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Grange Primary Academy

Reading

Intent

At Granbge Primary Academy we believe that a quality reading curriculum should develop children’s love of reading. We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning.

We believe that children need to develop confidence and fluency in reading, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. Reading materials have been selected to build cumulatively and progressively. We believe that a secure basis in reading skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our children the tools they need to be successful in their next stage of education.

Our children will leave with a love of reading, able to discuss books and compare works of key authors. At secondary school, they will be able to access the full curriculum offered and read both for knowledge- acquisition and pleasure.

Implementation

Reading is taught daily throughout the school in line with the National Curriculum (2014) for half an hour using a whole class approach.

We believe that ‘good readers are successful across the curriculum’.  Therefore, children are exposed to high quality, age appropriate texts that cover a range of genres. Phonics is taught daily in Reception and KS1, and progresses to whole class reading on completion of the phonics programme after Easter in Year 2. All children graduate from Read, Write Inc. and begin whole class reading, starting with extracts from RWInc. comprehension which match their phonic ability with precision.

Children follow a set progression of skills through the content domains of the National Curriculum using the acronym of VIPERS to develop an ability to decode and comprehend the texts they read.  This approach is reinforced whenever a child reads whether in school and parents are encouraged to focus on this at home.

To ensure our taught curriculum is a stepping stone into independent reading, two copies of the books from each extract are available to the children in their class libraries alongside other copies of their other works. To guide children into selecting these books to read independently, the extracts ensure children are exposed to ‘unmissable’ scenes, chapter ones and prologues - enticing the children to want to read on.

Reading is taught through a diverse and ambitious text spine of extracts that are cumulative and progressive in nature, where both the complexity in text level and themes addressed are built upon term-by-term.  We use a ‘Read, Enrich, Explore’ approach to reading across the week (see below). The extracts are rich in cultural capital through the themes they address alongside the historical and geographic settings. Authors have been selected specifically to include a range of contemporary and relevant authors (which in turn provide relevant protagonists) alongside a purposeful mix of modern classic and classic texts that provide a step into wider reading for children.  Non-fiction and poetry are also an integral part of the spine, where the non-fiction link to the ‘focus text’ of the writing curriculum.

Progression within the content domains is ensured through a rigorous document which progressively increases the understanding of each reading content domain term-by-term, year-by-year.

Teachers plan the needs of their class by cross-referencing the assessment data obtained from the NTS reading assessments (see more detail below), where they find the content domains that the children need more teaching in and focus on these more heavily across a term than some of the content domains that the children are already more proficient at.

Each extract is pre-read as an intervention prior to the main learning sequence (where necessary) to the children who require additional input and who may need some extra time and practice with the decoding element of the text so that they come to the first lesson equipped with confidence and understanding to access the same learning as their peers working at ARE.

Read, enrich, explore

Read: On the first day of a new unit of work, challenging vocabulary is pre-taught to the class so that they have a solid understanding when they meet it in context. Subsequently, the children have the text read to them by the class teacher and the children follow on the page in front of them. The teacher’s focus is on modelling of pace, fluency and intonation. The lesson is concluded through Aidan Chambers’ ‘book talk’ model of ‘likes, dislikes, puzzles and patterns’ where the children discuss and explore the text they have been read.

Enrich: As the texts are rich in their complexity and cultural capital, there may be elements that the children would struggle to comprehend at face value (for example, why one character looked at the other in a certain way, or a cultural reference that is integral to the comprehension of the extract). We mitigate this, if there is a need, and deepen the children’s understanding through an ‘enrichment’ task, which can comprise of further reading, an experience or additional discreet teaching that underpins the deep comprehension of the text. Once this is complete, the teacher reads the text for a second time, linking the enrichment to the comprehension and how they now have a deeper understanding; pausing to spaced-retrieve vocabulary and model ‘thinking aloud’ and authorial intent.

If this is not required as the teacher feels the children will comprehend the text on its first read, then the children complete a read aloud activity, such as reading at an appropriate pace, or giving characters voices.

Explore: The following three lessons are where the children are equipped to study the text in depth, using the content domains of the National Curriculum. The lesson focuses on one content domain in the form of a VIPER for children and consists of a balance between formal comprehension questions and a wider, richer response to reading. Where formal comprehension questions are used, teacher modelling is apparent by working through a shared example as a class and highlighting the skills required before the children complete similar questions independently.

Assessment

Formative assessment takes place tri-annually across the trust using the NTS reading assessments. This data is used by leaders to measure the efficacy of reading and to hold teachers to account, and teachers use it to be assured of the content domain deficiencies that they need to address with their pupils.

Class reader

In addition to reading lessons, children are also exposed to a class novel for 15 minutes each day. The class novel is pre-selected so that the children are strategically introduced to a wide range of diverse literature that ensures that children have the opportunities to see themselves in books, underpinned by the theory of ‘windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors’. They have also been selected to run in parallel with the reading extracts in the reading lesson so that children have opportunity to draw parallels in authorial styles and themes from a rich range of authors. The books themselves have been selected to address Lemov’s ‘five plagues of the developing reader’ with a sixth ‘year group focus author’ so that the children experience these texts in a forum that they can be guided through by their teacher and offering rich discussion points with their peers.

