English
We use Unlocking Letters and Sounds which was validated by the DfE in December 2021.
Guided Reading in Reception and Key Stage One
At Lydeard St Lawrence School we promote a 'phonics first' approach and in both our guided reading sessions at school and in the books children take home, texts are very closely matched to a child's current phonics knowledge so that every child can experience real success in their reading. In these crucial early stages of reading we primarily use books from Ransom Reading Stars Phonics, to ensure complete fidelity to the Unlocking Letters and Sounds progression we follow.
Once children progress beyond decodable texts, they move onto our book scheme so that they can continue to progress in their decoding, fluency and comprehension skills to become avid, expert readers.
In the reading session, there will be three groups for group reading, with a teacher or teaching assistant with each group. This is organised so that when the phonics lesson takes place in the Reception class, a reading session takes place in Year 1 and two. The two teaching assistants are based in the class which is doing the reading session, so that each reading group has an adult three times a week. These teaching assistants are trained and receive regular coaching sessions and updates
At the start of every group reading session the teacher/teaching assistants will practise with the children the phonemes and tricky words which will appear in the book.
The children will then read the book independently. The teacher/teaching assistant will move around their group ‘tuning’ in, so they can hear each child read. Each lesson has a focus. The first day is decoding and the second day is comprehension. On both of these days the same book is used The teacher will have prepared questions to develop a particular skill with comprehension – e.g. inference. On the third day the focus will be on prosody. The teacher/teaching assistant will first practise the phonemes and tricky words that will appear in the book. The teacher/teaching assistants will then model reading with prosody (fluency and expression). Echo reading and ‘My turn, your turn’ will follow. The children will then practise reading with prosody independently and the teacher/teaching assistants will tune in to each child’s reading in their group. The teacher and the teaching assistants will stay with the same group for the week and then rotate.
Handwriting at Lydeard St Lawrence
KS2 Reading
Writing
We use Literacy Tree's Writing Roots to support us with the delivery of our Writing lessons.
Literacy Tree’s writing resource and programme, Writing Roots is based around the Teach Through a Text pedagogy. It embeds all National Curriculum requirements and places audience and purpose at the core. Literacy Tree’s primary focus through its book-based pedagogy is to motivate children to write for a range of audiences and purposes using high-quality, diverse children’s literature by significant authors.
We have carefully matched Writing Roots texts and units to our Lydeard St Lawrence curriculum, ensuring children experience a wide range of texts and authors as well as opportunities to write different genres. There are opportunities to revisit genres and build on their prior knowledge as they progress through the school.
Spelling, Vocabulary and Grammar
Boom Reader
We use the digital reading record Boom Reader. Please follow the link to sign in and contact your child's class teacher if you need login details.
Accelerated Reader Please follow the link to sign in and contact your child's class teacher if you need login details.
