Reading

Reading is such an important life skill and it is at the heart of everything we do at Castle Hill. We want students to enjoy reading so that it promotes an interest in other subjects of the curriculum. Pupils should leave school as lifelong readers, writers and learners.  We believe that our children should not only reach their best academically, but also develop a thirst for knowledge, foster a love of learning and leave our school with exceptional independent learning skills and we believe that reading is at the heart of this. We have high aspirations for all our pupils and firmly believe that all children can learn to read. 

At Castle Hill, reading is taught through a systematic phonics programme, Read Write Inc (RWI) which begins in Early Years and continues throughout Key Stage 1 and lower Key Stage 2. Please see the Phonics page for further information.

Reading and Phonics (Curriculum menu tab)

Our curriculum provides reading opportunities in all areas of learning. Once pupils have completed the phonics programme pupils are taught explicit reading skills through our adopted reading approach.

Pupils are taught comprehension skills through whole class daily lessons. Each week the pupils will study and answer questions about the class novel, to ensure all pupils have a deep understanding of the text. We use these lessons to focus on the skills of inference, comprehension, prediction and summary. The other lessons are linked to the wider curriculum or poetry and ensure that the pupils get a strong diet of poetry and non-fiction. 

Year 1 Reading Skills

Year 2 Reading Skills

Year 3 Reading Skills

Year 4 Reading Skills

Year 5 Reading Skills

Year 6 Reading Skills

 

Reading for Pleasure 

At Castle Hill, we are committed to encouraging children to read for pleasure. To do this we regularly celebrate events such as book week, SPARK Book award (see below) and attend author virtual sessions.

https://castlehill-kingston.co.uk/docs/letters/Book_Week_Success_.pdf 

Everyday pupils have dedicated storytime. High quality, language rich texts are chosen through links to English and other curriculum areas. They read the class novel during story time and have access to it in its entirety from start to finish and build the skills of following a text through.

 

Our library and book corners are used by all the children and have been stocked with a diverse range of high quality texts to engage all readers. Pupils are able to borrow books from the library each week to enjoy at home.

The school also takes part in the SPARK Book awards each year. Spark! Book Awards books was founded in 2020 by an independent team, who have been supported by Achieving for Children and Kingston and Richmond Councils.  Publishers, authors and illustrators are invited to submit books, and from the wide range of quality literature that both engages and represents all readers from across our diverse communities, they were shortlisted and children across both councils voted for the winners. Each year the pupils read the books, complete activities in response to the texts, enter competitions and vote for our favourites.

Please click on the link below to find out more information:

https://www.sparkbookawards.co.uk/

Reading at home

Our children become successful readers thanks to the additional reading they do at home; using Read Write Inc. storybooks and individually selected books from the school library and class book corners. Reading at home is strongly promoted, with children encouraged to read every day (at home or school)

Top 10 tips to help children enjoy reading at home:

To help make reading enjoyable and fun, we asked experts and authors what they recommend to help get kids reading.

1. Make books part of your family life – Always have books around so that you and your children are ready to read whenever there’s a chance.
2. Join your local library – Get your child a library card. You’ll find the latest video games, blu-rays and DVDs, plus tons and tons of fantastic books. Allow them to pick their own books, encouraging their own interests.
3. Match their interests – Help them find the right book - it doesn’t matter if it’s fiction, poetry, comic books or non-fiction.
4. All reading is good – Don’t discount non-fiction, comics, graphic novels, magazines and leaflets. Reading is reading and it is all good.
5. Get comfortable! – Snuggle up somewhere warm and cosy with your child, either in bed, on a beanbag or on the sofa, or make sure they have somewhere comfy when reading alone.
6. Ask questions – To keep them interested in the story, ask your child questions as you read such as, ‘What do you think will happen next?’ or ‘Where did we get to last night? Can you remember what had happened already?’
7. Read whenever you get the chance – Bring along a book or magazine for any time your child has to wait, such as at a doctor’s surgery.
8. Read again and again – Encourage your child to re-read favourite books and poems. Re-reading helps to build up fluency and confidence.
9. Bedtime stories – Regularly read with your child or children at bedtime. It’s a great way to end the day and to spend valuable time with your child.
10. Rhyme and repetition – Books and poems which include rhyme and repetition are great for encouraging your child or children to join in and remember the words.

Useful Websites

www.home.oxfordowl.co.uk 

Why read with your child?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UmwXQwx5gk

10 things to think about when reading to your child.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHMl70ZmxIQ