Ideas to promote enjoyment and achievement in reading We would like to thank all DASP Schools for contributing to this publication.
Schools were asked to share a few tried and tested ideas to promote pleasure and progress in reading (not schemes of work or planning). We hope you find them useful.
If you would like further details on any of the ideas listed, please contact the school directly. Headteacher: Mrs Melanie Austin Tel: 01305 852417 Email: office@broadmayne.dorset.sch.uk
WORLD BOOK DAY/WEEK:
Competitions Quizzes Staff and Governor story-times Assemblies with adult role models Parent workshops annually Positive attitudes consistently shown by all male and female staff.
Paired reading with older/ younger pupils.
Participation in Library Summer Challenge and school’s own challenges
Book Swap Library Time staffed (each child brings a book in by very enthusiastic and swaps for another– school keeps spares) parents! Children have a say in selecting new reading and library books
Daily individual reading and listening to texts given status as well as guided and class reading—awards for reading frequently at Families and governors invited in home. to share books Acting Headteacher: Mr David Vann Tel: 01300 341319 Email: [email protected]
Guided Reading with a rotation of Grammar, Phonic, Reading for Meaning and teacher led group.
Independent reading slots
Additional Community Reading support. 1:1 sessions with community volunteers.
Half termly Reading Challenge (children and staff) i.e. “Extreme Reading” - where can you be pictured that is “extreme” to read? Then a book review and celebrated on the R.O.A.R. Board (Raising Our Attainment in Reading)
Half termly reward charts for reading recorded in home/school book.
Whole school team points rewarded with a choice of book
Topic linked class book—read once a week by teacher for 15 minutes (and during wet plays, etc)
Library time
Reading materials for outdoors during break time (comics, fiction, non- fiction, word puzzles etc.)
Half termly Family Project linked to topic with focus on “Reading to find out …..”
Weekly spellings
One topic session per week identified as having a reading focus—Reading for Meaning on a topic, to gain information to use later. Headteacher: Mr Ian Donnelly Tel: 01305 263880 Email: [email protected]
Book Week
Guess the book Parents reading with their child “Drop everything and read”
Library Lottery!
Names are drawn out each day of children who can spend break time in the Library.
Paired reading:
Each child paired with a child in a different Key Stage to share a book of their choice.
KS2 have a reading challenge in order to encourage the children to read at home and get their book signed. Headteacher: Mr Bob Duffin Tel: 01258 837306 Email: office@cheselbourne.dorset.sch.uk
We asked children to bring in photos
of themselves reading in their Paired reading works favourite place (some interesting well in RWI group photos emerged including hot tubs reading sessions. and tree houses!). This made an eye -catching display that reinforced reading being fun.
Each child who reads for at least 4/5 days a week gets a “Golden Ticket” that is We intend to give out a list displayed on a reading tree of recommended age/ability in the class. related books for parents in preparation for Christmas/birthday gifts.
The class library area is used as the “treat” area for excellent behaviour/ work We ask children to recommend a reading book that they have enjoyed reading during a weekly
Parents bring in their assembly slot. The book titles favourite childhood book for are then recorded to be referred an open assembly to share to later. with a small group of children.
We hold a Readathon with a book fayre/dressing up as a character (including staff) which boosts reading. Headteacher: Mrs Catherine Smith Tel: 01305 264924 Email: [email protected]
Big Reading Project
The whole school worked together to create and publish a real book. The children saw themselves as storytellers. We enabled children to work with real professionals in this field, e.g. authors and illustrators. The use of male authors was influential for boys. The Project had real outcomes and a purpose that the children and parents could relate to and understand. Children took on real roles and jobs within the Project and were inspired by having professional role models.
Changing the environment in which our children read has a large impact on the frequency and use of book corners (investing in new furniture, new books and resources).
