Teaching of Reading

People Repsonsible: 

Mrs B Johnston (English Lead)

Mrs A Smith (Phonics Lead)

Learning to read is one of the most important things that your child will learn to do at school. At Hill View Infant Academy we encourage your child to develop a love for reading. We encourage all children to read a variety of literature both at home and school to engage them in their learning and to widen their experiences.

We teach phonics using the Read, Write, Inc. scheme, as well as ‘real’ reading books. We encourage the study of fiction, non-fiction and poetry genres. As your children become fluent readers and complete the RWInc scheme, they may also bring home texts by Oxford Reading Tree.

All children have daily phonics sessions, beginning with simple sounds (set 1) and building up to more complex sound combinations (sets 2 and 3), following the RWInc scheme. This means that they learn how to blend sounds to read and segment sounds in words to spell. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters using rhymes and mnemonics from the scheme.

"Read Write Inc. Phonics is a complete literacy programme, for 3 to 7 year-olds learning to read and write"

The programme runs from Nursery (summer term) through to Year 2 and is taught in ability sets. Children in Reception are set across the year group, but some children in Year One may access a Year Two class for their phonics lesson. For the first half term in reception, children are taught in their class groups although the focus may be differentiated for different abilities. They then move into sets from October half term to ensure there are taught skills at their current level of development.

Children move through the programme at their own pace and are taught sounds and words to support their progress throughout. When children have completed the Read, Write, Inc programme (sometimes by the end of Year One, but often in Year Two) they then access our bespoke reading comprehension programme

Reading Schemes               

We use 2 schemes within school to help support all children to become fluent readers. 

These are:

• Read Write Inc 
• Oxford Reading Tree

Ruth Miskin Read Write Inc links

Read Write Inc. Phonics - Ruth Miskin Literacy

Videos

 We aim to hear our children read at least twice per week. Once individually and once within a group reading sessions. Here's how we teach reading...

Reading for Pleasure

Each day children take part in Reading for pleasure which entails sharing set class stories.

The authors covered in each year group are:

• Nursery: Jill Murphy
• Reception: Janet & Allan Alhberg
• Year 1: Julia Donaldson
• Year 2: Roald Dahl / C. S. Lewis 

FRED days

'Father's Reading Every Day' is an embedded concept we use regularly in school to celebrate our Dads, Granddads, Uncles etc reading with us!

Secret Readers

We have some secret readers at Hill View Infant Academy. Children find out on the day that they will have a SECRET reader visit their class but they don't know who this is or when.... this could be ,Mrs Crompton (head teacher) or Mr Gray (the caretaker) or even a year 2 child.

The aim is to make our children excited about reading and sharing stories and learn that EVERYONE reads!

Click here to look at ways you can help your child with their phonics and reading at home.