Reading

How we teach Reading at Mitchell Brook...

At Mitchell Brook, we have a strong belief that it is not only our duty to provide the provision for the teaching of Reading but we ensure that children develop a love of reading.  Encouraging children to read for pleasure supports them being a  ‘lifelong learner’ and this vision is at the forefront of our approach.

In Key Stage 1, children take part in Guided Reading sessions which are carried out in small groups, with adult-led focus groups, alongside independent activities. Our main focus is to ensure that children are developing their comprehension and decoding skills during their reading sessions.  This is carried in a variety of ways, including:

• The systematic teaching of phonics - daily
• Shared reading across different subject areas
• Class novel that is shared at the end of the day
• Weekly Library time to promote a love of reading
• Supplementary provision to address identified gaps in reading

In Key Stage 2, children take part in Destination Reader lessons across the week. This is an approach to teaching reading in which involves daily sessions incorporating whole class modelling prior to the children applying these skills through partner work and independent reading. Children deepen their understanding of the texts they read through the systematic use of a series of strategies and language stems. The approach encompasses the key principles of effective reading provision and fully meets the requirements of the National Curriculum. It also builds a culture of reading for pleasure and purpose.

At Mitchell Brook, we use Oxford reading levels to track and assess our children’s reading. It is an expert system used to determine the level of many popular primary reading books from Oxford. The levels range from Level 1 to Level 20, supporting readers from Reception to Year 6. The Oxford Reading Levels Teacher’s Guide supports teachers in making the right judgement about what text a child should be reading. Then the Oxford Reading Levels progressively build fluency, comprehension and stamina. This leads to more children becoming successful readers.

Recommended Reading Lists 

Parents/Carers often ask what books they should read with their children at home.  Whilst there are no ‘rules’ as to what you should read, below are recommended reading lists for each year group, why not print the list and challenge yourself to read them all! The most important thing to remember is enjoy and have fun while you read together.

Each class has these books as part of their Class Library.