Planning whole learning projects Library Clubs based on books Run by teachers and feedback from children has resulted in an investment in more non-fiction reading materials, e.g. magazines. Headteacher: Ms Julie Thorp Tel: 01305 852643 Email: [email protected]
We have worked hard on planning Guided Reading sessions with levelled questions (and training TAs in guided reading as well). We use a wide range The school created levelled book- of texts in guided reading sessions - marks (linked to APP AFs) that we fiction, non-fiction, leaflets, posters, send home each half term. This was food packaging, newspapers, poetry, to encourage parents to ask their even tissue boxes!! child comprehension questions and particularly to encourage parents of KS2 children to listen to their child read.
Guided reading sessions in KS2 include one group 'reading for pleasure'. We have a box in the classroom where children can put in The school holds an annual 'Stories books they think other at Six' where children return to children would like to read. school at 6pm for storytime (dressed in PJs, with cuddly toys). Staff also wear PJs and children are served hot chocolate.
Our parent council helped to create 'book boxes' We changed our reading scheme a few years ago. outside each classroom. These are really book swap Now, children have their reading book from boxes to encourage children to bring in unwanted school and also have two 'choosing books'. So, books and other children/parents to take books each week they have 3 books to take home, two home to read. of which are chosen by the children to read just for pleasure! Headteacher: Ms Melanie Cridland Tel: 01305 268741 Email: [email protected]
Workshops for parents:
Phonics Quality visits to the Teachers having a good Home Reading local library and up to date knowledge of childrens’ Guided Reading books
Catch Up Intervention Programme
Lots of Book Talk during Phase 1 of the teaching unit. Sharing of high quality Good home-school links with reading resources. parents to ensure good reading support from home
A clear, comfortable reading
corner in all classes Volunteers to listen to Daily guided children reading reading sessions
Sharing of a text EVERY day BUG CLUB Class book read http://www.bugclub.co.uk to the children Milborne St Andrew First School Headteacher: Mr Neil McDermott Tel: 01258 837362 Email: [email protected]
Interventions such as FFT Grouping children in Wave 3 for low attainers in phonics and guided Year 1 has been very reading across the whole successful. We run these school according to their sessions before school so stage has enabled all the child doesn’t “miss” children’s needs to be anything! met.
We have trained our We provide ‘follow on’ parent volunteers in support for our children “how to read with a who have finished child” following a format intensive one to one similar to the approach reading interventions. within FFT Wave 3.
Parent volunteers run our library. Children are taught how to find fiction and non-fiction books. Headteacher: Mrs Tracy Jones Tel: 01300 348219 Email: [email protected]
Salford reading September to March, analysing Key stage expectation sessions to support results and compiling daily readers and additional parents’ understanding of key reading skills to 1:1 reading support for children who are more be developed at each stage/year group, from than 6 months below their chronological age phonics sounds/digraphs etc, blending, and/or have made less than 6 months progress decoding, context, sentence structure and since the last assessment point. punctuation through to comprehension levels.
Participate in library summer “ERIC” 20 minutes after lunch in End of day story in every reading challenge. every class. class.
Half termly reading 1:1 with class teacher using Home reading books recorded as titles and SATs style record to diagnose strategies used/ numbered with certificates awarded in assem- errors and focus on personalised next steps. bly for every 10 books read.
Class library slot and lunchtime Revamped library Authors/illustrators in school library club led by Year 4 library (lucky to have parental expertise!) monitors.
