Purpose of Study

As a child grows up, being able to read well not only enables them to discover new facts and to learn at school, but also opens them up to a world of new ideas, stories and opportunities. We truly believe that by inspiring children to read, being read to on a daily basis by an adult in their class and by giving children opportunities to explore a range of rich and appropriately challenging texts through a variety of reading activities they will, in turn, succeed. They will succeed in reading accurately and fluently; responding critically to each text they read; and discussing texts with confidence. Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. By ensuring that children develop a love of reading and an ability to read accurately, fluently and critically, children will also succeed in developing their skills in writing, speaking and listening, and spelling, punctuation and grammar. 

Aims

• To 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 literacy 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 their understanding and ideas

• Are competent in skills of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate. 

Inspirational People

At our school, we believe in using the power of inspiration to help shape the thinking and curriculum design of our students. That's why we have taken inspiration from successful and influential people who have made a significant impact in their respective fields. By studying their stories, we aim to inspire our pupils to aim high and achieve their own goals. We have carefully curated a list of inspirational figures, including scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, and activists, to name a few. We have analysed what made them successful and incorporated their values, principles, and strategies into our curriculum design to provide our students with the tools they need to succeed. By doing so, we hope to empower our students to dream big and achieve greatness.

Intent

We are setting out to help our pupils ...

• To understand and use rich vocabulary beyond their own experiences.

• To be able to speak aloud confidently.

• To have a genuine love of reading and writing.

• Enjoy live poetry and performances.

• To be able to write to entertain an audience.

• To become fluent and confident readers and writers across the wider curriculum.

Implementation

We will do this by ensuring ...

• A carefully planned reading spine.

• Opportunities to speak in groups and in front of an audience.

• Children have access to a wide range of high quality texts. 

• Children are read to every day

• Events such as World Book Day, Poetry Day, Bedtime Story event encourage reading for pleasure.

• Enrichment activities such as the Pantomime. 

• Skills are taught progressively across all year groups beginning with a synthetic phonics programme in EYFS.

• A range of teaching strategies are used to ensure the curriculum is accessible to all pupils.

Impact

We will have made a difference when ...

• All pupils value and enjoy the curriculum we offer - they tell us they enjoy reading and like to be able to tell the stories they are learning to their parents.

• All pupils are reading age appropriate books with fluency, expression and understanding.

• All pupils are able to apply their reading and writing skills across a range of subjects.

Year R

• Children will be able to demonstrate an understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary.

• They will be able to anticipate – where appropriate – key events in stories.

• They will be able to use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play 

• They will be able to say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs; - 

• They will be able to read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words. 

• They will be able to write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed.

• They will be able to spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters.

• They will write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others. 

Year 1

Reading 

• Children will be able to read Set 1- 3 sounds and read new words by blending the sounds they know.

• Through discussion, they will develop an understanding of the meaning of new vocabulary, through what they  read, and what is read to them.

• They will begin to draw inference from the text and/or from illustrations. 

• They will join in with predictable phrases in key stories.

• They will talk about books they read and know, and answer questions about what is being said and done.

• They will listen and respond to a wide range of non-fiction texts that are read to them, that are at a level beyond what they can read independently.

Writing

• Children will compose a sentence orally before writing.

• They will write a sequence of sentences for form a narrative and edit and improve their writing.

• They will use their knowledge of Set 1- 3 sounds to spell words and use the spelling rule for adding suffixes.

• They will use capital letters at the beginning of a sentence, for days of the week and names of people.

• They will begin to use exclamations and question marks.

• Sentences will be joined using 'and' and they will be able to identify and find adjectives and verbs in their writing.

• They will begin to form lower case letters in the correct direction, starting and finishing in the right place.

Year 2

Reading 

• Children will build to being able to read accurately and fluently without over-sounding or blending (90 words per minute) minimum RWI Grey books.

• They will use intonation when reading aloud to make the meaning clear.

• They will express views about a wide range of stories, poems and non-fiction texts that are at a level beyond that at which they can read independently.

• They will ask questions about what the characters have said and about the events that have taken place.

• They will summarise key information when answering written questions

• They will use their knowledge of challenging vocabulary to draw meaning from a text. 

• They will use the key features of a text to help me find information.

Writing

• Children will use a writing frame to plan and discuss their ideas.

