The Great Handcross Book Hunt!
Visiting Crawley Library
English : Reading
At Handcross, we just love reading! During the school day, children read in reading and phonics lessons, independently, in groups and / or 1-to-1 with an adult. They will also hear their classroom adults reading aloud from their will class book every day!
Whatever the reading activity, we place a strong emphasis on high quality 'book talk' whereby all children are able to discuss and unpick carefully chosen, high quality texts. We use the 'Hooked on Books' approach (Jane Considine) to support the teaching of reading and expose children to a wide range of texts, styles and genres, including stories, non-fiction and poetry, and both classic and contemporary texts. We use a variety of texts linked to current interests and topics to support the children's reading development. We believe that, at all levels, good quality reading is invaluable for good quality writing!
Ladybird Library
Our 'Ladybird Library' has a wealth of exciting, engaging books for children to look at and enjoy, including books linked to every topic taught across the school. Children love visiting Ladybirds, sharing books with friends and borrowing them to read at home! The library also provides a calm, quiet space for group work.
PHONICS : Read, Write, Inc.
We follow the Read Write Inc. programme to teach phonics, reading and spelling in the early stages and with children in older year groups, as needed.
Read Write Inc. is widely used and has proved to be hugely successful in getting children to read and write quickly and easily. The programme is taught daily in a very lively, highly interactive manner and children enjoy their sessions. They are taught in small groups, closely matched in ability and make very good progress. The children are assessed regularly so that as soon as they have 'outgrown' one group, they move on to the next.
Click on the image below to watch Mrs Davies and Miss Palmer provide further information about how the RWI programme is delivered at Handcross:
Parents are kept up-to-date with the sounds their child is learning through weekly homework. We also send home a phonics bookmark at least once a half term which outlines the sounds that children are already confident with (and will continue to revise) and those they will be learning next.
To learn more about how to pronounce the 'pure sounds' taught as part of the Read, Write, Inc. programme, please watch the videos below:
Accelerated Reader
Many of our 'take home' books in classrooms and in Ladybird Library are compatible with the Accelerated reader programme used within school. We use the programme to assess the children's reading age and 'Zone of Proximal Development' to ensure that children have access to the most appropriate books to support and challenge them. When the children have read the books, they can use an iPad to complete comprehension quizzes in school to check that they have understood the text. The children love to monitor their progress and earn points! When they pass a quiz, Accelerated Reader records the total words in their book. This is celebrated on our 'Millionaires' board, in assemblies and with special treats for children who have managed to read one million words!
If your child has a read a book that is not currently available on Accelerated Reader, they can suggest that a quiz is created by clicking here. Alternatively, they can speak to their teacher!
Special Events and Rewards
We plan special events throughout the year to promote a love of reading. These include World Book Day celebrations, book fairs / sales, "The Great Handcross Book Hunt" and events like "Stories and Snuggles" and "Rock Up and Read" in which children share books with family, friends and teachers.
We work with our local libraries and other schools to organise visits and workshops and we invite inspirational children's authors and illustrators to visit us in school. In recent years, this has included M.P.Robertson, Julia Donaldson, Vashti Hardy, David Fuller, Thomas Taylor, Danielle Verbeeten, J.J.Arcanjo, Eve Ainsworth and Hannah Peckham and more!
Celebrating World Book Day! "Stories and Snuggles"
A magical visit from the wonderful Julia and Malcolm Donaldson!
A special video for Handcross Primary from Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet!
Reading at Home
We have an array of books that children may borrow to read at home, including a variety of styles and genres to ensure breadth of reading.
Confident, competent readers may take home free choice books from the classroom and library selections as well as an Accelerated Reader books linked to quizzes to check their understanding.
Emerging readers take home a book closely matched to their phonic ability. Phonics group colour and book band colour align so when children move up a phonics group, they move up a book band. Colour banded books contain the sounds that the child has learnt and / or is currently learning. Lengths of texts and complexity of sounds increase as children progress. Children should be able to read their colour banded book fairly independently and with fluency and accuracy; their confidence and motivation for reading should blossom!
Children also take home a gold 'sharing' book. This is a free choice text which is not linked to their phonic level but is something that they would like to look at, read or share with people at home. When they are ready, they may also begin to select Accelerated Reader books.
Reading records are used for parents and children to record what they have read and their thoughts and feelings about it. These records helps us to celebrate reading and make recommendations and suggestions to the children.
To celebrate our love of reading and to emphasise how valued it is, children are rewarded for consistently reading at home.
Click here to access questions to support your child when reading at home
Click here to access tips for supporting reading at home (Infants)
Click here to access tips for supporting reading at home (Juniors)
