RettendonTeaching of Reading, Phonics, Writing and Spelling.
Learning to Read
It will be no surprise to you that children who read well also achieve well in all curriculum subjects. It will also be of no surprise that children who read widely go on to be outstanding communicators in both the written and spoken disciplines. Learning to read is a combination of phonetic knowledge, comprehension of combined phrases and being able to interpret contextual clues.
In EYFS and Year 1 we use the Read Write Inc. Phonics scheme. This phonics programme supports both early reading and writing. Children learn the English alphabetic code: first they learn one way to read the 40+ sounds and blend these sounds into words, then learn to read the same sounds with alternative graphemes. They experience success from the very beginning. Lively phonic books are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and ‘tricky’ words and, as children re-read the stories, their fluency increases. Along with a thought-provoking introduction, prompts for thinking out loud and discussion, children are helped to read with a storyteller’s voice.
Comprehension skills are developed through discussion, with adults, individually and in small groups or as a class. Group and Whole Class Reading sessions take place regularly throughout the school.
From the Summer Term of Year 2 onward the children have access to our Accelerated Reader. Through this, the children read books within a specific band. Once they have read their book they complete a quiz which supports teachers to set goals, monitor students’ continued progress, and personalise lesson plans.
We assess progress in reading in many ways. Teachers are continually looking for progress daily as they feedback to pupils ways to get even better. We also assess children more formally at the end of each term using standardised testing tools.
Questions to ask when hearing your child read
Year 6 : 50 Recommended Reads Year 5 : 50 Recommended Reads
Year 4 : 50 Recommended Reads Year 3 : 50 Recommended Reads
Year 2 : 50 Recommended Reads Year 1 : 50 Recommended Reads
Learning to Write
Children at Rettendon Primary School write every day in many lessons as well as English. They rehearse out loud what they want to say, before spelling the words using the graphemes and ‘tricky’ words they know. They practise handwriting: sitting at a table comfortably, they learn correct letter formation and how to join letters speedily and legibly.
Children are taught to analyse texts, looking at structure, vocabulary, grammar, spelling, punctuation, genre specific features and effectiveness.
Over the course of each term children write many different genres of text and are often given the opportunities to write their own text based on what they have read.
In Years 2-6 we follow the progressive Read Write Inc.Spellings Programme. Although the teaching of phoneme-grapheme correspondence underpins this programme, it also develops children’s knowledge of word families, how suffixes impact upon root words, and provides mnemonics to remember the trickiest spellings. The teaching revolves around instruction, partner and group practice, and competitive group challenges that help children commit new words to memory.