Reading and Phonics
Our Phonics Scheme
At Lawley Village Academy we use the Read Write Inc Scheme to get all our children off to the best start with their reading and writing skills. Children learn to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension. They learn to form each letter, spell correctly and compose their ideas step-by-step.
RWI will support the children to:
- Learn the English alphabetic code that represent the 44 speech sounds
- Learn how to read words using 'Fred Talk' and then blend the sounds together to read a word
- Develop fluency in their reading
- Read lively stories featuring words that they have learnt to read
- Comprehend stories through whole class discussions.
Children are assessed regularly to accurately group children so that they can work with peers at the same stage.
Reading in Reception and KS1
Reading in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 is a high priority and underpins everything we do. This includes making sure that topics are linked to a wide selection of high quality texts.
In Reception, children are taught the technical skills of reading through high quality RWI lessons. The children then progress through oral blending in the form of 'Fred Talk', blending to read CVC words in RWI blending books, reading simple 'ditty' sheets and then progressing through a range of levelled RWI stories. We encourage the children to listen to a wide range of texts at home with parents and in class and do lots of 'book talk'. When the children start to blend sounds to read words we then send home appropriate levelled texts to read at home with their parents.
In year 1 and 2, the children continue to develop their sound knowledge and their ability to recognise alternative sounds in words. Children will take home:
- Their last RWI story book to practise and develop fluency and comprehension with their parents.
- A RWI 'book bag' book that matches the level that they are working at- this will begin to enrich their reading and will require decoding skills as it will be new to them – though the sounds will not be.
Set 1 Sounds
Please watch the video below to find out how to pronounce each sound. We use pure sounds ('m' not 'muh', 's' not 'suh') so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily.
Phonics Screening
As well as learning to read and blend real words, children will have plenty of opportunities in RWI to apply their sound recognition skills when reading ‘Nonsense words’ (pseudo words). These words will also feature heavily in the Year One Phonics Screening check in the summer term. The words provide endless opportunities for children to apply and practice their thinking in a range of different contexts.
The phonics screening check is taken individually by all children in Year 1 in England, and is usually taken in June. It is designed to give teachers and parents information on how your child is progressing in phonics. It will help to identify whether your child needs additional support at this stage so that they do not fall behind in this vital early reading skill. There are two sections in this 40-word check and it assesses phonics skills and knowledge learned through Reception and Year 1.
It checks that your child can:
- Sound out and blend graphemes in order to read simple words.
- Read phonically decodable one-syllable and two-syllable words, e.g. cat, sand, windmill.
- Read a selection of nonsense words which are referred to as pseudo words.
You can find out more information about our phonics screening check at our parent workshop on 14th March. Please see 'useful documents' for a parent guide to what the Phonics Screening Check is.
Reading in KS1/KS2
Children who have completed the RWI programme (we estimate this to be during term 2 of Year 2), continue to be supported with developing their reading fluency, accuracy and stamina as well as progression of comprehension skills through VIPERS.
Vocabulary
Inference
Prediction
Explanation
Retrieval
Sequence or Summarise
Children receive a daily guided reading session based on a high quality text which often links to the topic.
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Children read age-related texts and answer V.I.P.E.R.S (Vocabulary, Inference, Predict, Explain, Retrieve and Summarise / Sequence) as our method to explicitly teach each skill. These whole class or group reading comprehension sessions are used as a powerful tool to allow all children to make progress in reading and provide regular and supportive opportunities for children to encounter engaging texts that will resonate with their interests and capture their imagination. Carefully chosen questions allow for children to develop their comprehension skills at an appropriate level.
Home Reading
All pupils across school are sent home with an appropriate levelled reading book to read at home with their parents.
We do expect children to read with their parents at least 5 times a week and write a note in their reading diary.
Everybody Reading in Class/ Story Time
At 1.05pm every class takes part in ERIC time. 2 days a week this is the class teacher or teaching assistant reading a book to the children and 2 days a week this is the children enjoying their own books whilst the adults circulate and listen to the children read.
Sometimes the books are chosen by the children in the class. Sometimes the books are chosen by teachers as they would like the children to try a certain author or genre.
We also have a cosy shared 'All around the World' reading are which is set up with books that share stories from other countries. This area is timetabled across the week for each class to access to be used during ERIC time and the older children can share texts with the younger children.
Reading Rewards
We believe that it is extremely important to reward children for their reading achievements. Each week, we collect in the children's reading diaries and look to see which children have read at least 3 times at home. We then choose a children from each class who has put the most dedication into their reading and they will be awarded a 'Reading Star' Certificate. These children are able to visit our reading vending machine to to select a book which is gifted to them from school as a reward.
World Book Day
Click on the image below to find out how we celebrated World Book Day.
