Reading at Oakridge

Reading leads at the heart of the Oakridge curriculum. We believe that reading is a vital life skill and we work hard to promote its value. We are always striving to improve practice and ensure all of our children are equipped with the necessary skills to flourish across the curriculum and in later life. Good early reading begins with good phonics provision and we therefore introduced the Read, Write, Inc. scheme in January 2022. Read, Write, Inc. is a phonics scheme that helps all children to read fluently and at speed as well as develop comprehension. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7 years however at Oakridge we begin in Nursery. We also ensure that older children who are reading significantly below age related expectations have access to the programme in an age appropriate way.

For more information about Read, Write, Inc. including videos about how to support your child with reading at home please click on the link.

At Oakridge, we understand that good reading is more than good decoding. Our phonics scheme therefore sits within a wider reading strategy. We have a bespoke reading progression grid to support our pupils with developing wider skills including comprehension. We provide as many opportunities for reading as possible. Time is allocated in the timetable for all classes to have Reading for Pleasure sessions, as we believe pupils who read for pleasure make significantly more progress in vocabulary and spelling than others. All classes are timetabled to visit our library once a week. We also use VIPERS, which involves explicit teaching of the following skills:

Vocabulary

Inference

Predicition

Explanation

Retrieval

Summarising

Teaching of Reading Sessions

Recap

The first lesson of a new unit begins with an introduction to the text by exploring the cover and blurb. Each subsequent lesson begins with a question recapping the last chapter in order to consolidate the children's understanding of the text so far and review key events.

Vocabulary check

Before each lesson, teachers identify challenging vocabulary that the children will encounter within the session. These words will be discussed explicitly as a group.

Modelled reading

One of the most important aspects of teaching reading is teachers modelling fluency, expression and intonation through reading to the children. Modelling reading means that the language and content of the text does not need to be limited and teachers are providing a scaffold for inference. 

Modelled task

Each lesson concentrates on one VIPER skill. This ensures that different aspects of comprehension are developed and reinforced while reading the text. Before attempting the tasks relating to the focus skill, teachers use a modelled task to provide clear instruction and example to the children. 

Main differentiated activity

The main activity includes a range of activities, such as answering questions, drama, discussion, recording, observations, group or paired work. These activities are differentiated to ensure sufficient support and challenge for all.

We also run an annual bingo challenge and reading competitions for all year groups.

Click the links below for more information about reading provision at Oakridge.