Reading
At EWPA we believe that it is not just about giving children the skills to be able to read and decode, it is also about instilling a love of a variety of different kinds of literature and books.
Our curriculum is centred around a variety of engaging core texts both in the daily SFA English lessons and within the cross curricular topics. We aim to immerse children in a topic of learning which enables them to deepen their understanding of the knowledge and skills needed for each concept and theme.
Reading at School
At EWPA we want our children to become enthusiastic, engaged readers and to develop a lifelong love of books and literature.
We introduce children to a wide range of high quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry books in our English SFA lessons and our cross curricular topic lessons.
In the early stages of reading, children are taught to decode words using phonic skills as their main approach, alongside this children are also taught sight vocabulary.
Children read in small groups during their daily 90 minute English lessons and also individually with the class teacher or teaching assistant during the week.
Reading at home
Developing readers will bring home a levelled reading book (according to their reading stage) and in Keystage 1 a book of their choice from the class book corner. We expect children to read their levelled book to their adult at home every evening and for the adult to read the book from the reading corner to their child. In Reception and Keystage 1 books are changed on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In Keystage 2 books are changed as required (children in Keystage 2 will be reading longer books will may last for several days/week). The older children are expected to write the date and their chosen book in their reading record book, for the younger children we ask that the parents record the date and the book title for their child. We ask that parents/carers sign the reading record book when they have heard their child read.
Your child should be reading at home for around 10-15 minutes (at least) each day. Your support with this is essential in order to develop your child’s reading skills, confidence and understanding.
If your child is an independent reader, it is still vital that you continue to read with them, listen to them and discuss the books they are reading.
Tips for reading with your child
Question to develop understanding