Parent Information Evening

1. Parent Information Evening Monday 9th November

2. The aims of the evening • To give an overview of the way we teach reading and spelling. • To give examples of some ways you can help your child with reading and spelling at home. • To give you, the parents, an opportunity to ask questions about our language programme.

3. Reading The main reading scheme we use at school is the PM Reading Scheme. We also use; • The Oxford Reading Tree • Ginn 360 • Storyworlds • Rigby Rockets

4. Reading At Home • Students are assessed by the class teacher or a trained learning assistant and given a reading level. • Books that are sent home should be texts that the student can read withease. • Home readers are sent home for reading practice, to increase fluency, confidence and comprehension. • You are welcome to supplement your child’s reading at home with your own books or books borrowed from the library.

5. Changing Reading Levels • A reading scheme provides a set of books divided into levels which are aimed at specific reading abilities. There are many titles to choose from as well as a choice of fiction and non-fiction texts. • Children develop as readers at their own pace. • Decoding skills enable a student to decipher a word using their knowledge of phonics and word blends, etc. • True reading occurs when the reader fully understands what they are reading - comprehension.

6. How can fluency and comprehension be developed? • Talk about the books being read. • Ask questions to check understanding. • Discuss the character, the setting, the illustrations, etc. • Reading fluency is what all our students are aiming to achieve. • A fluent reader reads smoothly, with pace and uses the words and punctuation to add expression when reading.

7. Guided Reading • Children of similar reading abilities are grouped together to work on the same text. • The text they are reading will be at an instructional level (90-95% accuracy). • The class teacher works with one group a day to work on specific skills that will further develop their reading ability.

8. Reading As Part Of The School Day Students will also be reading throughout their day at school; • Teacher instructions • Workbooks • Date on the board • Reading for information during the unit of inquiry • Proof reading their own and others’ writing

9. First Steps • First Steps is an outcomes-based approach to teaching. This means a shift in emphasis from what is to be taught to what is actually learned by each student. • One of the best ways to help students acquire spelling proficiency is to teach spelling within the context of everyday writing. • Addressing individual spelling needs during writing tasks is an effective way to individualise instruction and teach at the point of need. • However, a comprehensive approach to teaching spelling also needs to provide explicit teaching, frequent opportunities to investigate and analyse words, and daily opportunities for authentic writing. Authentic writing allows students to practise and apply their new understandings.

10. The characteristics of an effective speller • use a variety of spelling strategies to spell and learn new words • automatically recall high-frequency words, personally significant words and topic and signal words • continually build their vocabulary • understand the English orthographic system • understand and apply spelling generalisations • self monitor and generate alternative spellings for unknown words

11. Spelling strategies to spell and learn new words • Sounding out • Chunking • Using spelling generalisations • Using analogy • Consulting an authority • Using meaning • Using memory aids • Using visual memory

12. Questions ?