Reading display with book reviews etc from Daily phonics at the same time in every class children throughout the school and world book to enable children to move to different phase day activities/photos. if necessary. Headteacher: Mr Peter Farrington Tel: 01305 257120 Email: [email protected]
Encourage parental support/sessions available to develop parental awareness. TAs trained to lead “Group Reading” and “Letters and Sounds” sessions. Class stories read by teacher. Culture and ethos aims to inspire a love of Reading and awareness of the importance of Reading, both in Reading “lessons” and across the curriculum. Regular daily routine of the Group Reading system, which allows for both independent reading and focused teaching. Quality of books Home support—dialogue in Home Learning Diaries. Range of intervention strategies, e.g. Reading Recovery model, daily targeted readers, 1:1 tuition, SENSS assessments and support. School Library improvement plan Service Level Agreement with Dorset Library Service. Budget allowance for continued development of resources available for reading. Strategies to develop “love of reading”, including many ideas suggested by Jane Davis (e.g. Extreme Reading). Headteacher: Mr Dan Hunwick Tel: 01305 848206 Email: [email protected]
Last year Puddletown First put in place some new strategies to help with comprehension, in particular inference and deduction:
Look at a picture from a book. Ask 3 questions:
New Strategies 1) What do you know? to Help With 2) What do you think you Comprehension know? 3) What would you like to know?
Focus on the language an Take a short piece of text and author uses in a piece of text. ask the same questions.
By the end of Year 4 children were independently able to answer quite complex questions.
We celebrated World Book Week with a focus on encouraging reading and from this we now have a weekly reading reflection time which the whole school take part in on a Friday for half an hour—this could be the class reading their own books, reading to another class, book reviews or reading circles.
We feel that as a result of these interventions it enabled the Year 4 children to make 9 points progress from end of KS1 to end of Year 4. St Mary’s Catholic First School, Dorchester Headteacher: Miss Jackie Clayton Tel: 01305 262258 Email: [email protected]
RECEPTION CLASS IDEAS ………..
Make play dough with the children and then use it to retell the story with their friends.
Write sounds on ping pong balls and then place them in the corresponding sound tube (children help to make the sound tubes so that they have owner- ship)
A library role play area where children can check books in and out, make library cards etc.
WHOLE SCHOOL IDEAS …...
Daily readers list for those children who don’t read at home or who need extra support. Reading Volunteers—use the Organisation to support those children who struggle with reading. During guided reading sessions all the children in the class work on a topic around reading. “Breadth” cards—a pupil challenge to encourage reading a variety of materials. These are graded cards that pupils work through, each card has a greater reading variety on it than the last. Headteacher: Mrs Rachel Horne Tel: 01305 889297 Email: [email protected]
Reading Shelter/area in the playground Whole topics based on one In the summer we have 10 or so children storybook to engage and from Year 1 upwards taking reading books develop in-depth knowledge out to read in the sun. of age appropriate literature.
Dorchester Library’s Summer Reading Challenge This has taken off big time at Winterbourne and created a real competition between the children on how many books they read over the summer. This summer we had 40% of our pupils register and receive a certificate for reading over 6 books during the summer. The impact of this is that we have noticed children making progress in reading between July and September rather than falling back. Headteacher: Mr Paul Chadwick Tel: 01305 265561 Email: [email protected]
Drop everything and read; at a time agreed by staff, Reading Journals: linking everyone in school drops reading and writing. Different, everything and reads for 10 but not in replace of the tradi- minutes. tional reading records.
Using picture books with KS2 Book Talk …. likes, dislikes, …. including Harris Burdick, connections to our own lives and Shaun Tann. puzzles (questions we have).
Reciprocal reading—pupils work in groups and take on During quiet reading pupils roles as questioner, do not read seated at desks summariser, predictor and as this is an unnatural clarifier. This works well as reading position. They sit on part of a guided reading the floor, use cushions, lay on carousel. tummy etc.
Paired reading KS2 pupils with 6th formers from Read for My School—a free THS. national reading competition for schools in England. Google it!
Run an extreme reading competition (pupils and Staff reading their own staff, photographed (suitable!) book during quiet reading their favourite reading time. book in an unusual, but safe, place). Headteacher: Mr J Williams Tel: 01305 262897 Email: [email protected]
St Osmund’s CE Middle School
Class novels, read daily by the teacher for 15 minutes to the whole class.
Being read to reignites that love of literature for its own sake; Appreciating a good story and being carried away by good use of language without having to struggle to decode or persevere.
