Literacy: Alsager School Reading Strategy

Alsager School Reading Strategy 2022-23

KNOWLEDGE AND STRATEGY = SKILLED READING

1. KNOWLEDGE

Reading and the Curriculum

Reading is a multidimensional process that involves the integration of multiple sources of knowledge and skills. We therefore believe effective curriculum sequencing is vital in developing knowledge and creating skilled readers.
It is our aim to fully embed disciplinary literacy across the curriculum, in line with recommendations in the Education Endowment Foundation ‘Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools Guidance Report’: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/literacy-ks3-ks4
We use Bedrock Vocabulary to expand pupils’ Tier 2 vocabulary. Bedrock Vocabulary allows pupils to listen to the words being read so they are hearing the pronunciation of the words whilst discovering their definitions and meanings within context.
We have made it our aim to increase the volume pupils are reading in terms of both depth and frequency.

2. STRATEGY

Assessment of Reading and interventions (Tier 2 and 3)

Reading tests are completed in September for all pupils and again in March for struggling readers. High quality reading interventions are provided for pupils who have been identified as struggling readers and the impact is closely monitored.

Whole school teaching approaches to reading (Tier 1):

1. Reading Strategies

Teachers are aware of pupils’ reading ages and use a range of reading strategies to support all pupils as they encounter increasingly complex texts across Key Stages 3, 4 and 5. Teachers assess the difficulty of a text in terms of the background knowledge required to understand the text, the range and complexity of vocabulary, use of abstract imagery and metaphorical language, sentence length and syntax, narrative or whole-text structures, generic elements (e.g. biography, article, diary account), scaffolds (glossary, subheadings etc.) and text length. Teachers then use strategies, including those listed below, to support pupils.

Before, during and after reading

Reduce/repair strategies

Reciprocal reading

Ask questions about the topic

Activate prior knowledge

Make predictions

Ask questions to monitor understanding

Make connections and inferences within the text and ‘globally’

Visualise and devise a ‘mental model’ of the text

Update and make new predictions

Seek coherence and summarise the text

Revisit and revise predictions

Generate further questions about the text and your understanding

Evaluate reading and judge against goals

Skimming (reading rapidly for a general overview of the text)
Scanning (reading rapidly to find specific information)
Slowing down
Rereading
Reading back through the text
Checking the index, glossary or scaffolds
Asking questions
Summarising
Noticing patterns and text structures
Reading related texts

Reciprocal reading encourages students to read, talk and think their way through the text. Each student is assigned a specific role within the group before reading:
Predict
Clarify
Question
Summarise
(Teach, model and release responsibility to students).

2. Fluency development

Fluency is the bridge from decoding to comprehension as it allows the reader to focus on the meaning of the text rather than the mechanics of reading. We are aware that 75-90% of students with comprehension difficulties have reading fluency problems that are a significant cause of their comprehension difficulties and that fluency may change depending on the subject and the complexity of the text. Fluency has two components: automaticity and prosody.

Our aim is for pupils to practice these skills sufficiently, through both wide and deep reading, to ensure fluent reading with increasingly difficult texts. We use Thomas Rasinki’s Multidimensional Fluency Scale (see below) to develop fluency – the scale can be used when working with the teacher or in pairs for diagnostic assessment.