Reading and Phonics
Reading at Ripley Infants School
At Ripley Infant School our reading curriculum inspires wonder and imagination by teaching our children the essential knowledge and skills that they will need now and in their future. Through vocabulary rich texts, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry, children will be taught the basic skills they need in order to be able to continue to develop their reading with enjoyment and understanding. All children will be encouraged to read widely to appreciate a love of reading and to gain knowledge across the curriculum.
Phonics - Letters and Sounds Programme
Every child receives a good quality 25 minutes phonics lesson four times a week. We follow the Letters and Sounds programme which was introduced by the Department of Education in 2007. The programme is detailed and systematic and consists of 6 phases for teaching phonics from Reception with the aim of children becoming fluent readers. We use Phonics Play to make our sessions fun and interactive. More details about phonics can be found at https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/parents/what-is-phonics.
You can download our Information leaflet for parents here
An information powerpoint for parents about the teaching of Phonics can be found here
Phonics Books
In school we have arranged all books into different phonics phases to ensure children are reading books at their current phonics ability. We have categorised them into each phase and phase 2, 3 and 4 each have their own challenge book as we want to encourage children to be challenged and to use the text to help them work out what a particular word says.
As your child learns more phonics sounds and develops more confidence, they will be moved onto the next set of phonics books when they are ready. We want to encourage children to reread for meaning and fluency so please be patient if they have stayed on a particular phase for a while. When children are secure in phase 6 they will be moved onto Turquoise book band and carry on working through the different coloured book bands.
Home Reading
All children have a reading record log that they take home for parents and staff to record when they have been listened to. Children are expected to read at least 3 times a week. It can be recorded in their reading log or on Tapestry due to Covid. When a child reads 3 times a week, a hole punch will be punched onto their Bookworm Loyalty card. When the card is complete, children can choose a brand new book to take home and keep. As reading is a life long skill, reading at home will help your child to become a confident and fluent reader.
Reading in the classroom
All children have a high quality book read to them every day. Children in EYFS share a new text weekly on a Monday and throughout the week they will recite, discuss and retell the story.
In Key Stage 1 a vocabulary rich text is chosen for children to read and learn a range of different reading comprehension strategies including retrieval, inference and prediction. Children will hear teachers use appropriate tone and expression when reading to encourage children to apply it in their own reading. Children are encouraged to use their prior experiences and knowledge to help find answers to different questions. Poetry and non-fiction are also read during a term in whole class reading sessions.
Each classroom has a dedicated reading area including a range of different texts, for example fiction and non-fiction books, poetry books and magazines. Children can access and choose books from their reading area at different points during the school day. Each book corner is different and children love reading on their own or with a friend in our cosy reading areas.
Library
We have recently applied for the Foyles Foundation Library Grant and have gratefully received some money to help ‘re launch’ the library. We will be updating our books and reading areas in our library to create a fun and welcoming environment for children to read. We will hopefully be opening up the library for parents to visit before and after school on certain days after Covid. Watch this space for our new and updated library!
Supporting your child at home
You'll find a list of websites that you may find useful in helping you and your child learn about phonics and reading below:
https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zgkw2hv
https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/literacy.html
https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/5-7-years/letters-and-sounds
https://www.education.com/games/word-patterns/
https://www.letters-and-sounds.com/
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/tips-and-advice/reading-tips/