Reading in KS2
Intent
At South Molton Community Primary School we aim to provide children with a literacy-rich environment, high quality texts and inspiring learning opportunities, which will help them to:
-
Gain a life-long enjoyment of reading and books
-
Read and respond to a wide range of different types of texts
-
Build preferences in reading and to choose to read
-
Have opportunities to browse literature, as well as structured reading activities
-
Recognise authors and styles of reading that individuals enjoy
-
Share and recommend a range of books
-
Read accurately, fluently and with understanding
-
Apply a knowledge of structured synthetic phonics in order to decode unfamiliar words with increasing accuracy and speed
-
Be able to read with expression, clarity and confidence
-
Develop a good linguistic knowledge of vocabulary and grammar
Implementation
The Reading Journey
In KS2, pupils join the Reading Journey. The Reading Journey is a reading programme from ‘Just Imagine’ which supports independent reading, promotes reading for pleasure and wider reading. The Reading Journey core book selection comprises high quality books with 200 titles for years 3/4 and 200 titles for Years 5/6.There is a spread of titles comprising books that will be suitable for children from LKS2 to UKS2, giving a perfect level of book choice per year group.
As part of the Reading Journey, the pupils have access to the Reading Journey APP. The APP engages pupils and provides valuable information to support reading for pleasure. The journey focuses on 20 different locations. Each location is based on a theme and has 10 recommended books suitable for the age range.
Each term, we use Star Assessment to guide children with their level of text selection. In KS2, individual children will receive reading intervention if necessary. All pupils are expected to read at home with an adult at least three times a week.
Whole-Class Reading Sessions
In KS2, all pupils engage in whole-class reading sessions that are undertaken for thirty minutes daily. There are five different sessions throughout a week. On day one, the focus is on reading for pleasure. The children read and share their book at an independent level. On day two, three and four the focus is on a text extract. The extracts can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry or songs. All the children in the class will have access to the same extract. This will ensure that all children are being exposed to texts which maybe a higher language level than they can currently read. Over the three days, the children engage in; reading the text, exploring new vocabulary, retrieving information, identifying grammatical techniques, discussing the author’s purpose, observing how to write a response and then independently applying those skills when inferring information . On the final day, the focus is on responding to the class book which the children have read aloud to them for ten minutes every day. The class text will be pitched at a higher level of challenge for all readers in the class. These sessions, allow for deeper thinking and makes complex ideas more accessible, exposing children to vocabulary and language patterns that are not part of everyday speech.
The Power of Reading
Throughout the whole school, we use the Power of Reading as a basis for our writing curriculum. High quality texts are chosen, which engage the pupils and also link to our wider curriculum. Through high quality teaching and learning experiences, we develop children’s skills and competence when engaging with texts. We encourage pupils to develop their vocabulary, consider a range of issues and deeper meanings in texts, develop comprehension skills and above all an enjoyment of books.
Impact
All pupils will be able to read with accuracy, speed, confidence, fluency and understanding and be ready to access other subjects in their secondary education. All pupils will make at least good progress from their starting points. Pupils will develop a life-long enjoyment of reading and books.