Reading at Hawthorn
Reading plays a vital role in the development and education of your child. At Hawthorn we ensure that pupils have lots of opportunities to read in lots of different contexts and for different reasons. We continually strive to promote a love of reading to ensure that pupils are ready for the next stages in their learning and to make sure that they will learn to love books and words.
We encourage parents to become involved in reading activities with their child. A group of parents have become reading ambassadors for our school and will help us to raise the profile of reading across the school.
Our school library has also recently been completed and we are excited to develop this and add more books to it in the future. The library is open at break-times by Miss Pearson on a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Reading schemes in Key Stage 1 and EYFS
Pupils have opportunity to choose their own book from reading schemes Spotlights, Rigby Star, Oxford Reading tree and Read Write Inc. The children are guided to choose each new book by staff and the books chosen will be linked to their current phonic level. As children progress and become more confident when reading, they are encouraged to choose their own reading book from outside a scheme, although a member of staff will always read with your children to check that it is appropriate for them. Your child will take home a RWI reading book and another reading for pleasure book to enjoy with you at home.
Opportunities for reading in KS1 and KS2
Pupils also read regularly in other areas of the curriculum and in other parts of the school day through:
Guided Reading (EYFS and KS1) - Teachers work with small groups of pupils to teach specific and targeted reading skills in a book or text that is sufficiently challenging.
Whole class Reading lessons – children in KS2 take park in whole class reading sessions at least 3 times a week. Children will look at a fiction, non-fiction or poem throughout the course of the week, allowing children to look at a text in more depth to help develop a range of reading skills.
Reading Across the Curriculum - Pupils read a range of books linked to other areas of their learning and their topics. They will often use these texts for research and as a prompt for a writing activity. Sometimes, this reading will also help the work children complete in their English lessons.
Class novels - In all classes, books are read to pupils allowing them to hear good examples of reading aloud and to develop a love for reading books themselves. Class books are shared with pupils, where they read along with the teacher. This gives children the chance to discuss what they are reading with both the class teacher and the other children in their class.
Reading for pleasure – All classes have a reading area for children to choose a reading for pleasure book from, which children should also read at home. Parents' workshops are held regularly to show parents how to read with their child and how to ask challenging questions to check understanding. Children in KS2 can also take part in ‘Secret Book Club’ within their class. During the summer holidays, children were also encourage to take park in ‘Reading Bingo’.
Can you volunteer to read with children?
We are always on the lookout for parents/ carers to come in and read with children. Please speak to your child’s teacher or the School Office if you are available to volunteer.