“The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Dr Seuss

Underpinning our whole class teaching of reading is the Trinity Reading Spine: Quality and diverse fiction texts and novels which we believe children need to experience before they leave us. Each text is studied in depth alongside other quality fiction, poetry, non-fiction texts. We teach children the skills they need to be great readers, give them the knowledge they need in order to understand what they read and provide them with the opportunity to make links across their learning and respond with their views.  A love of reading and literature is promoted beyond the English curriculum through our wider curriculum, our library, book club and book events and by sharing our love of reading with our wider community.

To give the children the skills they need to become fluent and confident readers, the school teaches phonics through Read, Write, Inc (see below for information on this) 

A good reader makes a good writer and all children are viewed as authors. We do this through a focus on Talk4Writing, in which children learn model texts by heart and examine how authors create different effects in their writing. There are three phases to this approach: imitation where children explore and internalise the language and structure of the text; innovation when they make changes, including writing about alternative characters and settings or including a flashback; and finally the independent application, which is when the children have the opportunity to write an original piece inspired by the learnt text. This approach allows the children to learn about language structures and provides them with ‘toolkits’ for writing in different styles. The teaching of punctuation and grammar is central to the teaching of writing and children will apply learnt skills across their pieces of work. The children are empowered by the process and are proud of their independent writing as a result.

Read, Write, Inc

At Trinity CE First School, we are using the Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme to get children off to a flying start. RWI is a method of learning based upon letter sounds and phonics, and we use it to aid children in their reading and writing.

Reading opens the door to learning. A child who reads a lot will become a good reader. A good reader will be able to read more challenging material. A child who can read more challenging material is a child who will learn. The more a child learns, the more he or she will want to find out.

Using RWI, the children learn to read effortlessly so they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read. It also allows them to spell effortlessly so they can put all their energy into composing what they write.

The children are assessed regularly and grouped according to their ability. They will work with a RWI trained teacher or teaching assistant. In addition to RWI, children will also be working on writing skills in their classes with their own teacher.

Reading

When using RWI to read the children will:

• Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple prompts.
• Learn to read words using sound blending (Fred talk).
• Read lively stories featuring words they have learnt to sound out.
• Show that they comprehend the stories by answering 'Find It' and 'Prove It'.

Writing

When using RWI to write the children will:

• Learn to write the letter/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds.
• Learn to write words by saying the sounds and graphemes (Fred fingers).
• Learn to write simple then more complex sentences.

Talking

When using RWI the children will also work in pairs:

• To answer questions.
• To practise every activity.
• To take turns talking and listening to each other.
• To give positive praise to each other.

Blending

Help your child learn to read words by sounding-blending (Fred talk) eg. c-a-t = cat, sh-o-p = shop. Children learn to read words by blending the letter-sounds that are in the Speed Sounds set (shown further down the page).Help your child to say the pure sounds ('m' not 'muh', 's' not 'suh' etc.) as quickly as they can, and then blend the sounds together to say the whole word. should be able to read this book with fluency and expression by the time they bring it back to school and they should have a good comprehension of what the book is about. At the back of the book are find it / prove it questions for you to do with your child.

Support your child at home using the following guide:

Reading Books Sent Home

Children in Reception who are learning the first 44 letter sounds and are not blending fluently will bring home sound tins, picture books and a library book for you to read with them.

Once children can blend fluently and know the first 44 sounds they will bring home Ditty sheets or a red Ditty book and a RWI bookbag book.

After ditty books, children bring home a RWI book and an RWI bookbag book. These will be changed every week.

Read Write Inc Books: (This is your child's main reading book) Please encourage your child to read though the speed sounds page first, then the green and red words page and then check your child understands the meaning of words on the vocabulary check page, before they start reading the book.  They

RWI Book Bag books: (These books are to support your child's main reading book) These books are to extend your child's reading. Your child should be able to read most of this book however they might need a little support, especially with the first read.

Visit the Oxford Owl website (external link) which has over 100 free ebooks for to enjoy with your child.

Library Books: Once a week, library books are chosen by your child from the school library. These are for you and your child to enjoy together. If your child is able to read a few familiar words, great, but if not, please enjoy reading them to your child. Your child can also include in their reading records, books they have read from home or books they have taken out of the library and read. This can contribute towards achieving their reading challenges.  

What Else?

What else can I do to help my child learn to read?

Reading a variety of books (fiction, non-fiction, rhymes etc.) Discuss the different features of the books. Talk about the books and other reading materials that you have shared. Explain the meaning of new words. See if your child could change a part of the story to make a new version. You could use puppets or soft toys to retell the story. Most importantly though, show that fun can be gained by listening to stories and reading a range of texts, e.g. cereal packets, shopping lists, road signs, web pages, magazines, comics, newspapers etc.

Finally, don't worry if your child is struggling at first with their sounds and words, they will get there in their own time. If you have time (we know it is very precious!), we would urge you to try and read stories to your child before they go to bed. This will help develop a wider vocabulary which makes a vast difference to their quality of writing but it will also encourage them to enjoy a good story.

Useful Websites

• Read Write Inc - for more information and ideas for supporting your child visit the RWI website
• Oxford Owl - visit the Oxford Owl website which has over 100 free ebooks for to enjoy with your child
• Family Learning: Phonics Games - Phonics games will help your child to practise sounding out words, which will help them to read
• ICT Games: Word Reader - Listen to the word and choose which flower has that word underneath