Learning To Read – Our Guided Reading Curriculum
As our learners grow up, being able to read well, not only enables them to discover new facts and to learn at school, but also opens them up to a world of new ideas and opportunities for lifelong learning and success. At Pioneers Academy we are committed to ensuring that all our learners become independent, confident and fluent readers during their time at our school, with the ability to demonstrate understanding of what they have read.
Our priority is to foster a love of reading, enabling our learners to become enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers. Success in reading is essential to enabling progress across the whole curriculum and is important in terms of developing children’s self-confidence and motivation. From exposing learners to a wide range of texts and genres, our learners have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually.
Guided Reading
At Pioneers Academy we have a clear, consistent approach to the teaching of Reading to improve achievement and enjoyment in reading. In Years 1-6, we adopt a ‘guided reading’ approach to reading at least 4 times a week.
We have developed question types using the VIPERS acronym from Literacy Shed, which link memorable characters to the National Curriculum content domains. We explicitly teach these to our learners, as when learners fully understand the question type and what the question is asking, they will have a better insight on how to answer. Learners answer questions based on the text and are taught how to use the text to support their answers. Answers are then marked and model answers are developed with our learners to continuously model reading skills. Teachers select a wide range of age-appropriate texts, with different genres, to enable children to deeply explore ambitious vocabulary and different styles of writing.
In addition, each term we share our ‘Reading Spine’ with our learners. These are a core selection of the very best books to read aloud with children. “The Reading Spine is a core of books that create a living library inside a child’s mind: a store of classics and essential reads that help children engage at a deeper level and enter the world of the story, fostering a love of reading.” (Pie Corbett) Books in this collection include:
- texts that are multi-layered – capable of being read at different levels
- books that deal with non-linear time sequences
- books by skilful and experienced children’s writers and illustrators
- traditional and contemporary ‘classics’ of children’s literature
- texts with complex narratives that promote discussion and reflection
EYFS
Within Reception, reading is taught through both literacy-focussed activities based on books and through specific teaching of the Read Write Inc. phonics programme. As a Talk for Writing School, children are read to ‘across the day’ in EYFS and their English work is underpinned by being exposed to a core spine of quality fiction, poetry and non-fiction that all children experience and draw upon. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage also offers many opportunities for pupils to develop the essential pre-reading skills of speaking and listening. These are developed through listening to stories, shared reading, book talk, role-play and opportunities for talk through continuous provision. There are dedicated reading areas in both the indoor and outdoor provision that promote the love of reading. Within the provision, there are also key story props and costumes to allow children the opportunity to retell and act out stories or poems which have been shared. As learners acquire the sounds, they need to access texts, our EYFS learners have the opportunity to participate in ‘guided reading’ through sharing and discussing simple phonetically matched texts. By adopting a consistent and rigorous approach, we will provide our children with the foundations to become enthused readers with a passion for storytelling, literature and vocabulary. To assist our learners in becoming avid story-tellers, we follow Vivian Gussin Paley’s Helicopter Stories once a week. This involves our learners telling their own stories, which adults scribe and they then have an opportunity to role play their narratives both with and to their peers.
Y1
Each day our learners participate in a Guided Reading session. The sessions are structured as follows and operate over a two-week rolling programme to bridge the gap between oral comprehension and written responses:
Guided Reading at 90% decodability – Before reading, learners make predictions using clues from the title, blurb and front cover. During guided read with the teacher, the main focus is comprehension and not their mechanical reading. The teacher prepares 4-5 questions for discussion beforehand based on the VIPERS structure. Learners have to justify their answers with evidence to allow assessment of understanding and unfamiliar language. This session will include direct vocabulary work, linked to both authorial intent and word meaning.
Comprehension – Learners complete a comprehension independently linked to the guided reading extract (novel, non-fiction or poem).
Comprehension Review (Teacher/TA Led) – Learners go through their answers from their independent comprehension with the T/TA, discussing which answers are correct / incorrect or more effectively than others and why. As part of this the T/TA models comprehension answers to explicitly teach comprehension skills.
Phonics/ Vocabulary Activity- Learners undertake a phonics activity linked to their RWI set of sounds or a vocabulary linked activity.
VIPERS skill activity
Book Talk
Reading for Pleasure- to promote a love of reading
Comprehension Skills or Vocabulary or Phonics
Y2
Each day our learners participate in a Guided Reading session. The sessions are structured as follows:
Pre Read/ Orientation – a chance for our learners to read the focus text through independently. Learners are asked a few discussion questions and they will need to have an answer ready for the guided session the next day. Whilst they read, they will also note down words they do not know the meaning of, ready for the next session.
