The focus for the reading is to provide practise and develop a personal response to text drawing on a range of comprehension skills.

Shared and Guided Reading

In shared reading the teacher models the reading process to the whole class as an expert reader providing a high level of support. Teaching objectives are pre-planned and sessions are characterised by explicit teaching of specific reading strategies, oral response and collaboration. Texts are rich and challenging, beyond the current reading ability of the majority of the class.

In guided reading texts are chosen to match the ability of the group but still provide an element of challenge.

During their time at Fryent Primary School, the children experience a range of opportunities and experiences to enable them to be confident readers. The provision for each Key Stage is shown below.

Key Stage 1

Listen to traditional tales.
Listen to a range of texts.
Learn some poems by heart.
Become familiar with a wide range of texts of different lengths.
Discuss books.
Build up a repertoire of poems to recite.
Use the class and school libraries.
Listen to short novels over time.

Key Stage 2

Read and listen to a wide range of styles of text, including fairy stories, myths and legends.
Listen to and discuss a wide range of texts.
Learn poetry by heart.
Increase familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths and legends, traditional stories, modern fiction, classic British fiction and books from other cultures.
Take part in conversations about books.
Learn a wide range of poetry by heart.
Use the school and community libraries.
Look at classification systems.
Look at books with a different alphabet to English.
Read and listen to whole books

How can I help my child with reading?

As a parent you are probably helping your child with reading much more than you may realise. If your home contains books, magazines and catalogues and your child sees you reading, if you read to your child and talk together about familiar stories and if you also use printed materials to find things out, then your child already has a head start in this area.

Remember that talking about reading is very important, so if your child is sometimes reluctant to read aloud, discussing a book will also help to develop reading skills.

Concentrate on enjoyment and grasping the meaning rather than absolute accuracy.

Keep reading time relaxed, comfortable and pleasurable, in a quiet corner, with the television turned off.

Talk about the cover and read the title before rushing your child into the text, asking questions such as: what do you think it will be about; what sort of book is it; have you read one like this before?

Look through the book, noticing interesting pictures and words, then read the opening together.

Don’t correct too quickly. If your child makes an error suggest having another go, searching the pictures for a clue, sounding out the first letter or reading on before you ‘tell’ the problem word.

If your child is really struggling, take over the reading yourself and let the teacher know.

When your child brings home a book that has been read before ask for a summary before reading it again, then discuss the book at a deeper level than last time.

As your child progresses, talk about authors, characters and plots or what new information has been learnt.

If your child reads silently ask them to re-tell the part that has been read and encourage the ‘pointing out’ of relevant sections in the text.

Join your local library and use it regularly. Watch out for storytelling events, summer reads and reviews of new titles.

Please click here to see our reading progression document.

Useful Documents: The following information will help to support your children at home.

This website provides useful and engaging activities to help children decode and blend words:

www.phonicsplay.co.uk

Reading at school and home will ensure your child has as much help as possible to not only read each book but also to build the comprehension skills needed to develop their reading age.

Please click on the following links for a recommended reading list for your child's year group. Try to read with your child for 5 to 10 minutes each day, discussing the pictures and words as you go.