Wales Primary SchoolPhonics and Reading
Teaching Children to Read
"One of the greatest gifts adults can give is to read to children" Carl Sagan
We are a Little Wandle school and we adopt the Little Wandle mission to teach reading and change lives; this is to ensure everyone is supported in learning to read and to learn to love reading.
‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised provides all the planning, resources and support needed. Our pedagogy ensures optimum learning for the maximum number of children. Taught with fidelity, in parallel to the committed development of vocabulary and comprehension, and in a context that embraces Reading for Pleasure, it can provide reading success for all children, regardless of their background.’
Click on the link below to take you to the Parents section of the Little Wandle website: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
‘The resources on this page will help you support your child with saying their sounds and writing their letters. There are also some useful videos so you can see how they are taught at school and feel confident about supporting their reading at home. Find our full Reception and Year 1 teaching programme overview here to see what your child will learn and when.
Parents and carers! If you have bought the Little Wandle at Home Phonics Flashcards, don’t forget to check out four fun games to play with your children on the Collins website.’
https://collins.co.uk/pages/collins-big-cat-little-wandle-letters-and-sounds-revised
Here at Wales Primary school we are dedicated to teaching your child to read at their appropriate level and pace. Using the phonic system of decoding and blending for reading is taught as the first strategy of reading new words. Each child will read the same text three times with an adult. Each read has a reading focus: Blending for reading, Prosody, Comprehension. ‘Tricky’ words are read from memory but explanations are given as to why it is a ‘tricky’ word and therefore cannot be decoded and blended. Children take home their Little Wandle books to practise their reading throughout the week or until the third read takes place.
Reading Intent and Implementation
At Wales Primary we believe that reading is one of the most important skills our children need to access the curriculum whilst also being a vital life skill. We know that confident readers can access a wide range of life experiences and enjoy a breadth of genres. It is important that we help our children to become competent in the skill of reading, understanding what they have read and also empowering them to love and appreciate reading for life.
To enable this to happen, we aim to keep reading interesting and accessible for our pupils. We use a range of teaching strategies and initiatives through our everyday practice, creating an ethos that positively promotes reading.
Core Reads
Our core reading lists reflect our commitment to providing our children with a broad and balanced curriculum. They mirror our ethos and aim to act as a mirrors and windows for children to see themselves but also the lives of others that may be different to their own.
Our reading lists celebrate 'old and gold' as well as the 'new and bold'. It is frequently updated and reviewed in order to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of our school community.
The books are read to the children during our shared story time at the end of the day. They are also used to support the teaching of reading comprehension, alongside our novel study books.
Shared Reading/ Whole class reading
Pupils from FS2 to Y6 partake in Shared reading in some form or another. Shared reading is taught as a whole class where the teacher reads a text to the pupils. The text may be based at a higher level than the individuals in the class currently read at. This is to promote more exciting, challenging texts to pupils and to develop their skills of inference and deduction as well as broaden their vocabulary. As a class, the children explore a comprehension task or type of question based on the range of reading skills
Vocabulary
Sequence of events
Prediction
Retreival
Inference
Deduction
Guided Reading
Pupils from FS2 to Y3 receive an adult led guided reading session in their class weekly. During guided reading, teachers focus on extending pupils reading skills through carefully planned reading tasks that are linked to their age and reading stage.
Building Reading Miles
Each class has a book area tailored to suit the interests of the pupils and they also have access to a range of texts based on their half-termly theme and Author of the term. In English, we follow a novel-led curriculum which allows pupils to fully immerse themselves in the text. The school library offers a range of texts that children can choose based on their interests. Pupils in FS2- Y2, plus individuals in KS2 who continue to access the Little Wandle phonics programme have their own copy of a Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle book each week. All teaching staff ‘read aloud’ a high quality text to their class, modelling fluency and prosody. This also helps to develop an opinion about different authors and genres as well as expose them to the variety of text they may not read for themselves. Classes visit the local library on occasion starting with FS2 who register the pupils for their first library card.
Pupils with SEND and/ or SEMH needs
The reading curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of our pupils with SEND and SEMH. Resourcing, differentiation, additional adult support, use of visuals such as word mats, phonics mats and friezes all support the reader to become an independent reader. We also use SEND, Keep Up and Catch Up programmes from the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised phonics and early reading scheme for those pupils who need support for reading and for those pupils who have significant gaps in learning.
BOOKS to support children’s wellbeing
Everybody worries by John Burgerman – Read the online version here: https://en.calameo.com/read/000777721945cfe5bb9cc?authid=Xu9pcOzU3TQx
Shine by Sarah Asuquo
Kai is excited to go back to school after the summer holiday, but soon finds himself being mocked by his peers for being different. Kai s confidence is lowered and he begins to wish that he is normal like everyone else.
Only one you by Linda Kranz
There's only one you in this great big world. Make it a better place. Adri's mama and papa share some of the wisdom they have gained through the years with their eager son. Their words, simple and powerful, are meant to comfort and guide him as he goes about exploring the world.
Hey there! What’s your super power? By Jayneen Sanders
Follow Becky’s journey as she tries lots of exciting new things to find her amazing superpowers! This engaging and interactive children’s book provides a number of simple and very achievable ‘tasks’ to help kids to develop a growth mindset of resilience, persistence, self-confidence, self-reliance and self-esteem.
All are welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcome. A school where children in patkas, hijabs, baseball caps and yarmulkes play side by side. A school where students grow and learn from each other's traditions. A school where diversity is a strength.
The Worrysaurus by Rachel Bright
A fun and reassuring tale about dealing with worries
How you can support your child with reading at home
Reading Diaries
Hearing your child read at home allows you to actively engage in your child’s reading journey. Every time you hear your child read it is essential that you sign their reading diary or homework record so that they can be rewarded for their efforts each half term.
Please see the ‘Reading for Pleasure’ tab for more ways to engage your child in reading activities at home.
If you have any questions regarding phonics and reading at any age, please email Mrs Askey, Reading Lead:
