Literacy

Teaching Reading at Falinge Park High School

Reading is therefore prioritised to allow pupils to access the full curriculum. The main barrier to low reading ages at FPHS is reading comprehension, word knowledge and fluency. Therefore a rigorous, sequential, tiered and co-ordinated approach to teaching reading outside of the English Curriculum is in place.

For all Year 7 pupils

1. Year 7 literacy Lessons

• 2x one hour lessons per week in addition to English lessons
• Small groups according to need assessed through KS2 scores, Reading Age test, Bedrock Block and 1-1 running records (for pupils with RA under 9)
  • Groups 1-3
    • Size of groups ranging from 6-15 pupils, using guided reading approaches through Reciprocal Reading Roles to teach reading comprehension strategies. Tiered reading books such as Collins and Rapid Plus are used. In groups with pupils at or above their chronological reading age a range of contemporary books and the cannon are used.
  • Group 4
    • No more than 4 students, using Lexonik LEAP to teach phonics designed for pupils with SS below 85 particularly pupils with SEND and EAL. Tiered reading books such as Dockside, Rapid Plus and Collins are used.

All groups teach vocabulary using the 5 encounters of direct instruction and teach writing skills dependent on a writing baseline completed in Autumn term.

2. Library lesson- one library lesson a week

Pupils use Accelerated Reader to quiz on books within but not limited to their Reading Range. Reading for pleasure is encouraged through incentivising reading, listening to extracts being read aloud by teacher and librarian and conversations around reading materials and habits.

Bedrock Learning, an on-line vocabulary programme is also used within the library lessons to explicitly teach vocabulary.

For all Year 8 pupils
Library lesson once every other week including Accelerated Reader and Bedrock Learning (similar to Yr 7)

For all Year 9 pupils
A session of Bedrock Learning per week within an English lesson.

For targeted groups of pupils

1. Tutor Time and after school reading

• Targeted Yr 7, 8 and 9 pupils with reading ages below 9
  • Reading Champions and HLTAs are used to do 1-1 reading and small guided reading

2. Additional Needs

• Literacy lessons for Yr 8 and 9 (5 lessons over a two week period) in small groups for pupils who still struggle with reading and technical aspects of writing.
• 1-1 tuition from HLTAS in Additional Needs for Yr 8 and above using programmes such as Toe by Toe.

3. EAL

• Tutor time phonic sessions for some pupils using Letters and Sounds Programme
• Interventions using Lexonik LEAP designed for EAL pupils

4. KS4

• A HLTA is used three times a week to target small cohorts/individual pupils

Reading Across the Curriculum

1. Tutor Time Human Rights Programme

Through our Human Rights Programme, pupils are taught specific tier 2 vocabulary.

• Provides a rich context in which to learn, use and apply new vocabulary
• Utilises direct vocabulary instruction
• Explores etymology and morphology as a learning strategy
• 5 year programme of identified words

2. Falinge Reads

Research suggests that pupils are taught reading well if they listen to a fluent, skilled reader.

Therefore once a term, the school reads a short story together in a FPHS version of DEAR. The story is linked to the tutor time Human Rights Programme.

3. Pupils are also encouraged to read widely and often through:

• Yr 6 transition book gifting of ‘The Day War Came’ and i-college programme
• Three Literacy Showcase evenings throughout the year
• Book gifting in Year 7
• Carnegie Shadowing Award
• Science Book Club

Disciplinary Literacy

The approach to teaching reading across the curriculum subjects prioritises subject specificity over general approaches. It takes its approach from the EEF Secondary Literacy Guidance.

At FPHS teachers will:

• Choose the most appropriate way to read texts within the classroom, taking research into account

(see appendix 1)

• Use guided/active reading strategies in the pre-reading, during reading and post reading phase such as prediction, questioning, summarising to aid comprehension
• Teach tier 2 and tier 3 words which have currency within their subjects through direct vocabulary instruction
• Model the use of tier 2 vocabulary in inter-actions, questioning and explanations
• Use etymology and morphology to help pupils work out strategies to understand new and unknown vocabulary
• Use Directed Activities Related To Texts to scaffold and make reading texts accessible without ‘dumbing down’ the texts used

Make an informed decision about how to read a text with the class

Appendix 1

	Potential Benefits	Potential Limitations
Teacher- led	Models fluent reading, expert reading Teacher can plan to stop to clarify, summarise and question	Pupils not given the opportunity to improve their own reading skill or fluency explicitly Pupils could be prone to not listen, follow or process text
Whole class round robin	Pupils given the opportunity to improve their own reading skill or fluency explicitly Teacher can plan to stop to clarify, summarise and question Teacher can control the selecting of individuals Pupils may follow the reading more closely knowing they may get chosen next	Pupils may not hear models of fluent reading, expert reading Some pupils feel exposed, anxious and inhibited Depending how pupils are chosen this may not give pupils the chance to practise their reading skills sufficiently Pupils could be distracted and not really read with the group
Choral reading	Pupils practise their reading skills and fluency Pupils develop an awareness of reading at pace and with intonation Less-skilled pupils can develop confidence and fluency in a less inhibited way.	Awkwardness as not a frequent method used in school Pupils could be distracted and not really read with the group A focus on reading performance may distract from reading comprehension
Paired Reading	Pupils practise their reading skills and fluency Less-skilled pupils can develop confidence and fluency in a less inhibited way.	Pupils may not hear models of fluent reading, expert reading Teacher can’t stop to clarify, summarise and question during the read
Individual silent reading	Pupils practise their reading skills and fluency Less-skilled pupils can develop confidence and fluency in a less inhibited way.	Pupils do not hear models of fluent reading, expert reading Less-skilled and fluent pupils will probably find this challenging and may not comprehend Teacher can’t stop to clarify, summarise and question during the read Pupils may not engage with the reading
Repeated Reading	Pupils practise their reading skills and fluency Some evidence suggests re-reading aids comprehension Re-reading leads to guided reading/reading for a purpose Pupils hear models of fluent reading, expert reading Less-skilled pupils can develop confidence	More curriculum time which may or may not compromise curriculum planning Pupils do not see the benefit of re-reading