The whole class being involved allows for shared discussion as well as shared experience. Some teachers have started to bring their own books to share, or have asked for certain texts to be purchased electronically so they can share on-screen with the class. Headteacher: Mr Carl Winch Tel: 01305 848293 Email: [email protected]
St Mary’s CE Middle School
School Intervention “Rapid Read” has proven to be an excellent programme in terms of reading recovery.
Class Intervention P99 activity—useful during guided reading to get children to infer and discuss description and character clues that appear on p99 of any book.
Information texts—allowing the pupils to read, formulate and decide on a viewpoint from which to develop an argument and then use those standpoints for whole class discussion.
Whole-class teaching We teach the “5 types of reading question” very early on: 1. Retrieve 2. Infer 3. Organisation and Structure 4. Language use 5. Author’s viewpoint
Sharing this language with the children we find very helpful in preparing for SATS and forms the main focus of any reading questioning.
Pupil Intervention Paired reading using our older, more confident readers to support younger less confident students.
Parent Intervention We send a list of reading activities home to support the pupils’ reading at home. Headteacher: Mr Mike Foley Literacy Coordinator: Claire Davies Tel: 01305 266064 Email: [email protected]
The Thomas Hardye School
Book of the Week uploaded onto FROG (VLE) which has links to book reviews from staff and students.
40 Reading Mentors trained in Year 11 who work with weak readers in Year 9 from October half term.
“Over the summer I read ……” assemblies where staff and students are recorded talking about books they enjoyed reading over the summer. Headteacher: Mr Andrew Roberts-Wray Tel: 01305 262306 Email: [email protected]
Starting from Year 1, use of an accelerated reading scheme called Renaissance with an online comprehension test for each book read.
Daily individual reading with TA or teacher up to Year 3.
Weekly story/poetry time in library where a different member of staff reads to children who choose to go. Transition book scheme: Pupil involvement with Staff libraries showing clips of video of choosing texts and (used books) authors talking about their resources for the library work followed by pupils choosing a “free” book for themselves
Email signatures/screen Belly bands for books (short Shadowing book awards savers set to “what I’m reviews) currently reading …… “
Reading/literacy calendar Photos of all staff reading Cross school reading as part of school planners with a brief description of competitions and calendars what they are reading and why
Reading Buddy scheme LRC credits: rewards for TV screens in reception: taking books out of the Literacy focus/what I’m library currently reading
Short pieces of text Pupils take on responsibility National Literacy Trust connected to particular for reading/literacy displays Reading Champions places displayed around the around the school scheme school
Posters from NLT of sports Videos celebrating reading, Staff book groups stars reading e.g. “I’m reading my book” - rap style Youtube video
Pupil book groups Parent and child reading Assemblies with a reading groups focus
“Literacy watch” targets on Apprentice style challenge Liaison with other schools: the front of books set for pupils to encourage Pupils send postcards to reading for pleasure within their new middle/upper the school/other year school about what they en- groups joy reading (these are then made into a display)
Use of homework/ Kindle Corner/iPads Inter class/tutor group independent learning to reading competitions promote wider reading
Tutor time activities, e.g. Link independent reading/ APPs: Words that Burn/ reading “speed dating” reading passports to Underground reading rewards system
Link wider reading “Pop up” libraries—take iPaper—promoted in tutor suggestions to subject books out of the library groups—rolling programme displays across the curriculum
Babysitting books—books to Film nights based on texts “Get caught reading” - read to/read with younger raffle tickets given out for siblings prizes for pupils “caught” reading in school
Bring and buy book sales Book swaps for pupils Book swaps between teachers and pupils (with photos to publicise the events)
Library lotteries Creative writing workshops Male visitors who talk about with stories/books etc. their reading and why it’s placed in the library to add important/useful to them to the reading material available
Pupils apply to become library monitors/librarians