English
GUIDED READING
Sandwich Junior School takes a systematic approach to text marking across the whole school in dedicated Guided Reading sessions, alongside the use of varied stimulus: video, image, music, written texts. This provides pupils with a wealth of opportunity to develop their decoding skills. Language Through Colour is used throughout Guided Reading sessions to aid understanding, as this is also used across subjects and in interventions, it allows all children the opportunity to access questioning across all texts.
Children love their Guided Reading lessons and are exposed to a wealth of classic fiction; non-fiction, plays, poetry and new authors. They make cultural and historical links to support the wider curriculum. These sessions not only develop the skills needed to be an effective reader, but inspire our pupils to try a whole range of genres. Teachers are able to make content links to related books to widen the reading experiences of children and to build reading mileage.
HOME READING
Pupils are provided with a reading book to take home from Year 3 onwards. These books are selected based on children's reading ability and allow them to consolidate the skills they are developing in class. Pupils are also encouraged to borrow a book for pleasure. Parents are asked to record pupils' reading at home in their Home Contact Book. All pupils are encouraged to read daily.
BIG CAT
At Sandwich Junior School, the core reading scheme used is Oxford Reading Tree. This core scheme is supplemented with additional practice texts such as Floppy's Phonics; Project X and Collins Big Cat books.
READING WEEKS
We love reading so much at Sandwich Junior School that we don't just have one Reading Week a year, but two! The most recent themes for these weeks have been Christmas books and the myths and legends of the four nations of the UK.
These weeks really celebrate our love for reading in a creative and fun way. We have made reading dens; come to school in our pyjamas to read as a Wolf Pack in the school hall; decorated potatoes as characters from our favourite books; taken part in workshops and just taken the time to read, read and read some more.
