Reading is very important to everyone at Hartshill Academy as it builds a strong foundation to support all areas of our ambitious curriculum.
At Hartshill Academy we have three main strategies to support pupils to develop and extend their reading and reading comprehension.
1. OWL Reading Scheme in the academy library
All pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 have one lesson in the academy library every fortnight. All books in our academy library are colour coded. Pupils are supported to know the level they are currently reading at and challenged to access books at the level above.
2. Reading Plus
Reading Plus is an adaptive literacy solution that improves fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, stamina, and motivation. All pupils have a reading plus login. Pupils in Years 7-9 are expected to complete 30 minutes on their reading plus account three times each week.
https://student.readingplus.com/seereader/api/sec/login
3. Form Time Reading
Reading aloud to pupils is a strategy for reading that works in two ways.
Firstly, through exposure to texts that they wouldn’t necessarily have chosen before, pupils can be exposed to new vocabulary, syntactic structures and cultural knowledge that they may not have been exposed to without this reading programme.
Secondly, reading aloud as opposed to silent reading significantly helps those pupils who struggle to decode words on their own and do not have the fluency required to be able to make sense and comprehend what they are reading.
In Years 7, 8 and 9 pupils have 5 x 30 minute reading time and in Year 10, pupils will have 3 x 45 minute reading times protected and cherished every week. Form tutors will read aloud a chosen book to their form on these days. There will be no interruptions and this time should be used solely for reading.
As form tutors, this will mean reading a book aloud to pupils whilst they follow along with their own copies of the books. All of the books are suitable for the pupils’ age groups and have been specifically chosen for the reason of exposing pupils to ideas that they might not have encountered before, thus widening their cultural capital.
Year 7:
Year 8:
Year 9:
Year 10:
If you have any questions about reading please contact:
Miss A Walters - English Assistant Director of Learning - [email protected]