However, the most important element to our reading curriculum is that it provides each class teacher to being every child in their class’ reading role model.

Year 2 

Year 2

RWInc Comprehension Texts

Module 1- Chicken-Licken

Module 2- Anansi and the Four Bananas

Module 3- The Wish

Module 4- The Three of Us

Module 5- Drusilla's Diary

Module 6- The Cupboard Under the Stairs

Module 7- Rose and Ruby

Module 8- Mary Seacole

Module 9- Teeth

Module 10- The Class Trip

Module 11- All About India

Module 13- Bees

Module 14- Atishoo!

Additional Texts

Legend of Spud Murphy- Eoin Colfer

The Hundred-Mile An-Hour Dog- Jeremy Strong

The Princess in Black- Bathtime Battle- Shannon and Dean Hale

The Princess in Black- Shannon and Dean Hale

Term 5

Daisy and the Trouble with Burglars- Kes Gray

Daisy and the Trouble with Zoos- Kes Gray

Dirty Bertie- David Roberts

Fortunately the Milk- Neil Gaiman

Horrid Henry's Underpants- Francesca Simon

Sophie takes to the Sky- Katherine Woodfine

Term 6

I Talk Like a River- Jordan Scott

Little Badman- Humza Arshad & Henry White

Sam Wu is not Afraid of Ghosts- Katie and Kevin Tsang

The 13-Storey Treehouse- Andy Griffiths

The Climbers- Ali Standish

Toto the Ninja Cat- Dermot O'Leary

 Y2 - Progression within reading content domains

Year 3 

Text overview

Year 3

 

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Poetry

Term 1

Story writing (character and setting description)

Report writing (Q&A interview)

 

 

 

Stuart Little- E.B. White

 

Bill’s New Frock- Anne Fine

 

Diary of a Killer Cat- Anne Fine

 

Stig of the Dump- Clive King

Stone Houses (Explanation)

 

Soil

(Information)

 

Term 2

Adventure stories

Newspaper report

 

 

Go Ahead, Secret Seven- Enid Blyton

 

The BFG- Roald Dahl

 

The Boy Who Grew Dragons- Andy Shepherd

Food

(Explanation)

 

Earth Charter

(Newspaper)

 

Giant Refugee Puppet On Trek to UK

(Newspaper)

 

Term 3

Dialogue

 

 

 

The Iron Man- Ted Hughes

 

Captain Apparatus

(Diary)

 

The Lost Happy Endings- Carol Ann Duffy

 

The Hodgeheg- Dick King Smith

 

The Worst Witch- Jill Murphy

Strange Predators (Information)

 

 

 

 

Term 4

 

Biography

 

 

Mr Majeika- Humphrey Carpenter

 

Alex Sparrow and the Really Big Stink- Jennifer Killick

Lonely Hearts

(Narrative Biography)

 

Who was Robin Hood?

(Information)

 

Shoot Like Robin Hood

(Instructions)

Walking With My Iguana- Brian Moses

 

Scissors- Allan Ahlberg

Term 5

 

Persuasive letter

 

 

Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll

 

My Head Teacher is a Vampire Rat- Pamela Butchart

 

Nothing to See Here Hotel- Steven Butler

Why Do Dragons Make Great Pets?

(Persuasion)

 

The Wave

(Letter)

The Sound Collector- Rodger McGough

Term 6

 

Balanced argument

 

 

The Enchanted Wood- Enid Blyton

 

The Magic Faraway Tree- Enid Blyton

 

The Wild Robot- Peter Brown

The British Coastline (Information)

 

Ocean Food Chain

(Information)

The Owl and the Pussycat- Edward Lear

 Year 3 - Progression within reading content domains

Year 4 

Text overview

Year 4

 

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Poetry

Term 1

 

Explanation

 

 

Frost Hollow Hall- Emma Carroll

 

The Griffin Gate- Vashti Hardy

 

A Bear Called Paddington- Michael Bond

What Have the Romans Done For Us?

(Explanation Text)

 

Digestion

(Explanation Text)

Hot Food- Michael Rosen

Term 2

 

Instructions

Leaflet/poster

 

 

Malamander- Thomas Taylor

 

Pippi Londstocking- Astrid Lindgren

 

Kick- Mitch Johnson

Rocket Balloon

(Instructions)

 

Inventions that Changed the World

(Information Text)

Chocolate Cake- Michael Rosen

Term 3

 

Non chronological report

 

 

Ghost Garden- Emma Carroll

 

Sky Chasers- Emma Carroll

 

Mary Poppins- Pamela Lyndon Travers

Legends of the Deep

(Information Text)

 

Television

(Information Text)

School Tomorrow- Joseph Coelho

Term 4

Playscript

 

 

 

The Legend of Podkin One Ear- Kieran Larwood

 

