Reading In KS2
In KS2, children have 3 x 25-minute lessons each week. These are structured as follows:
Lesson 1 - Vocabulary and Reading
Teachers explicitly teach the vocabulary which pupils will encounter in this week's text.
The teacher reads the text aloud with pupils following along with their copy. Mostly, this is done without stopping so pupils experience the text as a whole and high-quality modelling of prosody and fluency can take place. Often, they spot the words mentioned in the vocabulary teaching earlier in the lesson.
Pupils orally summarise what they have heard with teacher’s modelling, explanation and discussion.
Lesson 2 - Reading
Teachers summarise what has been heard and the week’s vocabulary and its meaning is recalled. Teachers then model the fluency, speed and prosody expected in today’s lesson. Pupil’s practise reading aloud, working on prosody, their speed of reading and towards becoming fluent.
Figure 1-EEF: A Spotlight on Fluency
Lesson 3 - Comprehension
Pupils answer questions on the text, this is taught through explanation, modelling and rich discussion. The pupil’s answers may be oral or written. The purpose of these questions is not to complete a tick-list of reading objectives, but rather to drive thinking, discuss and assess children’s understanding. In this lesson, we are aiming to support pupils in constructing a mental model of a specific text so that they understand its meaning, through drawing on and using a variety of strategies all the time, not in isolation.
Figure 2:EEF- Reading Comprehension House
The texts used in whole class lessons are carefully selected to ensure they are high-quality literature as well as challenging pupils’ vocabulary and understanding. The texts we use will range from fiction, non-fiction and poetry and will be a mixture of extracts, books and our core texts. These core texts are full novels or books that pupils will read and listen to in their entirety. Core texts are selected and reviewed each year, to make use of new children’s literature. Our reasoning behind our core texts is to ensure breadth and depth but also give teachers the freedom to select other extracts and books which are appropriate for their pupils, where cross-curricular links can be made, knowledge built for foundation subjects, current events can be explored and links to genres for writing lessons can be made.
Reading for Pleasure
Book Bingo Books
We would like all children to develop a love of reading and understand which books they enjoy and why that may be. Each class has a Book Bingo, which aims to widen and challenge the children’s reading choices and introduce them to texts they are unfamiliar with. These books are high-quality books, carefully selected, which we definitely want our children to experience and read We have used the key principles from ‘Reading Reconsidered’ by Doug Lemov when selecting the books and ensured a diverse range of cultures and traditions are represented. The list is not exhaustive, as children will have their own books and magazines from home, school, library and recommended reads that they want to enjoy and read.
Class Libraries
Each class has a range of books: fiction, non-fiction, poetry books, magazines, joke books, comics and our Book Bingo Books. There is a wide variety of genres and styles that reflect the diverse culture of the world we live in. Pupils in KS2 select a book from our class library to read in and out of school.
Our Book Worms - A culture of recommended reads
Children who are encouraged to read and who have books suggested to them by their peers are significantly more likely to enjoy reading and say that it is ‘cool’ than those who don’t (National Literacy Trust). Our Bookworms give children the opportunity to recommend books to the children in their class.
Story Time
There is story time every day in all classes. It is a treasured time of day where children can sit back and listen to the teacher read. This may be a book the class has chosen, one the teacher recommends, or may be a continuation of the core text.
Reading Events
Throughout the year reading events take place in school, World Book Day, book sales, author visits and online story times. The events help to foster a love of reading and allow us to make links with the community.
Reading at Home
All KS2 pupils will choose a book from the class library and they will change their book as and when they finish it. They need to record this book on their Book Bingo Sheet. Some pupils will still receive a coloured scheme reading book. Our reading scheme extends to grey level (Age-Related- Expected Year 4) and these are changed once a week.
Parental Involvement
Pupils are taught to read in school however, they need to practise their reading at home, as often as possible. Pupils in Key Stage 2 will all be at very different stages of reading development, but even for the most fluent readers, there is a need for parental support. Reading aloud is still important and we encourage parents and carers to still listen to their child read aloud and discuss the book they are reading. This will support your child to develop a deeper understanding of the book and s extend and enrich their reading experience.
One of the most powerful ways in which parents can do this is to show real enthusiasm themselves. Your sense of excitement about books and stories, your anticipation about what will happen next in a story and a discussion about your own likes and dislikes, will greatly influence your child. Asking questions that go beyond the literal meaning of the book will help your child to think more deeply about what they are reading. Regular library or bookshop visits can be used to help develop motivation.
The following points are to support you when reading at home with your child. Regular, daily reading is the key to reading success. Two or three of these sessions could be your child reading silently to themselves and the others an opportunity for them to read aloud. Please use these guidelines to help you:
- make sure you are relaxed and comfortable during the reading session
- encourage your child to read with expression
- your child should be able to read approximately 9 out of every 10 words in the book, less than this and the book may be too difficult
- discuss the meaning of difficult words
- ask questions about the characters, the plot, the ending of the book, and whether your child enjoyed it. If your child is not enjoying a story, stop reading it and ask them to change the book
- encourage talk about favourite authors and illustrators
- try and make sure that your child reads a range of different books
- model the reading process yourself by having your own book to read
- give lots of praise and encouragement
- record the books your child has read on their Book Bingo Sheet