Ark White City Primary Academy is passionate about reading and aims to create a culture in which all pupils become readers for life.
Phonics
Children start their reading journey with the excellent Read Write Inc. Phonics programme. The programme is taught in small groups with all pupils in Reception and Year 1, and any pupils in Years 2, 3 and 4 who are still learning to decode. Pupils who are learning to decode in Years 5 and 6 follow an age-appropriate version of the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme called Fresh Start.
With both programmes we assess and group pupils according to their reading progress. In their groups, pupils:
- learn to read and write sounds
- read and spell words containing the sounds they have learnt
- read common exception words speedily
- read fiction and non-fiction books which closely match their phonic knowledge
- write about what they have read
- practise letter formation and handwriting
For further information about Read Write Inc. Phonics and how you can support your child, please click here.
In Year Two, once the pupils are fluent at decoding, they progress to Read Write Inc. Comprehension. This programme develops their comprehension, writing, critical thinking and discussion skills, and provides a firm knowledge and understanding of grammar. We use this programme as a bridge from the phonics programme into whole class reading.
Our nursery teachers prepare children for Read Write Inc using the Letters and Sounds programme, which concentrates on developing children's speaking and listening skills. The programme covers three key strands: tuning into sounds, listening to and remembering sounds, and talking about sounds.
Whole class reading
Once pupils have secured their phonics skills, they progress into whole class reading. From Year 2 to Year 6, each class reads texts that are carefully chosen for their quality and age-appropriateness. This selection includes a range of fiction and non-fiction books, as well as poems. During whole class reading lessons, the teacher introduces the text and explains all new vocabulary within context. The lessons also include daily partner reading, providing the teacher with an opportunity to hear the pupils read. This is followed by a 'think aloud' where the teacher explains key parts of the text, teaches comprehension skills and asks questions to assess pupils' understanding. Pupils
have the opportunity to write answers to questions about the text, and each lesson finishes with a fluency reread.