Reading
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
― Dr. Seuss,I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
The Reading Curriculum
The reading curriculum begins in EYFS with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, supported by the Development Matters curriculum guidance. The fundamentals of reading are threaded through the entire curriculum and more specifically in Communication and Language, and Literacy (Early Learning Goals of Comprehension and Word Reading).
The National Curriculum programmes of study for reading at Key Stages 1 and 2 consist of two dimensions:
Word reading
Comprehension (both listening and reading).
It is essential that teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both dimensions, and different kinds of teaching are needed for each.
Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. This is primarily taught through systematic phonics - the scheme we follow is Twinkl.
Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils are encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. Reading widely and often increases pupils’ vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure-house of wonder and joy for curious young minds.
Here are the comprehension content domains taught in Key Stages 1 and 2:
KS1
KS2
It is essential that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.
For the full Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage document, please click HERE.
For the Development Matters curriculum guidance, please click HERE.
For the full programme of study for Literacy from the Department for Education, please click HERE.
Reading in St Luke’s
“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives… She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.”
― Roald Dahl, Matilda
Alongside the content domains for comprehension, reading teaching at St Luke's reinforces our 'Rainbow Reading Skills'
Please click the files below to find out about reading in each stage of learning:
St Luke's phonics scheme: Twinkl Phonics (see Phonics page for more detail)
St Luke's reading Scheme: We encourage children to read a wide variety of texts and have therefore stocked our reading boxes with a range of reading materials including: Rhino Readers, Oxford Reading Tree, Bug Club, Floppy Phonics, Project X, Alien Adventures, All stars and PM books.
Here are some websites to encourage reading at home:
http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/freeIndex.htm
http://www.magickeys.com/books/
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-stories
How is reading celebrated? 
Weekly reading certificates to celebrate effort, engagement, progress and love of reading!
Termly book events with books provided by 'Children's Book Project'
World Book Day
Book Trust Pajamarama event
Central Library and Longsight Library author sessions
Book sales
Reading displays and cosy corners encourage children to love reading
Pupils now have access to additional English activities through Purple Mash. Click here to log in to Purple Mash.
Reading Interventions
We have a range of reading interventions for pupils who need extra support to make good progress and close the gap to national expectations. Members of staff have been trained to deliver the ‘Better Reading Partnership’, ‘Fischer Family Trust’ and ‘Inference Training’ interventions to individuals and small groups of children. In addition to these, there are Year 2 and Year 6 booster groups and additional phonics sessions led by our fabulous EAL team as part of our induction programme for newly arrived international pupils who are new to English.
School and Class Libraries
Our school library is available for all the children to use and enjoy, so are our classroom book areas. Pupils can choose to read and borrow a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction texts including picture books, novels, poetry collections, newspapers, comic strips, reference texts and books from all curriculum areas. We re-stock the library regularly to ensure broad appeal and provide books which continue to expand pupils’ horizons.
Pupils are able to visit the library individually and in small groups during lesson times and break times to explore books and texts, read with an adult, borrow books, engage in reading games and conduct research. The library provides opportunities for reading on Kindles and mini-laptops as well as listening to audiobooks. We also visit Longsight Library to access an even wider selection of books so there's always something for everyone to enjoy!
“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
― Philip Pullman