Reading
World Book Day 2023
The whole school and nursery had a wonderful day on world book day learning all about climate change and how we, as humans, are mostly at fault.
Our whole day was based around the book: The Journey Home by Frann Preston-Gannon. It is a beautifully illustrated story that has a powerful message of conservation and is a perfect way to gently introduce our children to global warming and environmental issues.
The children had fun entering our competition to create one of their favourite book characters as a puppet. With our Eco theme in mind, the children had to use old clothes, materials, towels, cardboard. Basically, anything they could recycle and use to make something else.
We also had a swap shop-giving life again to old books! The children were asked to bring in old, loved books that they would be happy to swap for a different one.
WBD Across The School and Nursery:
Check out our Reading blog! Do you want some recommendations for your next book?
Reception and Key Stage 1
When the children have begun their reading journey at Tanworth their first books will be closely matched to the phonic sounds they are learning in their daily phonic lessons. They will also be allocated a Phonic Bug 'ebook' which they can read online along with some interactive reading and spelling games to match their learning in school.
When they have mastered the skills of decoding and blending they will be given a colour band from which they can choose a book to match their interests. In Reception and Year 1 the children may be assisted in their choice by the Class Teacher or Teaching Assistants. These books may contain words that the children may not independently be able to decode or tricky words that they have not yet mastered, but they are a book to share at home and build upon their love of reading. In Year 2 the children will independently choose from their colour band until they are ready to progress onto the Junior reading system. Children in Key Stage one will be heard read at least once a week by the Teacher or Teaching Assistant in addition to any class reading or guided reading.
Key Stage 2
When the children have become confident and independent readers they are ready to move from the reading colour bands onto the school's Accelerated Reader system. This exciting system which was introduced in the Autumn Term 2017 allows the children to choose from a wide range of books including many well known children's authors. Each child will have their own personalised Z.P.D reading range. Z.P.D stands for Zone of Proximal Development and is a numerical range given to the children after sitting a short online test. The Z.P.D allows children to choose books from a range that will be challenging but enjoyable. Children will take a retest every half term to gain a new Z.P.D. When a child has read a book they will take a short online comprehension quiz to test their understanding before choosing their next books. Children will be given a minimum of 15 minutes quiet reading time in school in addition to their class reading and guided reading.
VIPERS
In Key Stage 2 we use VIPERS to teach our whole class reading sessions from a novel, extract, song, poem, non fiction or film clip. Whole Class Reading (WCR) happens 3 times a week in Key Stage 2.
The extracts chosen match carefully with our curriculum themes and support our English texts. We introduced Vipers in Spring 2021 and are already seeing how they support our children in their discussion of the texts studied.
In Key Stage 1 reading activities are matched to the different VIPERS when completing writing build up from quality texts or in our group guided sessions. In the Summer Term, Year 2 progress to WCR although they may complete some whole class reading activities earlier.
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££ Who wants to be a millionaire? ££
How long do you think it would take you to read a million words? Our challenge to all our children is to read a million words in a year through our Accelerated Reader program. Our millionaire's parents will be invited in for a celebration assembly where the children will receive a Millionaire certificate and a £5.00 book token! We also have special certificates for children at the half way point of 500,000 words and for children who achieve 90% accuracy in their comprehension quizzes each half term. For those budding readers who become multimillionaires, they have the honour of dedicating a book to our library. A name label will stay inside the cover of that book for generations to witness.
T.I.A Book-et List
Like a bucket list but with books!
It is a list of 100 fantastic books: old and new; classics and recently published, recommended for KS2 children to read before they leave Primary School.
As a school, we believe that reading for pleasure is an integral part of a child’s education. Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.
There is going to be a section in the library specifically for our ‘T.I.A Book-et List.’ These books will have a 100 sticker on the front cover so the children know, when they have finished with the book, to put it back in the correct section and tick it off their list.