Reading

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go."

                                                       Dr Seuss

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."

                                                              Joseph Addison

Intent:

At Bedgrove Junior School we want to inspire all children to become avid lifelong readers by delivering an engaging curriculum with enthusiastic teachers who ignite a passion for reading.  We promote a love of reading through our high-quality guided reading sessions, class reading time, effective use of the class and school library and celebrating events such as World Book Day.  We strive hard to make sure reading is a well-loved and high-profile subject that is promoted by all members of staff. We ensure that everyone at Bedgrove Junior School has access to our wide range of books which expose readers to a range of styles, authors and genres.  We also want to make sure the children are immersed in texts that celebrate diversity through teaching about other cultures, identities and the history of the world.

We aim to provide all children with the reading skills needed to succeed in becoming independent readers. In order to allow pupils to transition to secondary school and ensure they are able to easily access all other subjects, it is essential that all of our pupils have the skills to decode and comprehend texts at an appropriate level. Furthermore, it is vital that our children are provided with opportunities to become readers who are able to analyse texts and identify authors and styles of writing that they like in order to become their own 'reader'. By modelling and promoting ‘book talk’, we enable children to verbalise their understanding of what they have read and become confident communicators. We also aim to challenge all pupils by constantly providing them with opportunities to encounter and use higher level vocabulary. Explicit oracy teaching allows children to acquire this vocabulary and use it in a range of contexts. Oracy is at the heart of guided reading sessions; these sessions allow the children to read the book and discuss their thoughts and opinions using subject specific sentence stems, as well as using the Voice 21 talk tactics. With talk central to every classroom at Begdrove, the children know that reading lessons are opportunities for discussion, collaboration of ideas and learning from one another.

Implementation:

• Little Wandle Phonics sessions are implemented in September for children identified from the Infant School joining Year 3 to ensure that all children are secure with the phase 5 sounds and to bridge the transition gap from Infant to Junior School.
• Little Wandle Rapid Catch Up interventions are implemented for children across all year groups who need support with decoding.
• Identified readers are listened to frequently (3x per week), including disadvantaged and SEN pupils.
• Whole-class Guided Reading is taught in four 30-minute sessions per week which includes book talk and comprehension type sessions. Differentiated questioning allows for challenge for all and a breadth of lesson styles promotes a love for reading.
• Reading skills explicitly outlined on Smart notebooks and the children’s comprehension sheets.
• A reading for pleasure session happens monthly to promote book talk and a love for reading.
• Voice 21 Oracy talk tactics, groupings and springboards are used throughout guided reading sessions, particularly book talk, to ensure talk is central to the children’s learning.
• ICT is used regularly to support Guided Reading planning, teaching and learning.
• Reading skills explicitly referred to in wider curriculum reading.
• Through Talk for Writing, highly engaging texts allow pupils access to stronger vocabulary.
• PIXL assessments and data are used to identify areas for development for specific classes which are subsequently addressed with whole class PIXL therapies.
• All children have reading records to fill in 3x per week at home, checked by the teacher every week.
• All children are told termly how to choose a book from their class library to take home or read at school as an independent reader.
• In Year 6, booster groups allow for additional reading comprehension teaching time.
• Reading buddies are implemented across the school so that children meet half termly with a child to read with.
• Reading Ambassadors read with identified children from a given class 3x per week before morning register.
• The school ensures all texts are accurately matched to pupil ability, and guided reading texts are changed when necessary for the children’s reading development and exposure to new texts.
• Classes visit the library regularly.
• Termly author visits are planned to inspire a love of reading.
• Teachers read to pupils regularly during story time every day from a novel selected by the teacher/the class for enjoyment.

On Thursday 21^st September, Years 4, 5 and 6 were lucky enough to meet Jamie Littler, a children’s author and illustrator, who came for a special visit promoting his new book, ‘Arkspire’. And what an inspirational day it was! For both children and adults included, we were enthralled by the magical world of ‘Arkspire’ and simply could not wait to find out more. Jamie took us through his process of becoming an illustrator for other author’s until finally writing his own books. He took us on a journey through the trials and tribulations of the writing process, what inspires his ideas and how he illustrates his incredible books. We all got to have a go at drawing one of his characters alongside him, as well as helping him create a new character. Many children also walked away with a signed copy of Jamie’s new book with a special message from him inside. The children were buzzing as they left, hugging tight to their new books and discussing the imaginative new world of ‘Arkspire’ in great depth. It was simply fantastic and an unforgettable experience for all the children. It was great to see them so inspired by books and intrigued by the job of an author.

