What is Phonics?

Introduction to the Daily Speed Sounds Lesson

How to say the sounds

Reading beyond phonics

When children are secure with their phonic knowledge and have developed a fluent and competent pace with word reading, teachers plan and deliver reading lessons which strive to promote the joy and wonder of reading a wide range of genres and enable all children to develop comprehension of the words on the page.  Our approach is guided by the research provided in the DFE Reading Framework, which recommends that comprehension is best developed ‘by increasing and activating pupils’ knowledge of texts, authors and their own experiences’, and supporting children to build ‘mental models of the texts they encounter’ (DFE Reading Framework, July 2023). 

For this reason, we plan reading lessons with a clear intent for pupils to: 

• engage in the text
• learn the meaning of new vocabulary
• acquire the knowledge they need to understand what they are reading.  

Reading lessons are separate to but often complement English sessions, often linking to a core text or genre being studied.  Books, extracts and texts are chosen carefully to expose children to a range of diversities, enabling pupils to broaden their perspectives and see the world through diverse lenses.  We ensure that throughout their learning journey, our pupils read widely and, often, the texts we study link with knowledge acquired across curriculum areas.  Thus, sometimes children will be reading a text that consolidates prior learning from the term or year before, or they may be building some understanding of new learning that is to come.  When we introduce a new text to our children, we set the scene of the text and make explicit these crucial links of knowledge.  

At Cold Harbour, we believe it is important for children to continue to practise reading fluency beyond the phonic programme, so when new texts are introduced, we spend time reading together.  The class teacher will often model reading, paying close attention to punctuation and intonation.  All pupils are then invited to read the text through partner practice, a familiar process from Read, Write Inc. sessions, where each child has the opportunity to read aloud with the support of their partner.  During partner practice, teaching staff listen around the class, while one child is reading aloud to another.  This enables the teacher to support pupils to develop their reader voice.  

Reading aloud is accompanied with high-quality discussion that focuses on teaching vocabulary to enable children to construct vivid images of what they have read.  We plan to teach 6-8 words through explicit instruction of Tier Two vocabulary as defined by Beck and McKeown (2002) as ‘ambitious words that learners are likely to come across in a variety of contexts and across all subjects’.  However, we explore many more words throughout our discussion to ensure all children develop the knowledge they need to understand what they have read.  

Further comprehension of the text is then explored through exposing pupils to a range of questions, sentence stems and discussion points which challenge them to convey their understanding.  We use Reading VIPERS as a scaffold to support children to know how to approach and answer comprehension questions.  Please see our VIPERS sentence stems which will enable you to support your child to develop understanding of the texts they read at home.         

Reading as a treasured pastime

As part of our mission to ensure that every child finds joy in reading, our staff are dedicated to motivating and supporting each child to find themselves as a reader.  Weekly book club sessions encourage children to choose books that appeal to their interests or entice them to try something new, discuss their reading choices and make recommendations to peers.  For this reason, when children no longer need to read books matched to their phonic knowledge, they are invited to choose an age-appropriate book from their classroom library.     

Across the school, teachers share a daily story time session with their class, reading aloud books, poems or texts to instil a love in listening to the written word and to inspire children on their reading journey.