1-1 READING

In Nursery the children are given a book bag when they start in Nursery. The children take home a reading record, a lilac reading book and a story book, to support reading for pleasure - the children share these books with their adult at home. In reception children take home a reaading record, a decodable book linked to their twinkl level and a 'reading for pleasure book' which could be a book banded book/non fiction book or a picture book.  Children read with an adult at least once a week.

In KS1 the children take home a ‘decodable’ book linked to their phonic level. Alongside this book the children also take home a reading for pleasure book which they can share with an adult. Two reading TAs work with Year one and Year two where they target specific children.

In KS2 children at The Willows use Accelerated Reader.

Each half term the children complete an online Star Reader assessment, which gives the children a reading range. From this, the children choose a book within their range and read it at their own pace. When they have finished, they take a short quiz on the computer. Passing the quiz is an indication that they have understood what has been read. Accelerated Reader gives children and teachers, feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher then uses to help your child to direct ongoing reading practice.

As the KS2 children using Accelerated Reader choose their own books to read, rather than having one assigned to them it makes reading a much more enjoyable experience as they can choose books that are interesting to them supporting the children to ‘Read for Pleasure’.

EYFS GUIDED READING

In Reception children have a weekly group guided reading session with the teacher this is based on a decodable reading book linked to their phonics level.

KS1 GUIDED READING

In KS1 children have a daily guided reading session which takes place directly after their phonics lesson. This helps to develop the skills of reading through a carousel of reading and phonics activities.

Which may include:

Reading for pleasure: The children may read books/comics/newspapers/stories/non-fiction texts.

Teacher and Teaching Assistant led session: The Teacher/TA guides the children through a book that is appropriate for the child’s level.

Comprehension: Reading a section of the text independently and answering questions about it.

Phonics Activity: Children complete a phonics activity linked to the phonics level they are working at.

KS2 WHOLE CLASS READING MODEL

Children in KS2 take part in daily whole class reading lessons. On a Monday and Friday the lessons are based on the class novel. On a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday texts are chosen from ‘The Literacy Shed’ resource. The lessons are taught with a focus on the VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Summary).

LIBRARY/READING AREAS

• In order to promote a love of Reading, teachers work hard to ensure that our learning environments promote reading for pleasure. We have worked hard to update our reading areas from Nursery through to Year 6 to ensure they are inviting spaces for our children to enjoy a wide variety of books.
• We have aimed to ensure that the books on offer are age-appropriate and engaging, with a wide range of fiction and non-fiction.
• We have reduced the number of books on offer and they will be rotated on a half-termly basis.

 All children have access to our school library which offers an exciting space fot he children to lose themselves in the wide range of books on offer!

PROMOTING A LOVE OF READING

At the Willows we promote a ‘love of reading’ through;

REWARDS:

• Reading is a priority throughout the school and this is reflected in our classroom reward award systems which we use to promote and reward reading outside of school e.g. raffle tickets, prizes, certificates, Seesaw messages home, dojos etc.

EXCITING EVENTS

• AUTHOR VISIT TO THE FORUM LIBRARY:

Year 5 had a visit to the Forum Library during ‘Disability Awareness Week’ where they met an author called Brian Abram. He shared one of his series of stories which are called ‘The Adventures of Grandads Wheels’.

• The Adventures of Grandad Wheels!' is a unique series of children's books about the crazy adventures of a disabled Grandad in a wheelchair and his Grandson Charlie. Each story tells the reader a little bit about what it is like to use a wheelchair… but more importantly, the stories will make you laugh out loud at the silly things Grandad Wheels and Charlie get up to! Above all else, these books aim to show that anyone in a wheelchair, whatever their age, can still have fun and be fun to be with. 

HARRY POTTER EVENT:

• Year 4 are participating in the ‘25 year anniversary of Harry Potter’ event, in conjunction with NLT, Manchester Libraries and Bloomsbury Publishing.
• We are one of only 25 schools chosen to take part and The Willows kick-started the book relay which is a 6 month tour! So far, the children have received a magical chest filled with Harry Potter goodies which will be up for grabs.
• They have begun reading, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ and have decorated the book relay version.

SEE MYSELF IN BOOKS with READ MCR:

This initiative is working with different schools, including The Willows, focusing on ethnic diversity. It is important that children from ethnic minority backgrounds see themselves in books, but it’s also important for all children to see people from different communities represented in books and writing or illustrating them too. All of KS2 have participated in a multilingual storytelling workshop with author, Richard O’Neill and a workshop with poet, Joseph Coelho for Years 2 – 6. A Superhero virtual event for Year 3 took place with debut author, Alex Falase-Koya who has also teamed up with Marcus Rashford after seeing a lack of black superheroes in children’s fiction. This year, we have invested in new books for classrooms and our school library which represent people from different backgrounds.

 MARCUS RASHFORD 

Our Year 5 and 6 classes were lucky enough to receive 60 free copies of ‘You are a Champion: How to be the best you can be’ by Marcus Rashford. The book is an inspiring guide to life for young people and a great read too. It offers advice on topics such as being yourself, using your voice and getting through adversity. The children have enjoyed borrowing the book to read, and sharing in Marcus' experience of growing up in Wythenshawe!

WORLD BOOK DAY:

The children celebrated World Book Day on Thursday 4^th March 2022. Children across the school enjoyed dressing up as some of their favourite book characters. The children looked fantastic! Thank you to all our families who donated £1 to put towards buying new books for our school. A total of £128.56 was raised. Thank you everyone!