Reading

At Parkside our aim is for children to become confident and independent readers who gain both pleasure and insight from the reading activities and texts they engage with.  Reading is an essential skill for participation in all areas of life.  Competence enables enjoyment and appreciation of literature and access to information from a variety of sources. At Parkside we understand that reading is a developmental process and part of life-long learning and we encourage and praise children at every stage of it.

Phonics at Parkside:

EYFS & KS1: In Early Years and KS1 (Years 1 & 2) phonics is taught daily for 30 minutes following the Read Write Inc scheme.

It begins with the teaching of individual sounds, moving on to sound blending and introducing children to multi letter sounds. 

From here children learn to read and write words and sentences using their knowledge of letter sounds. RWI is taught discretely in tailored groups and at each new assessment stage children can be moved from one .

Reading at Parkside:

At Parkside we use a range of reading strategies are used to develop and extend the literacy learning. This includes:

• Dedicated reciprocal reading sessions which aim to develop the individual reading skills that children need to be able to successfully comprehend a text they have read.
• Giving the children many opportunity to observe good reading practise, modelled by their teachers during literacy lessons and story times.
• Giving the children ownership of their learning journey by given them many opportunity to explore texts and choose their own reading book.Opportunity for peer and shared reading throughout the school.
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Home Reading

EYFS & Year 1: At Parkside EYFS and Year 1 home reading books are closely matched to the child’s individual phonics knowledge. They aim to allow the children to practise the skills of decoding (breaking down the words into sound chunks) and blending (pulling all of the sounds together) using the sounds they have already learnt. Children in EYFS & Year 1 are encouraged to take home a second book from their class sharing library, which they are able to enjoy at home with their family.

Year 2 – 6: At Parkside we use Accelerated Reader as our home reading provision from Year 2 – 6. Accelerated Reader is a computer based program that helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practise and aims to develop reading for pleasure. Accelerated Reader is a reading provision which meets the need of every pupil. If you want to find out more about Accelerated Reader please on the icon below.

Reading at home

‘Sharing a book with a child is fun - it's a time for closeness, laughing and talking together. It can also give children a flying start in life and help them become lifelong readers.’ The Book Trust.

The Book Trust’s ‘top tips’ to make home reading successful

• Set aside some time
  Find somewhere quiet without any distractions - turn off the TV/radio/computer.

• Ask your child to choose a book
  Sharing books they have chosen shows you care what they think and that their opinion matters. This means they are more likely to engage with the book.

• Sit close together
  Encourage your child to hold the book themselves and/or turn the pages.

• Point to the pictures and ask questions
  If there are illustrations, relate them to something your child knows. Ask them to describe the characters or situation or what will happen next. Encourage them to tell you the story by looking at the pictures. Please find the link to key questions to ask when reading below.

• Encourage your child to talk about the book
  Talking about the characters and their dilemmas helps children understand relationships and is an excellent way for you to get to know each other or discuss difficult issues. Give your child plenty of time to respond. Ask them what will happen next, how a character might be feeling or how the book makes them feel.

• And lastly, above all - make it fun!
  It doesn't matter how you read with a child, as long as you both enjoy the time together. Don't be afraid to use funny voices - children love this!