Reading at Downsview

Learn to Read

Read to Learn

Our Reading Journey from Fluency to Comprehension 

In order to develop pupils reading skills in Early Years, a structured phonics approach is embedded and every child receives small group reading opportunities. In Year 1, daily reading sessions are held, with a focus on word reading, comprehension and Prosody (expression, developing fluency).

In EYFS and Year 1, children will read a book with their class teacher. This book will only include sounds the children have been taught so far. The children focus on decoding skills, prosody and comprehension within this reading session. The children will also have the opportunity to read the same book at home using our online portal system to reinforce and continue to develop their reading skills with parental support.

In the Autumn term of Year 2 reading is still taught in daily reading sessions to ensure every child can decode and read fluently. From Spring onwards, reading is taught using a whole class teaching approach. In dedicated reading slots, the teachers use a range of strategies and sentence stems to aid comprehension and encourage reading with meaning. The sessions incorporate whole class modelling, prior to the children applying these skills through partner and independent work.

In Years 3-6 all children receive 45 minutes of whole class reading a day. The lessons are taught in the mornings. On days 1-3 the children focus on the strategy for the week. On day 4 the children are taught a Big Picture (comprehension) lesson based on their reading for the week. On day 5 the children complete a stand-alone non-fiction or poetry comprehension with a focus on all skills previously taught. As part of our LOVE for books, we always finish a book!!

The children are frequently reminded that to be a good reader, they should read each day. Therefore, in addition to the dedicated teaching of reading, opportunities for ‘reading for pleasure’ are built into the timetable and children are always encouraged to read at home.

Our Reading Culture 

Reading for pleasure opens up new worlds for children. It gives them the opportunity to use their imagination to explore new ideas, visit new places and meet new characters. At Downsview we have a strong and successful reading culture, where all children feel valued and represented in the books around the school, empowered to enjoy a book at their leisure and where reading is not just part of the classroom timetable. We endeavour to create a wonderful environment where children's reading will flourish, here are a few of the things we do here........

Reading Shed 

Sooper Books - Free School library

Sooper Books has kindly donated all of their award-winning stories and audiobooks to our school. Please use the following links to access the stories and audiobooks free of charge from school or from home:

Schoolreaders recruits, places and supports volunteers in local primary schools to give children one-to-one reading support on a weekly basis. We’re proud to be a partner school, able to provide our pupils with this valuable extra time each week!