Guided Reading at 90% decodability – Before reading, learners make predictions using clues from the title, blurb and front cover. During the guided read with the teacher/ TA, the main focus is comprehension and not their mechanical reading. The teacher prepares 4-5 questions for discussion beforehand based on the VIPERS structure. Children have to justify their answers with evidence to allow assessment of understanding and unfamiliar language. This session will include direct vocabulary work, linked to both authorial intent and word meaning.
Comprehension – Learners complete a comprehension independently linked to the guided reading extract (novel, non-fiction or poem).
Comprehension Review (T/TA Led) – Learners go through their answers from their independent comprehension with the T/TA, discussing which answers are correct / incorrect or more effectively than others and why. As part of this the T/TA models comprehension answers to explicitly teach comprehension skills.
Phonics/ Vocabulary Activity- Learners undertake a phonics activity linked to their RWI set of sounds or they undertake a vocabulary activity linked to the text.
OR
Reading for Pleasure- to promote a love of reading
OR
Any other activity based on developing a Vipers Skill.
Key Stage Two
Each day the children participate in a 30-minute Guided Reading session. The sessions include:
Pre Read/ Orientation – a chance for our learners to read the focus text through independently. Learners are asked discussion questions and they need to have an answer ready for the guided session the next day. Whilst they read, they will also note down words they do not know the meaning of, ready for the next session.
Guided Read (Teacher or TA led) – Before reading, discussion related to the focus question from the previous day takes place. During guided read with the teacher/ TA, the main focus is comprehension and not their mechanical reading. The teacher prepares 4-5 questions for discussion beforehand based on the VIPERS structure. Learners have to justify their answers with evidence to allow assessment of understanding and unfamiliar language. This session will include direct vocabulary work, linked to both authorial intent and word meaning.
Comprehension – Learners complete a comprehension independently linked to the guided reading extract (novel, non-fiction or poem).
Comprehension Review (Teacher or TA Led) – Learners go through their answers from their independent comprehension with either the T or TA, discussing which answers are correct / incorrect or more effectively than others and why. As part of this the T/TA models comprehension answers to explicitly teach comprehension skills.
Post Read – Children read a section of the book leading up to the next focus point in the book – if it is a book rather than an extract;
OR
Any other activity based on developing a Vipers Skill.
OR
Reading for pleasure
Reading for pleasure
Reading for pleasure opens up new worlds for our learners and gives them the opportunity to use their imagination to explore new ideas, visit new places and meet new characters.
Reading for pleasure also improves learner’s well-being and empathy. It helps them to understand their own identity and gives them an insight into the world and the views of others.
We support this by;
- Providing rich library environments featuring a wide range of high-quality books.
- Having an on-site library which children frequently access and we update
- Gifting book vouchers as prizes for competitions/events.
- Celebrating World Book Day.
- Having books available to read outdoors during lunchtimes.
- Prominently displaying our reading spine books that we have read in class and having these on hand to re-read for pleasure.
- Having an inviting ‘reading area’ in every classroom.
- Promoting sharing books at home using our Pioneers Pounds reward scheme.
- Promoting diversity and inclusion through reading with high-quality books which promote these values on display and accessible for all learners.
- Dazzle boxes every year carefully chosen for each year group to provide new books for classrooms.
- Giving our a weekly ‘Bed Time Book’ for our EYFS learners to share with their parents/carers.
- Termly ‘Aspire sessions’ linked around a theme e.g. ‘The Big Christmas Read’
Home Reading
We have made significant investment in a variety of reading schemes to encourage our children to access a range of texts which extend their reading ability and confidence.
Early Readers
When our learners first start their reading journey, they will be given a lilac wordless book. This will be accompanied with a ‘Bedtime Book’ in EYFS for you to read and share with your child. The lilac books are designed to encourage your child to talk about what they can see and develop early story language. Once your child knows all of their set one sounds and is beginning to blend, they will be given a sound blending book.
Our Early Reading Scheme is based on the Oxford University Press Read, Write, Inc. Book Bag Books. These have been selected as they closely match our chosen synthetic phonics programme and are therefore able to support the further embedding of the phonics being taught in school. In addition to this, as soon as your child starts to read the Read Write Inc. Phonics Storybooks, they will bring home a copy of the story book they are reading in their phonics group. Your child will have read this story three times with their reading teacher, so should be able to read the story confidently and independently to you.
The Accelerated Reader Programme
Once your child has completed the Phonics programme, they will access the Accelerated Reader Programme. AR books are graded, with children undertaking a termly placement test to ensure the correct level of challenge. This fine progression gives children plenty of opportunity to develop their reading skills and master each fine step while moving through the reading programme. After each book is read, children are encouraged to take an AR quiz to check they have comprehended the text read and not just decoded it. For each quiz passed, points are awarded which in turn generate rewards.
For new to English language learners in KS2, they will be inducted into a 16 week Language Lab intervention. For the duration of their 16 week programme, they will receive a weekly vocabulary mat to support their English word level development until such a point that they are able to access the phonics reading scheme.