Kensuke’s Kingdom- Michael Morpurgo

 

Private Peaceful- Michael Morpurgo

 

The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Letter Home

(Informal Letter)

 

The Gold Rush

(Information Text)

 

Term 5

Adventure stories

 

 

 

A Girl Called Owl- Amy Wilson

 

Animals of Farthing Wood- Colin Dann

 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- Lyman Frank Baum

Enormous Eruptions

(Explanation Text)

 

The Skeleton

(Explanation Text)

Two Plants- John Agarde

Term 6

 

Diary

 

 

The Goldfish Boy- Lisa Thompson

 

Owen and the Soldier- Lisa Thompson

 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- C.S. Lewis

 

Swallows and Amazons- Arthur Ransome

The Amazon River

(Information Text)

 

The Troy Ploy

(Newspaper)

 

 Year 4 - Progression within reading content domains

Year 5 

Text overview

Year 5

 

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Poetry

Term 1

 

Recount

 

 

Nowhere Emporium- Ross Mackenzie

 

The Middler- Kirsty Applebaum

 

Highland Falcon Thief- MG Leonard

A Mother’s Diary

(Diary)

 

Evacuee Letter

(Informal Letter)

 

Life Cycle of a Flowering Plant

(Explanation Text)

 

Term 2

Mystery stories

 

 

 

The House With Chicken Legs- Sophie Anderson

 

Skellig- David Almond

 

Clockwork Crow- Catherine Fisher

Formal Letter

(Formal Letter)

 

EeZeeEyeStrain-Remover

(Persuasive Advert)

Colonel Fazackerley- Charles Causley

Term 3

 

Biography and autobiography

 

 

The Castle of Tangled Magic- Sophie Anderson

 

The Lion Above the Door- Onjali Q Rauf

 

Star Outside my Window- Onjali Q Rauf

Soldier’s Diary

(Diary)

 

Kindertransport

(Informal Letter)

The Tyger- William Blake

Term 4

 

News interview (shift in formality)

 

 

The Girl Who Speaks Bear- Sophie Anderson

 

Where the River Runs Gold- Sita Brahmachari

 

Beetle Boy

MG Leonard

 

Trimdon Grange Disaster

(Formal Newspaper)

 

Brave Yank Flies to the Rescue

(Informal Newspaper)

 

Dear Humans

(Informal Letter)

 

Term 5

Dilemma stories

 

 

 

Oranges in No Man’s Land- Elizabeth Laird

 

Troofriend- Kirsty Applebaum

The London Eye Mystery- Siobhan Dowd

 

Peter Pan- J.M. Barrie

Pandemics

(Information Text)

 

The Changing Police

(Information Text

 

Term 6

 

Balanced argument

 

 

Boy in the Tower- Polly Ho Yen

 

Cogheart- Peter Bunzl

 

The Cat Who Walked By Himself- Rudyard Kipling

 

The Jungle Book- Rudyard Kipling

Should Animals Be Kept in Zoos?

If- Rudyard Kipling

 Year 5 - Progression within reading content domains

Year 6 

Text overview

Year 6

 

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Poetry

Term 1

 

Persuasive speech

 

 

Sky Song- Abi Elphinstone

 

The Storm Keeper’s Island- Catherine Doyle

 

The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman

 

Once- Morris Gleitzman

Women’s Football

(Persuasive Letter)

 

The Right Not to Work

(Non-chronological Report)

 

Term 2

 

Formal letter

Explanation

 

 

Rooftoppers- Katherine Rundell

 

The Dreamsnatcher- Abi Elphinstone

 

Holes- Louis Sachar

What is Evolution?

(Explanation Text)

 

Serena Williams

(Biography)

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud- William Wordsworth

Term 3

Adventure stories

 

 

 

Brightstorm- Vashti Hardy

 

The Explorer- Katherine Rundell

 

The Hound of the Baskervilles- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

The Wind in the Willows- Kenneth Grahame

Diary from the Beagle

(Diary)

The Crossover- Kwame Alexander

(Narrative verse poetry)

Term 4

 

Non-chronological report

 

 

Letters from the Lighthouse- Emma Carroll

 

The Good Thieves- Katherine Rundell

 

Wildspark- Vashti Hardy

 

The Somerset Tsunami- Emma Carroll

Strange Hearts

(Non-chronological Report)

 

Dia de los Muertos

(Information Text)

 

Term 5

Dilemma stories

 

 

 

Orphans of the Tide- Struan Murray

 

Mortal Engines- Phillip Reeve

A Schoolhouse Letter

(Informal Letter)

 

Greta Thunberg

(Biography)

 

Tim Berners Lee

(Biography)

 

Pickles Saves the World Cup

(Newspaper Report)

 

Term 6

 

 

 

 

The Railway Children- E.Nesbit

 

Street Child- Berlie Doherty

 

The Northern Lights- Philip Pullman

 

Wonder- R.J. Palacio

 

Invictus- William Ernest Henley

 

Charge of the Light Brigade- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 Year 6 - Progression within reading content domains