Reading
When some children are learning to read, they catch on so quickly that it appears effortless. It does not seem to matter what reading curriculum or teachers they encounter, for they arrive at school already possessing the important foundational skills. For other children, though, the path to literacy is far more difficult and by no means assured. It matters very much what curriculum their schools use and who their first teachers are.
So what does reading look like at Ocker Hill?
It is seen in a variety of ways; from phonics to reading for pleasure to shared and guided reading in classrooms. Each classroom has a reading area; engaging for all children to explore and investigate a variety of skills and books. All children access at least one high quality story/text session daily where staff model their love of reading. We use Rhino Readers that match exactly to our Twinkl Phonics programme in the Reception Year and Year 1. Once our children have completed all of the phonic based books at the end of Level 5 they move on to banded readers. Our Home Reading books are also matched to each part of the Twinkl phonics scheme so that children get to build upon their skills at home with the aim to improve fluency.
School has a library that is accessed regularly for all children in particular Key Stage one and also Reading for pleasure offers an exciting time for children to read for pleasure without the constraints and pressures of assessment and progression. All children enjoy DEAR - Drop Everything And Read sessions which allows all staff and children to be engaged in a text of their choice.
Staff at Ocker Hill strive to instill a 'Love of Reading' by delivering and engaging in a variety of ways. Every year we invite an author into school to work with the children upon how they write and illustrate their books. This has really inspired our pupils and has impacted upon their writing progress too.
Reading is succeeding - Parent information evening - reading is succeeding OHI parent workshop.pdf
Home Reading Rewards
At Ocker Hill we value the love of reading and children are encouraged to read and share a story with family members. The rewards for reading at home are as follows:
- Every time your child reads with you/you read to them/complete a reading activity you can complete a box in their home reading record.
As they reach milestones in their home reading book count they will receive rewards. These include, certificates, books and storytimes with the Headteacher.
Support Videos for reading - sharing a story with your child. Spot the difference activities - Follow the repeating pattern - creating a rhyming string. All these aspects help you support you child's reading and Early reading activities.
