Reading for Pleasure
Whole class reading sessions take place for pupils who have completed their phonics journey. These sessions are 30 minutes long and occur daily. Within these sessions, the Reciprocal Reading approach is followed, which covers all of the reading domains. The Reciprocal Reading approach is a talk-based approach which follows a set structure: Predict, Clarify, Question, Summarise, three to four times per session. High quality texts are chosen to ensure that pupils have an opportunity to read age-appropriate texts with high quality vocabulary and appropriate themes, whilst also ensuring opportunities for reading a full text.
Lowedges Junior Academy Book Map
Reading for Pleasure
Key Driver – Love for reading
Reading is an ULTIMATE priority at Lowedges Junior Academy, so much so it is one of our academy’s 4 ‘Key Drivers’. This means we prioritise reading and a love of reading throughout our entire school and curriculum
Curriculum linked to stories
Reading is a vital part of our curriculum. It underpins our English curriculum and supports us within our wider curriculum. Our RSHE scheme recommends specific texts to support lessons and our EYFS curriculum is built upon texts that encourage the development of language.
High quality texts available, range of authors
With the support of Sheffield Library Service, our children are exposed to high quality texts and a range of genres. We have a variety of authors and illustrators as well as a broad representation within this. One of our key themes that run through text choices is ‘Key Authors’, over their years at Lowedges Junior Academy we aim to develop both children and staff’s author knowledge.
If you would like an idea of appropriate texts for each age, follow the links below:
Celebration events such as WBD, National Story telling week, Sheffield Children’s Book Awards, Book selling events and competitions
Reading events are a major part in our school calendar. These include World Book Day which we celebrate in a number of ways: story swaps, secret readers, character dress up, story/character related competitions, reading bingos and a variety of other challenges.
We also participate in the Sheffield’s Children’s Book Awards. Where we are sent a range of texts recommended for specific ages and the children are actively encouraged to read them as a class or independently and then vote for their favourites.
Each classroom has an inviting book corner with a range of texts. These bookshelves contain recommendations from their class teachers, support staff, their Reading Ambassador and their own peers. Our pupil voice found that our children said they were more likely to choose a book that had been recommended to them. The Reading Ambassador for the class is also responsible for generating ‘Book Talk’ and encouraging their peers to recommend a book or recommending one themselves. The bookshelves contain a range of fiction and non-fiction texts, featured authors and texts linked to their topics.
Each class has a Reading Ambassador, voted for by their peers. These Ambassadors have a passion for reading, a knowledge of authors, illustrators and genres and a desire to promote reading for pleasure.
Reading for pleasure books
In addition to children’s reading books to improve their word reading ability, every child has a ‘reading for pleasure’ Library book. The children have a dedicated library slot in the week when they get to choose a book to borrow for the week. The aim of these books are to promote a love of reading and where they are above a children’s word reading ability, they can be thoroughly enjoyed as a shared read. This session allows the class teachers to really understand their pupils as readers too. This means they can make meaningful and informed recommendations.
Lowedges JA Library Slots
We are so lucky to have a stunning library at Lowedges. The library is filled with a range of high-quality texts that children can enjoy and borrow to take home. These library slots are timetabled for each class every week.
In addition, the library is open at lunchtime to allow children a calm and relaxed space to get lost in a book over lunch.
The library slots allow the class teacher and pupils to engage in ‘book talk’ and make relevant recommendations.
Story time – read aloud time
At Lowedges Junior Academy, story time is a part of our daily routine. We love story time, and we do it first thing in the morning. What a better way to start the day! Children come in and settle into their day with a story. Story telling expert, Neil Griffiths advised that you should prioritise your story time by having it when your brain is fresh and awake (rather than at home time when you’re tired and sluggish), so our story time is daily at 8:45!
Partnerships with Lowedges/Greenhill Library
As a local school we are lucky to partnership with Lowedges and Greenhill Library. This means we have the opportunity to visit both of those libraries as classes, participate in their competitions and events and other wonderful bonuses.
Currently, when children win the Golden Ticket Prize, they are invited to create a book review which is then displayed at Lowedges Library.
Book ‘n’ Breaky
A love of reading starts to take root at home. Reading role models are vitally important. Sometimes parents can feel a little less confident when it comes to story times or know which books to choose which is why we have, ‘Book & Breaky’ – parents/carers are invited to come and join their child for some 1:1 quality time, read their story and then listen to the class teacher read a book.
The benefits of this are that we are building a love of reading together by creating a wonderful, loving and special experience. We are also able to support parents with how to tackle 1:1 reading and model reading aloud for parents less confident with that.
We are very fortunate to be a part of the Marcus Rashford (YES, the one and only!) Book Club. This privilege means we receive class sets of books (usually every half-term) for the children to keep! FOREVER. We aim to build children’s home bookcases over the years.
One of our many after-school offers is the library club. This club allows children an enriching experience in our school library. Children get to explore and enjoy stories, listen to stories, engage in ‘Book Talk’ and also learn how to respect and organise the library.
Each year, we continue to praise and encourage children to read at home. As a school, we expect children to read at home a minimum of three times per week.
We like to encourage reading wherever we can. This might be through ‘strangest place to read’ competitions, reading raffles, reward systems, challenges. All of the above actively encourage children to participate in reading at home. Our rewards are now book related – winning a book means we’re rewarding a love of reading with a book to love.
We’re very lucky that a number of organisations have donated us books for our library, classroom bookshelves and books for our children to take home. We are hugely appreciative of this and welcome any further donations people wish to make.