Principles of reading at Berger
At Berger, reading is our priority. To this end, we promote and celebrate reading and aim to provide every opportunity for children to learn, regardless of their backgrounds, needs or abilities. We link reading to our creative curriculum where possible and empower children to develop a love of reading through allowing them choices, providing a range of reading genres and celebrating reading daily through class dojo and on our Reading Walls.
Throughout the year, we plan for and celebrate, World Book Day and National Poetry Day with whole school events including a yearly book fair. We have a beautiful, well-resourced library, links to two online libraries and each class has dedicated time with their teachers to develop conversations around reading for pleasure; children in KS2 borrow books weekly. We follow a carefully structured approach that incorporates all the skills, knowledge and attitudes that will support and develop our children to becoming lifelong readers and learners.
Phonics
We teach phonics using the Read, Write Inc approach. This starts in our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and then continues until all children have worked their way through the sounds. This usually ends in Year 2 but can continue into Year 3 for children who have been identified as needing more phonics input. For more detailed information on phonics, see the links in the reading at home section .
EYFS/ KS1 DSR (Daily Supported Reading)
Alongside phonics, Daily Supported Reading is used to teach early reading in KS1 (and low attaining readers in KS2). The programme is finely tuned to ensure children become fluent readers who are independently motivated.
Children:
· read daily to an adult, in ability-based groups which are updated weekly
· learn to respond to and engage with new ideas and information building a pathway to the acquisition of cultural capital
· learn how to access information with increasing autonomy.
· read a wide range of texts with increasing fluency and comprehension.
· learn to problem solve independently while keeping a story or message in their mind leading to better comprehension
As part of our commitment to a creative curriculum, children also explore and understand the books they have read through engagement with the arts.
KS2 DR (Destination Reader)
Destination Reader focuses on these key principles which we embed in daily reading lessons:
Promote enjoyment
Increase reading stamina
Develop thinking and understanding (metacognition)
Make talk central
In addition, the program covers the seven key skills outlined in the national curriculum to support the reading and understanding of a wide range of texts. These are:
Predicting
Making connections
Asking questions
Evaluating
Inferring
Summarising
Clarifying
Nursery: Laying the foundations
We plan for a balance of adult and child led experiences for all children. These include:
Sharing high quality texts twice daily
Learning/singing a range of songs and poems linked to expression, movement, rhyme and rhythm.
A range of activities that develop discrimination of sounds through focused listening and attention, repeating and rooting sounds in routines and the repetition of high quality language during structured story sessions.
Children who are ready to move on to structured phonics teaching are identified early on, grouped and access very short phonics sessions (five minutes) as part of their planned story time
visit the school library in small groups for a focussed story time
Reception: Learning to read – first steps
Phonics is started immediately in Reception. We continue the best practice EYFS provision from Nursery and alongside this, children:
have a daily 30 minutes, whole class, phonics session to teach the decoding skills needed for early reading and spelling.
from Autumn term two, are grouped according to stage, with groups assessed, revised and updated half -termly
have reading texts to take home which are matched to phonics knowledge
have two taught reading sessions per week using the DSR approach
have opportunities to apply across all areas of learning and in the environment
visit the school library with their teacher
open door policy for first 15 minutes of the day for reading time with parents
KS1: Learning to read – developing fluency and comprehension
Decoding remains central to reading in KS1 and children continue to read texts matched to their phonic knowledge during the phonics sessions. Here we introduce a daily reading session using a ‘natural language book’ to encourage the acquisition of cultural capital, vocabulary, promote talk and develop comprehension. Children:
have a daily 30 minutes’ phonics session with a range of application approaches including reading phonetically decodable books at their level
are assessed every half term and grouped accordingly with interventions planned for children falling behind
have a daily DSR session with an adult in a small group – children are assessed weekly and groups changed accordingly
have reading texts to take home at their reading level
have well organised and inviting indoor and outdoor reading areas where books are rotated
use quality texts, linked to the curriculum, to underpin writing
adults involved take part in a weekly feedback and training meeting
visit the school library with their teacher
have a structured, daily story time with emphasis on introducing DR language
KS1: Reading to learn - self regulation and metacognition
Destination Reader allows children to access high quality books that are engaging, exciting and linked to our curriculum. Children are explicitly taught the reading strategies that will help them to master understanding. As talk is central, there is an emphasis on partner reading and children are given ample opportunities to discuss books. The benefits of this collaborative approach extend beyond reading as children develop a sense of independence, confidence and respect for their peers. Children:
have daily word level teaching – linked to spelling (phonics continues for the few children who need it)
have a whole class teacher-led reading session using quality texts daily.
self-select books at their reading level to take home and read in school
opportunities to self-select books at any level to promote challenge and pleasure.
are assessed every half term and grouped accordingly with interventions planned for children falling behind
are listened to one-to-one with an adult throughout the term.
visit the school library with their teacher and borrow books to take home
Reading at home - Information and resources for parents
At home, we encourage and support a love of reading and support parents accordingly. Children take home a book at their reading level and a library book (KS2) each week.
We meet with parents to explain the Phonics, DSR and DR principles and our home reading records extend children’s opportunities to consolidate our approaches to reading. The reading records are not just a recording tool; they provide opportunities for discussions, reflections and a choice of reading activities at home. We have an open-door policy and any parent can request to observe a reading session in order to help their child at home. Children should be reading for at home every day – little and often. Click on the links for some useful information.
Phonics information for parents
The sounds we teach
