Reading

“Reading for pleasure is the single most important thing that will make a child successful in life.” (UNESCO, 2011)

Our shared reading curriculum is built around a carefully sequenced range of high-quality, age-appropriate texts using Literacy Counts’ Ready Steady Read units of learning. These carefully planned units immerse children in rich, diverse literature, exposing them to a wide range of authors, themes and genres while explicitly developing the comprehension skills needed to become confident, thoughtful readers.

Through explicit teacher modelling of fluency, expression, pace, intonation and prosody, children learn how skilled readers bring meaning to a text and how these features support understanding. Shared reading lessons provide regular opportunities for discussion, questioning, prediction and vocabulary exploration, enabling children to deepen their comprehension while developing confidence in speaking and listening.

Our reading curriculum is designed to ensure that every child, regardless of their stage of reading development, can access ambitious, high-quality texts and develop a genuine love of reading. Alongside whole-class shared reading, we promote reading for pleasure through class novels, well-stocked classroom libraries, author studies and regular opportunities for children to recommend, discuss and celebrate books. Children also access appropriately matched independent reading books through Accelerated Reader, with STAR Reading Assessments used to monitor progress and ensure pupils are reading within their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

By placing high-quality literature at the heart of our curriculum, we aim to develop fluent, enthusiastic readers who read widely, think critically and leave St Cuthbert’s with a lifelong love of reading.

Download: Reading – Year 2 Implementation Overview [PDF]

Download: Reading – Year 3 Implementation Overview [PDF]

Download: Reading – Year 4 Implementation Overview [PDF]

Download: Reading – Year 5 Implementation Overview [PDF]

Download: Reading – Year 6 Implementation Overview [PDF]