Reading at Manor Wood

At Manor Wood, reading underpins all that we do. Our core, shared belief is that a strong reader also develops effective written and spoken communication skills which forms the foundation for not only learning, but wider social and emotional security. Our hope is, by following a clear pathway of progression starting from Early Years through to Year 6, all children will leave as fluent, confident readers who have a real love for books.  

We are incredibly lucky to have a richly diverse school population and strive to build on these varied life experiences within our literacy curriculum.  When planning reading, teachers appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage and ensure class texts reflect our community. 

Our text-based approach to Literacy offers a rigorous and well organised English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion.  Each Literacy unit is based around a shared text that offers opportunities for independent and shared reading, oracy, comprehension, inference and where possible linking to topics across our curriculum to ensure that cross curricular links provide a meaningful context for learning. Through this approach, children read every day, developing a habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. Every child will read a range of literature including stories from other cultures, traditional tales and novels as well a wide range of non-fiction. Every year, children also have the opportunity to read a new Shakespeare story, embedding and enriching their learning through drama and poetry.

Aims 

All children will:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding through a wide range of high-quality, meaningful reading material.
• use active reading strategies to develop their skills.
• develop the habit of reading at school and home- teachers encourage home reading through the use of personalised reading diaries, parent reader mornings and shared use of our reading pod. 
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language 
• use discussion in order to learn; children should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas verbally before the writing process begins 
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate. 

These ambitions are embedded across our literacy lessons and the wider curriculum. We truly believe reading expands minds, knowledge and opportunities and love to see our children leave year 6 equipped for the wider world as confident, happy talkers, writers and readers.