Reading - Gray's Farm Primary Academy

Reading

1At Gray’s Farm we love reading and so do our pupils. We are passionate about instilling a love of reading within our children and we work tirelessly to ensure that reading is a subject they love. Reading takes place continuously throughout the school day, and as well as being taught as an individual subject, you will also see it embedded across all aspects of the curriculum.  Skills such as inference and deduction are taught, as well as grammatical and punctuation conventions. Vocabulary is a key part of our reading sessions as we believe broadening a child’s language helps them to understand and communicate in more developed ways.

Here’s a glimpse at when focused reading happens within our school:

Timetable

We also celebrate and enjoy reading as a school in the following ways:

Screenshot 2023 10 04 at 12.29.48Screenshot 2023 10 04 at 12.28.41Reading Assembly – each week we host an assembly completely dedicated to reading, where we celebrate Star Readers, play the ‘Masked Reader’, discuss book recommendations and much more. To watch our most recent Reading Assemblies, click here.

 

Library – At Gray’s Farm we have a brand new, recently revamped library that has been created together by staff and pupils. We listened to what our pupils said about the types of books they’d like to read and the kind of environment they wanted to read in and as a result we now have an amazing library full of books and lots of huge bean bags so that our children can grab a book and find a cosy spot to enjoy it in! On the walls of the library you will see book recommendations written by our pupils, as well as book reviews just in case you need a little inspiration with your next book choice. And if you feel like you need a new reading challenge, do not fear! Our book collection is always being added to; you will find our latest arrivals on our ‘Bookflix’ display in the main school corridor.

 

Screenshot 2023 10 04 at 12.29.25Accelerated Reader 

At Gray’s Farm, throughout KS2 we use the Accelerated Reader scheme which allows children to access books at exactly the correct level for their reading ability. They can do this by choosing a book from the library which has a fantastic range of books, from one of the lovely book corners in each classroom. Accelerated Reader is a fantastic resource for our pupils as not only do they have access to hundreds of books, but they also take part in regular Star Reader assessments.

 

 

This video for our pupils lets them know why Accelerated Reader is so important and what they need to do to succeed at it!

 

 

 

This informational video for parents will give you an insight into how you can help your child with their Reading on Accelerated Reader.

Assessment

7Star Reader - These assessments allow teachers to monitor reading progress and plan lessons according to the exact needs of the children in their class. Children take part in these assessments every half term and actually often look forward to them as they get to find out whether they have moved up a ZPD level. The ZPD level is a book range that is given to the children so that they can choose books (on myON, from the library or in their classroom) that match up to their reading ability. We believe that this is so important as it encourages a love of reading, as they read books that they can access. The best thing about the ZPD range is that it is exactly that – a range! This means that when children are given a new ZPD they are able to choose a book in the middle of their range and then as they gain confidence, we encourage them to challenge themselves and pick a book/s from the top end of their ZPD.

 

 

8Reading catch ups – because we recognise the value of having regular conversations with our pupils about what they are reading, we have weekly ‘catch ups’ timetabled in between teachers and pupils. These are opportunities for us to hear them read, discuss their book choice and talk through any barriers to reading that they may be facing. As well as this, we also have specific members of staff who work across all classes with the task of identifying any children who might need extra support choosing a correctly levelled book, as well as helping to identify those who would benefit from extra reading support. We whole heartedly believe that these conversations are so valuable and we have seen the impact of them on our pupils, who are now confident at discussing their ZPD and book choice with anyone who asks.

 

Reading Challenge – to encourage our children with their reading and to celebrate progress, we run the ‘Reading Challenge’ throughout the school. All children are given a challenge card to complete in class which outlines what they nee309276680 474305121381023 4960102394364962884 nd to do in order to complete the challenge. When children have completed their challenge card they receive a gold coin which they are able to cash in and receive their very own book!

 

 

 

World Book Days


At Gray's Farm we love World Book Day! Each year, a fun-filled day is planned for our pupils, with the whole school taking part in a range of activities to celebrate! From a 'Whodunnit' mystery to a whole school Mr Men Party, it's always an eventful day! This year our theme was ‘Mixed Up Book Characters’ with the challenge to come dressed as not one, but two of your favourite book characters! Take a look below at some of our costume winners this year.

Well done to everyone for your fantastic costumes – you did us all proud!

WBD WBD WBD WBD

 

 

Significant Individuals

Every half term we spend an entire weeKamalaharrisk dedicating our reading lessons to a person of significance; someone who with perseverance and persistence has changed the world we live in. Our chosen significant individuals are people who inspire all of us and we love to celebrate and look into their lives a little deeper whilst often discussing some quite challenging topics. This year we have already celebrated the amazing achievements of Kamala Harris, Marcus Rashford, Greta Thunberg and Rosa Parks. At Gray’s Farm we are passionate about creating a curriculum that celebrates diversity and promotes acceptance, which is why we want our children to regularly learn about, and be inspired by, individuals from all backgrounds, cultures, religions and ethnicities.