Reading

We love reading
Reading is probably the most important skill that children learn whilst at primary school. If you can read fluently and understand what you read, then you can participate and continue to learn throughout adult life. 

In just a few years at Thythorn, we see pupils progress from the most basic phonics - concentrating on learning the single sounds which make up words - to reading aloud fluently, with wonderful expression. From there, children develop the ability to summarise a whole text, to interrogate, to infer from just a few words and to gain real pleasure from reading increasingly challenging books.

Our first aim is a love of books. Even before babies can speak, they love listening to rhymes and stories read aloud to them. We do ask pupils to read to an adult at home, but it's even more important for adults to read to, or share books with children of all ages. Then you can talk about the pictures, predict what might happen next, say whether you like the characters or not, and gain an appreciation of different authors.

What books do you have in school?
We buy new books every year to update our stock, and we have a subscription to Leicestershire Libraries which allows us to borrow hundreds of books and change them each term. 

Our school library contains good quality non-fiction, poetry and traditional stories. Pupils from year 2 onwards are encouraged to borrow books. They can choose any book that interests them, whatever their reading level.

Many classes also have a reading display or box of 'sharing' books that all children are free to choose from. This may include familiar books that an adult has read to the class, funny picture books, 'easy read' stories or more challenging books to share with an adult. 

How do you teach reading?
In Foundation Stage and Year 1, reading skills are taught through phonics and by learning common 'tricky words'. Pupils blend the phonemes or sounds to make words. Many of the reading books contain only phonically regular words, so children can decode them. 

As pupils progress up the school, we use Whole class readng based on 'Comprehension Plus' as a way of encouraging them to reflect on the meaning of texts, answer questions and enjoy books more because their understanding of words and phrases improves. 

In lots of different lessons across the curriculum, children practise their reading skills and are helped to understand and learn new approaches to reading whenever possible. This might include learning to read specialist science vocabulary in a year 5 science lesson, or using phonics to read History work in year 1. 

What about hearing children read?
One of the best ways to become a good reader is to read aloud with or to an adult at home. Reading any material or on-line is a great thing to do.

In Foundation Stage, children do sometimes read 1-1 in order to build their confidence and speaking skills. In other year groups, we hear children read aloud when we need to check that they have appropriate books, or to help them to become more fluent when reading aloud. Sometimes a child will be targeted for  a reading 'boost' and they will do a lot of reading 1-1 for a few weeks in order to try and overcome particular difficulties. Please don't worry if your children don't seem to read to an adult; they willl be doing whole class reading skills, guided reading or reading in a group, comprehension tasks or vocabulary work.

How do you know which books are right for each child?
The best books for a child are ones that the child wants to read! Each child will have preferences - the style of certain picture books, a sports or animal theme, funny stories, a famous author or a book linked to a TV programme. We nurture children's preferences whilst guiding them towards accessible texts. 

We carry out a range of assessments to match pupils to the right reading level. This includes standardised tests, an assessment of reading speed and accuracy as well as asking questions about texts to see whether children have understood.

What if reading at home is a problem?
Please communicate with the class teacher as soon as you notice anything. It can be difficult to be relaxed and enjoy a reading session if your child refuses, cries or just seems to find it too hard. We'd always recommend going back to the adult reading to the child, which takes the pressure off. If you can get into a habit of reading at the same time every day, that often becomes easier. Class teachers may also recommend trying some easier or different books that may interest your child. Learning to read takes many years; parents often get frustrated or anxious about lack of progress, and children can then pick up on these emotions.

And don't forget, children can read to all members of the family, including babies and animals! 

Phonics

How do we teach phonics?
Phonics is usually taught daily in the first two years of school, and it starts with careful listening. Children listen to themselves and adults saying the phonemes that make up words. Some of the phonemes are short, clipped sounds; others are extended or buzzing. This sounds complicated, but the children quickly learn how to blend sounds in speaking and then go on to recognise letters, and link them with the sounds. We practise reading words on cards, on classroom whiteboards, in special phonics reading books, and in other daily tasks in school. 

Thythorn Field Primary School uses the Twinkl Phonics Scheme.

Is phonics the only thing that children need to read?
No, there are many irregular or tricky words in English and these have to be memorised - for example said, Mrs, the. Also, phonics does not help children understand what they are reading, so we often send home a phonics book and another 'sharing' or reading book that will develop understanding of books and stories. 

Do children have to do phonics?
The government introduced a phonics screening test at the end of year 1 to check that pupils have learned how to read real and nonsense words using phonics. The nonsense words in the test need to be decoded using phonics because children will not have seen them before - for example squip, taiber, spunting. Occasionally children do learn to read at a very early age by having a great memory for words. These pupils would still take part in phonics lessons as it helps with spelling patterns and enables them to tackle new or nonsense words. 

What about dyslexic children or those with special educational needs?
All children are entitled to high-quality phonics instruction when they start school. Some pupils may not pass the phonics screening test at the end of year 1 and will have further instruction in year 2 before re-taking the test. In Key Stage 2, phonics is only used in some spelling lessons, or for those children who have not yet become fluent readers. Occasionally, there are pupils who cannot hear how the phonic sounds link to words and they may be taught to read or spell using an appropriate combination of methods. If you have concerns that your child is not making progress with reading the words on a page, please discuss it with the class teacher. Sometimes, we ask our Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator (SENDCo) to do further assessments on a pupil.