Jamie also had a look around our brand new library, which will be stocking his new book! He thought it was incredible and a great space for children to relax and enjoy a good book.

On Wednesday 15^th November, Years 5 and 6 were star-struck when they met best-selling author, M.G Leonard, while promoting her book ‘The Ice Children’. The children were very excited to meet her having all read one of her books - ‘Twitch’ - in Year 4 in guided reading and some of the children had read her other books too. She was incredibly inspiring and enthusiastic about reading, writing and storytelling. Both children and teachers were in awe of her throughout the event and felt very lucky to have met her. It was fantastic to hear all about her inspiration behind each of her books, particularly when she discussed her love of all animals, insects and the environment. She read us the first chapter of the book and we hung onto her every word. It was amazing to see the children receiving their signed copies and many children have been racing to finish it ever since! Another wonderful and unforgettable experience for the children.

On Thursday 16^th November, Bedgrove were lucky enough to have Paula Estrela (mum of Eduardo and Isabella in Year 5) visit our school and talk to us about becoming a part-time author, whilst also being a parent and having another full-time job! She discussed self-publishing her book and what inspired her to write stories. It was lovely to see her journey to becoming an author and the visit has really encouraged the children to try to write their own stories and books. Her message about never giving up on your dreams encapsulates what we want to instil in our children here at Bedgrove Junior School.

On Tuesday 8th October, Years 5 and 6 were lucky enough to meet another wonderful author, Aisling Fowler, while promoting her ‘Fireborn’ book series. Some of the children had already read the first book and were very excited to hear passages from all three from the series! We were hanging onto every word and the children were very interested in what could happen next… They also got to watch a book trailer which was a first for some of us! She was incredibly inspiring and enthusiastic; she inspired us to write our own stories. We heard about the inspirations behind the main character in her book and the children were able to create their own characters, monsters and settings for their very own stories! It is always such a fantastic experience when the children receive their signed copies of the books and they got to chat with Aisling herself. Another successful author visit – we cannot wait for the next one!

On Tuesday 22^nd October, Years 3 and 4 met the amazing author, Hannah Peck, who was promoting the fourth book she has ever written – The River Thief! It was Year 3s first author visit and they loved asking her questions about how she became an author and how long it took her to write her books! One of the children said, ‘I cannot believe I am holding the actual book she wrote in my hands!’ They were awestruck and it was so inspiring. It was great for the Year 4s who are learning about rivers in geography so they shared some of their expert knowledge with her. Hannah discussed how the main character in her book found memories of people’s lives by the river. She had a bag full of objects which she used to inspire the children to create their own stories about where those objects could have come from! They had fantastic ideas and Hannah was blown away by the children’s imaginations!

On Friday 8th November, Year 5 and 6 (and the Year 3 and 4 members of Bedgrove's Journalism Club) were lucky enough to have journalists Charlene White and Jane Marlow to visit! You may recognise Charlene from ITV News, Loose Women or I'm a Celebrity...! They promoted Jane Marlow's new book, 'How the News Works', which contains tips from Charlene about being a journalist and identifying 'fake news'. Jane explained what it was like to work for Independent Television News (ITN) and what inspired her to write the book. We all completed a quiz which decided which area of journalism would suit us best for a job; the children loved finding out what their personality was best suited to! Charlene allowed the children to have a 'press conference' with her and ask any questions they liked! Both Jane and Charlene were incredibly engaging and many of us received signed books. Some of us even wanted to get her autograph! It was a fantastic experience and we feel so lucky to be able to have such inspiring people visit our school.

On Wednesday 7th May, Years 3 and 4 met the amazing author, Joseph Elliott, who was promoting his book, 'Nora and the Compass of Chaos'! He told us about how he has been an actor for 16 years, working on children's TV shows like 'Swashbuckle' and other Cbeebies shows. He talked about how he got into reading as a child and what books he enjoyed. The children were very enthusiastic about asking him questions and loved hearing him read part of his new book. They especially loved the funny voice he used for 'Nora'! The children felt very special because he showed them how the books had been physically made and that they were some of the first people to read his book as it was not out in shops until tomorrow! It was great to hear so many children saying, 'I am starting this book as soon as I get home!'