Nene and Ramnoth School
Little Owls NurseryEnglish: Reading
Our children begin their reading journey on our sets of phonically decodable books - these books are grouped according to phonic phases, assuring the children can access the texts and develop their decoding skills. Building on this, children develop their reading fluency and move to the Accelerated Reader program, allowing them to independently check their comprehension and select books according to quiz scores. Alongside this, every classroom has an area promoting reading and provides a selection of reading books which the children can choose from. We also have Early Years, KS1 and KS2 libraries, centrally located in each phase so that all classes can access the space. This is used for sharing stories and books as a group as well as exploring new texts independently and in pairs.
Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader is a computer program that helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Children choose a book at their own level and reads it at their own pace. When finished, they take a short quiz on the computer - passing the quiz shows the children how much they have understood what has been read.
Since they are reading books at their own reading and interest levels, most children are likely to be successful and enjoy the books and quizzes; best of all, they learn and grow at their own pace.
What do our children say about AR?
“I love the new books in the library.”
“It makes me feel proud of myself when I get a good score.”
“The quizzes are exciting because you never know what questions might come up!”
“I like that I can do quizzes on non-fiction books now.”
“I love choosing my own reading books because I can read lots of different books and find out about the world!”
Class Readers
Each year group has a selection of books which they share as a class during the course of the year. As well as this being a vital element to creating a positive literacy experience, there are many benefits to reading as a whole class:
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Encountering new words and enriching vocabulary.
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Enjoyment and understanding of texts beyond their own reading ability.
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Enhances imagination and observation skills.
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Improves critical and creative thinking skills.
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Expands general knowledge and understanding of the world.
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Empathy is developed as connections are made with the experiences of the characters in the text and with each other.
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Fluent, expressive reading is modelled.
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Enables the children to make meaning from more complex texts.
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Embeds a desire to read and to associate reading with pleasure.
Below are the class readers for each of our year groups:
Each year we celebrate 'World Book Day' when the children take part in activities throughout the day, linked to a theme or book. They can come to school dressed as their favourite book character and take part in competitions linked to reading. Each child also receives a book token to spend.
