Reading & Phonics at Hatfield Peverel Infant and Nursery School
As part of World Book Week, the children all had the chance to make a cardboard tube character. We had a lot including Harry Potters, Hungry Caterpillars, fairy tale characters, Julia Donaldson characters and even the BFG! Next year, we will be decorating wooden spoons!
The children were very lucky to receive a visit from author Michelle Noble-Jones. It was really interesting to hear about her trekking in Borneo, where she got the inspiration for her lovely book about Manu the Orangutan and his friend the Sunbear. The children asked lots of interesting questions about how she became an author.
World Book Day saw everyone dressing up, even Mr Bannister came to school dressed up as Batman. He made a surprise appearance in assembly that day!
At Hatfield Peverel Infant School we aim for all children to have a love of reading, fostered through access to good quality texts and opportunities offered by the partnership of home and school.
We aim for children to:
- Read with enjoyment and enthusiasm
- See themselves as ‘readers’ from their earliest experience of books
- Acquire the skills for reading to enable them to read with confidence, fluency, relevance and understanding
- Be interested in a wide range of texts, both fiction and non-fiction.
- Evaluate and justify preferences in their reading
- Have knowledge of different authors
- Access information texts for all subjects
The ‘reading practice’ book
We use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised to plan and provide daily engaging phonics lessons. Little Wandle is linked to Collins Big Cat books therefore the children primarily follow this scheme throughout. Once a week, a reading practice book will be allocated via Collins Big Cat subscription. This book will be closely matched to your child’s reading level and Little Wandle assessments.
The ‘sharing’ book
Children will also bring home a coloured sticker levelled book. These books are closely matched to the phonics phase that they are working within, but they will not necessarily be fully decodable as their allocated reading practice book is. It is intended you read this book ‘with’ your child.
The ‘star’ books
‘Star’ books are non-levelled and offer a wealth of opportunities for developing vocabulary, enjoying the story, and using imagination. The star book is for an adult to read ‘to’ a child.
For more reading information please refer to the Reading Guidance for Parents leaflet.
Mystery Reader
We enjoy inviting Mystery Readers into our school. All we ask is that you bring in and read aloud a favourite picture book to the class. This will help share a LOVE of reading to all the children. Because this is a MYSTERY, we would like all information to be kept secret from your child, including the date you are coming and the picture book you will be reading. The children love guessing who the mystery reader is each week! If you would like to join in with the mystery, but need help choosing a book, we are happy to help. Please contact your child’s class teacher if you have five minutes to spare one Friday afternoon!
Oswald
Oswald the Owl is a big hit with the children in school. It has been lovely to see lots of children taking him home and sharing the adventures they have had with him via Tapestry. Teachers choose one child each week, based on who they feel has done some brilliant reading. It might be for trying extra hard, doing lots of reading at home or for showing a good understanding of the books they have read that week. We always look forward to hearing about Oswald’s adventures!
My name is Mrs Francis and I am the Subject Lead for English. I am passionate about developing children’s love of language, particularly through phonics and early reading. As someone who enjoys reading for pleasure — especially crime thrillers — I am committed to encouraging every child to discover a love of reading, whatever their preferred genre may be.
Having studied Performing Arts at college, I enjoy bringing creativity, expression and storytelling into the classroom. I strive to inspire children to become confident, imaginative writers who are able to explore their ideas, develop their own voice and bring their imaginations to life through writing.
One of the most rewarding parts of teaching English is seeing children grow in confidence and realise the power that reading and writing can have in helping them express themselves and understand the world around them.