• They will re-read their writing to make sure it makes sense.

• Editing and improving will be carried out for improving vocabulary, punctuation, spelling and grammar.

• They will use apostrophes for contraction and possession.

• They will use the spelling rule to add suffixes. 

• They will use exclamations, question marks, commas in a list and inverted commas to demarcate direct speech.

• Different sentence types will be used - statement, exclamation, command and questions.

• They will form letters of the correct size relative to one another and begin to use some of the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters.

Year 3

Reading 

• Children will be able to read age-appropriate books confidently and fluently (90 words per minute).

• They will read words with common prefixes and suffixes.

• They will read aloud poems and play scripts using intonation, tone, volume and action. 

• They will discuss a range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays and reference books summarising the information from at least three paragraphs.

• They will predict what might happen from details stated and draw inferences from characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives.

• They will use play scripts showing an  understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action.

• They will check the meaning of words they are unfamiliar with using a dictionary or glossary.

• They will explain their thoughts and preferences of a text giving justifications and reasons why. 

Writing

• Children will plan narratives with structure, setting, characters and plot.

• They will structure their ideas into paragraphs around a theme.

• They will continue to edit and improve their writing.

• They will add prefixes to a root word using the correct rule.

• Apostrophes and inverted commas will be used accurately.

• They will use hyphens in their writing.

• They will use a variety of conjunctions to express cause and use adverbs of time.

• Use the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined. 

Year 4

Reading 

• They will explain why a writer uses specific words and phrases to capture the imagination of a reader.

• They will identify themes, morals and meanings from texts.

• They will discuss a range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays and reference books, listening to and building on other’s ideas.

• They will know that stories are structured in different ways and are written for a range of purposes.

• They will select the appropriate books for the correct purpose particularly when finding information.

• They will identify and use key features of non-fiction texts and identify how the structure of a text contributes to the meaning. 

• They will show an understanding of poems through intonation, tone, volume and action and recognise different forms of poetry including free-verse and narrative. 

Writing

• Children will plan more detailed narrative writing discussing and recording in different ways.

• They will structure their writing into paragraphs.

• Editing and improving will take place with a focus on consistent use of effective vocabulary, punctuation, spelling and grammar.

• Similes, alliteration, expanded noun phrases, adjectives and descriptive devices will all be used to add effect.

• They will spell and know the difference between common homophones.

• They will use commas after fronted adverbials.

• They will know, use, identify and find pronouns, determiners, co-ordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.

• They will increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting.

Year 5

Reading 

• Children will be able to attempt the pronunciation of unfamiliar words, drawing on prior knowledge of similar looking words.

• They will read aloud poems and play scripts using intonation, tone, volume and action.

• They will perform different poems, including some I have learnt by heart. 

• They will be familiar with and talk about: myths, legends, traditional stories, books from other cultures and traditions.

• They will explain why a writer uses specific words, phrases and figurative language.

• They will identify themes, morals and meanings from a wide range of texts.

• They will identify why an author has used varied sentence lengths in their writing, explaining what impact that has on a reader.

• They will  identify why an author has used rhetorical questions in their writing, explaining what impact that has on the reader.

Writing

• The children will plan their writing by first identifying their audience and the correct purpose.

• They will plan characters and settings using ideas from authors to help them.

• Dialogue will be integrated into the writing interweaved with descriptions of characters and settings.

• They will know and use personification and metaphors in their writing.

• The children will be introduced to parenthesis.

• They will be able to use modal verbs, relative clauses and adverbs to indicate possibility.

• They will write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed.

Year 6

Reading 

• Children will be able to  show an awareness of the writer’s craft.

• They will identify themes, morals and meanings from longer texts.

• They will predict what might happen from details stated and implied.

• They will draw inferences from characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives.

• They will answer true or false questions based on what they have read.

• They will identify, structure, purpose and grammatical key features, evaluating how effective they are. 

• They will identify how the language, structure and presentation of a text contributes to the meaning and give examples and an explanation.

• They will identify the differences between fact and opinion. 

Writing

• Children will consolidate and apply all previously taught writing skills.

• They will use reading and research to help them plan their writing. 

• They will evaluate and edit their writing suggesting changes to grammar and  tense choice.

• They will write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed making choices about whether or not to join specific letters.