Intent
At Water Leys Primary School, we believe that reading is an essential life skill and we are committed to enabling our learners to become lifelong readers. One aspect of our reading strategy is to develop children’s comprehension skills through whole class instruction.
When children move beyond the phonics scheme, we ensure that comprehension skills are discretely taught to all pupils in Key Stage 2. We teach these using high quality texts which will help them to:
Implementation
Impact
As we believe that reading is key to all learning, we seek to ensure that children develop the specific comprehension skills; and the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond statutory assessments. Our Reading curriculum ensure that children have the opportunity to enter a wide and varied magical world where they develop their accuracy, speed, confidence, fluency and understanding to ensure that they are ready to access the next stage of their reading journey.
Classical Poetry Spine
Classic poems are those which have stood the test of time. Their meaning is universal and timeless: as true now as it was when it was first written. These poems take readers beyond their own circumstances and change how they see the world. Classic poems give the reader a window into the past, to another time or place, while building empathy and understanding. It is essential that children become familiar with the wealth of classical poetry from both Great Britain and other countries. The richness of language and universality of themes provided by these types of texts allow children to expand their understanding of the world. The poems selected have been intentionally chosen to provide the pupils with a variety of poets, topics and themes. This broadens their reading and ensures there will be something of interest for every reader. Although these poems represent just a small sample of the thousands of wonderful poems that pupils may wish to read and study, they provide the pupils with the opportunity to tackle more complex vocabulary, widen their knowledge of synonyms and develop an understanding of challenging language devices.
Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 |
Boats sail on the rivers by Christina Rossetti | The Bronze Legacy by Effie Lee Newsome | Night Clouds by Amy Lowell | “Hope” is the thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson |
My Shadow By Robert Louis Stephenson | Something told the wild Geese By Rachel Field | An Autumn Evening by Lucy Maud Montgomery | The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes |
Buckingham Palace By A.A. Milne | A bird came down the walk By Emily Dickinson | In Flanders Fields by John McCrae | The Listeners by Walter de la Mare |
The Owl and the Pussycat By Edward Lear | The cloud-mobile By May Swenson | Leisure by W.H.Davies | North of Time by Rachel Field |
A visit from St.Nicholas By Clement Clarke Moore | The flower-fed Buffaloes By Vachel Lidsay | In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossertti | The Tyger by William Blake |
The Eagle By Alfred Lord Tennyson | Night By Lucy Maud Montgomery | The Way through the woods by Rudyard Kipling | A Musical Instrument by Elizabeth Barrett Browning |
Classical Children’s Literature Spine
The world of classic children’s literature is full of rich language and exciting adventures. Through these timeless stories the pupils are able to lose themselves in the settings and lives of unforgettable characters. It is essential that our pupils are familiar with the wealth of classic children’s literature from both Great Britain and around the world. The richness of language and art of storytelling provided by these texts allow children to expand their understanding of the world. They are then better able to make links between literature, history, geography, RE, science and other areas. Through exposure to these texts, the pupils are given opportunities to tackle complex vocabulary, develop stamina and endurance for longer passages whilst practising each of the eight reading content domain question types. Full versions of the texts are available in the classroom and it is hoped that the pupils will be take the opportunity to read more of the stories to further immerse themselves in some of the greatest stories ever written.
It is important to keep in mind that some classic texts include words or descriptions which, although considered appropriate or a part of everyday language at the time the books were originally published, are now considered inappropriate, stereotypical or even racist. Rather than throwing these stories away or avoiding the issues which they raise, we believe that it is important to discuss the differences in culture, language and how the world has changed as part of every pupils SMSC development to ensure that they have awareness of how language and culture changes over time to ensure that they deal with these changes in society with sensitivity and inclusivity.
Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 |
The tale of Jemina Puddle-duck Beatrix Potter | The Magic Bedknob by Mary Norton | Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder | Black Beauty by Anna Sewell |
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz By L. Frank Baum | The Railway Children By E.Nesbit | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis | The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett |
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland By Lewis Carroll | Peter Pan By J.M. Barrie | Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome | The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling |
The Story of Dr Dolittle By Hugh Lofting | The Nutcracker and the Mouse king By E.T.A. Hoffmann | The Call of the Wild by Jack London | Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stephenson |
Little House on the Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder | The Wind in the Willows By Kenneth Grahame | The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien | Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne |
The Velveteen Rabbit By Margery Williams | The Prince and the Pauper By Mark Twain | Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery | A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens |
Contemporary Children’s Literature Spine
Our contemporary extracts have been carefully selected to ensure that our pupils cover a range of different authors, genres and themes. It is essential that pupils become familiar with the range of genres within contemporary children’s literature from both the UK and other countries. The richness of language and art of storytelling provided by these texts allow children to expand their understanding of the world. They are then better able to make links between literature, history, geography, RE, science and other areas. Pupils are given opportunities to tackle more complex vocabulary, gain an understanding of challenging language devices, develop stamina and endurance for longer passages and practise of the eight Reading Content Domain question types. Full versions of the texts are available in the classroom and it is hoped that the pupils take the opportunity to immerse themselves in the story by reading on.
Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 |
Agent Zaiba investigates: The Missing Diamonds By Annabelle Sami Mystery/Teamwork | The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G Leonard & Sam Sedgman Mystery/Resilience | A kind of Spark Elle McNicoll Historical/neurodiversity | The Invasion of Crooked Oak by Dan Smith Science fiction/Friendship |
The boy at the back of the class By Onjali Q.Rauf Refugees | The Land of Roar By Jenny McLachian Fantasy/Adventure/Strength | Asha and the Spirit Bird by Jasbinder Bilan Folklore/Indian ancestry | Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll Historical/WW2 |
A chase in time By Sally Nicholls Historical/Edwardian Period | Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond By Alex English Fantasy/STEM | Darwin’s Dragons by Lindsay Galvin Historical/Natural world/Dragons | Lori and Max and the Book Thieves by Catherine O’Flynn Mystery/Friendship |
Daisy and the Unknown Warrior By Tony Bradman Historical/WW1 | Starfell: Willow Moss and the Lost Day By Dominique Valente Fantasy/Diversity/Self belief | Dragon Mountain By Katie and Kevin Tsang Fantasy adventure/Dragons | The Mask of Aribella by Anna Hoghton Fantasy/Family/Venice |
Frost By Holly Webb Animals | SWOP and the Satsuma-Sized Secret By Lucy Noguera Fantasy/Grief/Family | The Haunting of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes Horror/Ghosts | October October by Katya Balen Family and Natural world |
The Griffin Gate By Vashti Hardy Fantasy/Sci-fi/Bravery/STEM | Varjak Paw By S.F.Said Fantasy/Friendship/Loyalty | The Hungry Ghost by H.S. Norup Fantasy/Ghosts | The Vanishing Trick by Jenni Spangler Historical/Victorians/Friendship |
Non-Fiction Spine
Non-Fiction texts are all around us. Every day, young people encounter written news, internet articles, magazines, game instructions, leaflets and recipes. To positively engage with these texts, children must learn to identify purpose, point of view and bias. They need to understand the language and text structures of various types of non-fiction and be able to identify fact versus opinion.
We are living in an information-rich, fast-paced, scientific world. Developing solid general knowledge and an understanding of current events is key to becoming a contributing member of society who is thoughtful and aware. Reading non-fiction will help children to develop the core knowledge they need to broaden their understanding of what is going on locally, nationally and internationally – in the past, present and into the future. Technical vocabulary is incredibly important as children encounter information about a whole host of modern issues. The non-fiction text below have been selected to expose our pupils to different non-fiction text types whilst covering wide ranging themes that support both their academic and personal development.
Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 |
Dog Training Magazine Article Relationships & pets | Are video games bad for us? Discussion Text PSHE & Mental Wellbeing | The high flying life-savers Information Text Charity | The importance of empathy Explanation Text PSHE |
Shooting for the Olympics Newspaper Report Sport & Ambition | Look after yourself online Information text Internet safety and PSHE | Couscous salad Instructions Healthy eating | Fallen Space Rock found Newspaper Article Science & STEM |
Fruit Crumble Instructions Healthy eating | Dino Giant Stuns Scientists Newspaper article Archaeology | Rare Wildcats make a comeback. Explanation Text Conservation | The rise of real life robots Information Text STEM & Robots |
The Brains behind Legoland’s bricks Newspaper Report Jobs & Lego | Mount Etna’s Spectacular show Newspaper article Geography & Volcanoes | Should the UK ban short domestic flights? Discussion Text Environment/Pollution | Noah’s Ark for plants turns 20 Newspaper Article Environment & Conservation |
Paddle Boarding Information text Sport & Leisure | A human home amongst the stars Biography Space | The discovery that changed history Information Text History & Anglo Saxons | The composer who brought joy Biography Music - Beethoven |
The secrets of sleep Explanation Text Health & Wellbeing | Is this the world’s smallest reptile? Newspaper/Magazine article Rainforests & Conservation | Six unbelievable jobs Information Text Jobs & Careers | The pilot who left a trail of mystery Biography Amelia Earhart |