Reading Scheme
Pupils at Christ Church are encouraged to read from entry into school. Nursery pupils will share stories and nursery rhymes as part of the daily diet of reading. Pupils are encouraged to take part in the 1000 Stories Scheme. Throughout the year, children develop their communication and language skills and listening skills exploring and discriminating sounds around them. Fred Talk Games are played to support the development of the children’s oral blending skills. In the Summer Term, Nursery RWI begins teaching the children Set 1 sounds.
As pupils progress into Reception the teaching of reading will become more formalised. RWI will be the main tool used to help pupils develop their early reading skills and phonic awareness. This is also where pupils will begin to use the school ‘Reading Scheme’. Project X Phonics is used to support early reading but as children grow in confidence they will move to the Project X Alien Adventures books. As well as a reading scheme book which will provide more challenge, children who can confidently blend words will be provided with an RWI Book Bag Book. These books are fully decodable and match the children’s phonics level therefore children should read these books fluently with a ‘storyteller voice’. RWI Book Bag Books are provided until the children finish the RWI Scheme.
From Year 1 through to Year 6 pupils will mainly follow the Project X Alien Adventures scheme, although these have been supplemented with extra mini schemes also produced by Oxford University Press. This allows pupils a much richer and wider reading experience. For those pupils who complete the scheme or are sufficiently accomplished readers then the opportunity is provided to become a ‘free reader’ and choose their own books from home or the school library.
The use of Accelerated Reader is now embedded from Year 2 upwards. Pupils are able to complete quizzes on the books they have read each week showing an understanding of what they have read. Each half term, Accelerated Reader is also used as an assessment tool. Pupils complete a reading assessment that provides staff with the child's reading age and ZPD. The ZPD allows pupils to choose a suitable Library book to take home and enjoy from our colour-coded library. 'Free Readers' are encouraged to use their ZPD to ensure their choice of book is both accessible and challenging.
Each week, pupils take part in a 'Big Reading' lesson in school. 'Big Reading' introduces pupils to four characters: Rex the Retriever, Expi the Explorer, Ansa the Analyser and Dood the Detective. These characters develop the pupil's ability to sequence, retrieve, infer and predict about different texts.
Oxford Owl is a free website where books can be accessed. Each class has their own account that they can log into and choose a book to read. The books are grouped into Book Bands the same as our main Reading Scheme. There are also a selection of RWI books available to read at home.