Reading in English

Reading is at the heart of all we do at Heronsgate! Across the school, we read and respond to texts through discussion, storytelling and drama. Children learn to read with phonics, using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme. Once they are fluent, they progress to close and critical analysis of texts.

Puppets in Nursery

In Nursery, children make puppets based on the core book of the week, and are encouraged to retell the story with peers in the puppet theatre. This develops their understanding of the key events and helps them develop the skills needed to create their own stories. Also, it’s great fun!

Phonics in Year 1

In Year 1, children have daily phonics lessons to help them learn to decode words. They practise their reading in small groups, led by a highly trained practitioner. The children work on reading fluently, with expression and they also pose and answer questions about the book. The children are really enjoying our new Little Wandle books.

Research in Year 3

Once children are fluent readers, they can use their skills to gather and organise information. Here you can see a Year 3 child has used selected websites and texts to research the Obamas and organise the information they have found under different headings. They will use this knowledge to develop interview questions for the Obamas and write a letter to them.

Metacognition in Year 5

This Year 5 pupil has used her metacognitive skills to ‘think aloud’ and look deeper into the text as she reads. The teacher has encouraged the pupil to consider what she thinks, notices and wonders in this extract and you can see here this has led to some brilliant inferences about the character.