Reading
Reading
At Delves Junior School, our aim is for every child to become a fluent reader who can read with accuracy, automaticity and comprehend what they have read. As well as this, we want children to develop a love for reading and read for pleasure on a regular basis.
The aims of teaching reading in our school are to develop pupils who:
- show high levels of achievement and exhibit positive attitudes towards reading
- read easily and fluently with good understanding across both fiction and non-fiction
- acquire a wider vocabulary
- develop their reading in all subjects to support their acquisition of knowledge
- develop a love of reading
- read for pleasure both at home and school on a regular basis
- through their reading, develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually
- develop good comprehension drawing from their linguistic knowledge.
Daily Reading Lessons
Children work through a two-week block where each day children have a shared reading session lasting 30 minutes based on a core text. Each lesson is based on three pillars of CUSP reading: vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Supplementary texts are used to complement the themes around the core text: these are of varying genres, which allows children to access a full scope of literature types.
The CUSP curriculum we use aligns our learning in Science, Art, History and Geography with our reading, which encourages connections between subjects and provides meaningful context. We are ambitious for all children without exception to be readers!
Our Literature Spine
Each Year Group has a suite of core texts that will form the depth study for the academic year. These texts have been mapped carefully to ensure a breadth of experiences, authors, texts and themes are addressed across the Junior years.
We have ensured that our children are exposed heritage texts, BAME authors or protogonists, strong female role models and texts with specific social, ethical, and moral issues such as friendships and dilemmas, for example. These themes are, where possible, linked to our school values: resilience, empathy, self-awareness, passion, excellence and teamwork.
In addition to these texts, there are core poems that each year group will study in detail. The literature spine has been harmonised with the wider curriculum, where appropriate.
Year 3 Texts
Year 4 Texts
Year 5 Texts
Year 6 Texts
Accelerated Reader
At Delves, we use the Accelerated Reader programme. A Star test is completed as a baseline and repeated throughout the year, providing your child with a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Children are able to choose books from a huge selection within their ZPD.
Click on the document below for more information regarding Accelerated Reader:
Read Write Inc & Fresh Start Phonics Programme 
Our school follows the Read Write Inc phonics programme throughout the Key Stage for children who require additional support with their phonics acquisition. Upon entry, baseline assessments are carried out, to clearly identify specific barriers to reading. Pupils are then grouped by their word reading and fluency level.
Phonics is timetabled from Monday to Friday where the children have daily sessions. Those children that need above and beyond support with their phonics will have daily 1:1 sessions. In Years 5 and 6, children who still require phonics intervention will work through the RWI Fresh Start Programme.
Assessments take place on a half termly basis, using the Read Write Inc. (RWI) assessment trackers. Groupings are fluid to promote rapid progression through the speed sound sets.
See below to access the progression documents for RWI Phonics and Fresh Start:
Reading for Pleasure
The Reading for Pleasure is the entitlement of every child in the school where our mission is to motivate and engage readers. Since 2022, Delves Junior has been a part of the Open University Reading for Pleasure Programme, ensuring that reading for pleasure is wide spread across school. Our Reading for Pleasure pedagogy encompasses four practices:
- Reading aloud
- Informal book talk and recommendations
- Independent reading time
- A highly social reading environment
To ensure Reading for Pleasure is given time, the children have opportunity to be involved in ‘Book Talk’ sessions, where children can share books with their teachers, peers and discuss them. This culture of 'Informal Book Talk' allows children to not only informally recommend books to each other but it allows them to discuss, debate and develop strong opinions about various subjects and themes. 'Book Talk' sessions are designed to be learner-led, social and supported by texts that tempt.
Along with timetabled library sessions, children are able to access our library during lunchtimes. Families are welcome to access our library after school, Monday-Thursday.
Wider Reading Opportunities
At Delves, we strive to enrich the children’s love and enjoyment for reading by providing wider opportunities throughout our curriculum and differing times during the school day.
Our Parent Book & Bagel sessions were a huge success this year!
We always join in with annual reading events such as World Book Day to encourage and inspire children to share their favourite books and authors, but to also discover new books and authors from which they have not yet read.
Reading Ambassadors
The role of a Reading Ambassador is to engage, encourage and support our positive reading ethos across the whole school. Our 12 Reading Ambassadors are dedicated to reading and wear their Reading Ambassador badges with pride.
Their aims are:
- to promote reading across the school
- to share a love and enjoyment of books
- to encourage and support other children in school to read
- to make reading recommendations
- to help make reading fun!
Their roles and responsibilities are:
- to be visible as a reader
- to attend regular meetings with Mrs Willmott
- to talk to other children and staff about books and recommend reads
- to read with younger children
- to promote reading around school, including for special events such as World Book Day
- to help organise the library, with regular tidy and sort slots on a daily timetable.
