Reading
At Langwith Bassett Primary Academy, reading is at the heart of our curriculum, especially ‘love for reading’. It is our intention that every child will be a reader and read fluently, with prosody and with confidence, and they will be encouraged to develop a lifelong love of reading. We want all children to leave Langwith Bassett Primary Academy with a rich vocabulary that opens doors to a world of knowledge and opportunities. Reading is a gateway to lifelong learning. Children who develop a love for reading are more likely to continue learning throughout their lives, being curious, informed, and engaged in the world around them.
Fluency
At Langwith Bassett Junior Academy, we recognise that reading fluency is essential for successful comprehension. Fluency involves reading accurately, at an appropriate pace and with expression. When children become fluent readers, they can focus their attention on understanding and interpreting what they read rather than simply decoding words.
We develop fluency through regular opportunities for teacher modelling, repeated reading, choral reading, echo reading, partner reading and independent reading. These approaches help children build confidence, automaticity and prosody, enabling them to become successful and enthusiastic readers.
Reading Comprehension
Once children have developed fluency, we deepen their understanding through high-quality reading lessons that explicitly teach comprehension skills and vocabulary. Our aim is to develop confident, reflective readers who can discuss texts thoughtfully, make connections between ideas and authors, and understand how language is used to create meaning.
From Year 2 to Year 6, children take part in daily reading lessons using carefully selected, high-quality texts. These texts act as mirrors, windows and doors, allowing children to see themselves reflected in literature, explore the experiences of others and broaden their understanding of the world. They are also chosen to expose pupils to ambitious vocabulary, rich language and diverse viewpoints.
We follow a structured approach to reading. Each new text is introduced through an 'Unlocking the Text' lesson, where children build essential background knowledge and explore unfamiliar vocabulary. This ensures all pupils can access and engage successfully with the text, regardless of their prior experiences.
Daily lessons include opportunities for fluency practice, rich discussion and explicit teaching of a key reading skill. Teachers model thinking and learning before pupils apply and practise these skills independently. Lessons conclude with opportunities for children to demonstrate and transfer their understanding through purposeful comprehension tasks.
Through this approach, we aim to develop skilled, knowledgeable and enthusiastic readers who are well-prepared for future learning and who develop a lifelong love of reading.
|
Year Group |
Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
|
Year 2 |
Phonics Phases 5e-5f |
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark Owls (extract) The Owl and the Pussycat (extract) |
George's Marvellous Medicine Life Savers Poem from GMM |
|
Year 3/4 (A) |
The Wild Robot Robots Robots in the School (extract) |
Charlotte's Web Roar Like a Lion Outside in Nature |
The Infinite Wonderfully Wired Brains Being Me |
|
Year 3/4 (B) |
The Firework-Maker's Daughter If I Were a Kid in Ancient China Courage in a Poem |
The Iron Woman Marvellous Machines The Coming of the Iron Man |
The Butterfly Lion Big Cats Riding a Lion |
|
Year 5/6 (A) |
A Boy Called Hope Martin Luther King (extract) The Book of Hopes (extract) |
Jaz Santos She Shoots, She Scores Reaching the Stars |
When Secrets Set Sail Who Are Refugees and Migrants? On the Move |
|
Year 5/6 (B) |
The Midnight Fox Ban Fox Hunting (extract) The Thought Fox |
Emil and the Detectives The Changing Police (extract) Macavity: The Mystery Cat |
The Letter with the Golden Stamp Children Who Changed the World The Emotional Menagerie |
Home Reading
At Langwith Bassett Junior Academy, we believe that regular reading at home plays a vital role in developing confident, fluent and enthusiastic readers.
Children who are accessing phonics teaching or intervention programmes take home fully decodable books that closely match the sounds and reading skills they have been taught in school. This allows them to practise and apply their learning successfully, building confidence and fluency.
To support the development of fluency, reading books are typically changed once a week.
Parents and carers are encouraged to read regularly with their children and record this in their reading planner. Staff also use reading planners to communicate reading completed in school, creating a valuable partnership between home and school. Re-reading familiar texts helps children to develop accuracy, automaticity and expression, enabling them to read with greater confidence and understanding.
We are committed to fostering a love of reading and recognise that regular reading practice at home has a positive impact on achievement across the wider curriculum.
The table below shows the different books pupils will take home:
Love of Reading
At Langwith Bassett Junior Academy, fostering a love of reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We are committed to developing lifelong readers by providing children with regular opportunities to enjoy, explore and discuss a wide range of high-quality texts.
Children visit the school library each week and engage in daily reading-for-pleasure experiences. Carefully chosen books are promoted within classrooms and the library to encourage curiosity, nurture individual interests and broaden children's reading experiences. We also provide texts linked to the wider curriculum, helping pupils deepen their knowledge and discover new interests through reading.
Reading is celebrated throughout the school year through events such as World Book Day, reading challenges, parent events and other exciting opportunities that inspire children to see themselves as readers.
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