Teaching children to read and write is essential for them to access the curriculum and to develop skills for life. Reading takes place on a daily basis in school. As a result, pupils leave OLSH's as fluent and confident readers with a love of reading and a reading capability well above expectations for their age or starting point.
In EYFS and KS1, we teach phonics using the Read Write Inc. scheme, with the morning starting with a phonics session for all pupils on Monday-Thursday.
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics complete literacy programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. Children learn the English alphabetic code: first they learn one way to read the 40+ sounds and blend these sounds into words, then learn to read the same sounds with alternative graphemes. Engaging, lively phonic books are matched to the children’s phonic knowledge and ‘tricky red’ words and, as children re-read the stories over the four days, their fluency increases. RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/.
Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:
Purpose – Every part of the lesson has a specific purpose
Participation – A strong feature of RWI is ‘partner work’ where partners teach each other.
Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability
Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning
Passion – The energy and passion that teachers demonstrates, engages children emotionally.
At OLSH we aim to teach the skills children need to access, understand and enjoy different texts, as well as the ability to decode words. Specific sessions are used to teach and apply the skills of
explanation, inference, retrieval of information, analysis of the author’s choice of vocabulary,
structure and intention, and performance of the written word.
Skills will also be taught in a cross-curricular way, using thematic texts to help immerse children in a topic and a range of literature. Outcomes will be recorded in individual Reading Exercise books.
OLSH staff will use a visual prompt of a character associated with the skill from Reception – Year 6
where appropriate. This is to ensure continuity and to engage children in the comprehension activities.
National curriculum objectives have been cross-referenced against each skill and year groups are
provided with a full objectives list (See Appendix 1). Class teachers ensure coverage of skills through planning and progress monitored on a daily basis through work scrutiny and questioning in class.
For more information on our curriculum, please speak to our Vice Principal, Mr Brown - enquiry_olh@emmausmac.com
For more information on our Phonics curriculum, please speak to our Phonics lead, Mrs Handy - enquiry_olh@emmausmac.com
