English

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

Frederick Douglass

 

Why do we believe reading is so important at Seven Stars school?

 

There are two key elements in reading that we want our children to acquire:

FLUENCY - addressed through

• our systematic synthetic multi-sensory phonics scheme called Phonics Shed which you can see more details about on our Phonics page   Phonics at Seven Stars (including additional phonics sessions and 'phonics blasts')
• Our early Guided Reading sessions in Early Years
• Our focused guided reading sessions at Key Stage One
• Whole class reading sessions at Key Stage Two
• our high value on hearing children read as often as we can and daily targeted readers

 

MOTIVATION - reading widely for pleasure (including being read to) and nurturing a true love for reading which we do through a number of ways including:

• High quality reading challenge with lists of recommended books

Click here to see our Seven Stars Reading Challenge Recommended Reading list

 

• Participation in the Fantastic Book Awards    Fantastic Book Awards
• Celebrations of books on a regular basis e.g. assemblies and book fairs
• Library stocked with high quality books from the Lancashire Library Service
• Author visits (e.g. The Word Guerilla and on-line workshops
• 'The Colour Monster' developing vocabulary about emotions
• Class Novels read to the children and using books outside (e.g. for identifying birds)

INTENT

 

Speaking, listening, reading and writing are an essential part of all activities in the curriculum.  At Seven Stars Primary School we aim to provide children with a wide range of creative and inspiring activities to develop and embed these skills.  We strive for children to develop a love of reading and the ability to write confidently and fluently.  We encourage our pupils to take pride in their work and to aim for the highest standards in writing and presentation.

The National Curriculum for English aims to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

Classroom Environment

All classes have:

• Working walls for both English units and SPaG which are used and relevant for the work in the children’s books
• Vocabulary displayed
• Writing and Reading resources which are accessible
• Inviting book areas
• Cross-curricular writing examples
• Places to celebrate children’s achievements in writing
• Comprehension activities/ challenge boards/cards/areas

Training

Staff at Seven stars are constantly attending training to improve their practice and knowledge.  Training is delivered by the subject leader along with Lancashire Literacy Consultants. We have recently had training focusing on Lancashire's Talk Programme and using the I-Model for grammar.

What our children say about reading

"I love reading because it is calming. You feel safe and you can just read"

"I like to read silently because it helps us to imagine"

"I like that we don't always know what we are going to read. It can be anything"

"Reading is the best lesson!"

"I like reading because it calms me down when I come into school. Reading is enjoyable"