It’s almost Phonics Screening Check (PSC) time, and many primary schools will already have started their preparations to help each one of their learners boost their life-long literacy journey. After more than 10 years supporting teachers with the Bug Club Phonics range, we’ve put together this playful toolkit of ideas to keep young learners engaged, help them revise and thrive, and close the gaps with fun and positivity.
How many people do you think can remember learning to read? Can they remember the days, weeks, months and years their primary school teachers took teaching them a skill that would open up a world of opportunities? How many can remember recognising those initial letters on the page, combining the letters and sounds to form words and then attaching meaning to those words? The chances are, not many. For those that struggled with reading however, the memories are probably more vivid.
Reading is an integral skill to life and one which we need to unlock in order to open many other doors to learning. We know that not all children learn in the same way and that many of them face barriers, especially in reading.
Research has shown that enjoyment of reading is key to future success. However, we also live in a digital age, where our pupils spend a vast amount of their time consuming information via digital and social media platforms. Although print is important, access to digital books on a range of devices can give children more opportunities to read.
A picture book is classed as one in which a narrative is combined with a visual element. This can take the form of wordless storybooks to graphic novels. Traditionally, there has been an assumption that these books are primarily geared towards younger readers, but increasingly, teachers and parents are seeing the benefit to academic attainment, mental wellbeing and inspiring reluctant readers to engage and take joy from reading for all aged children. And indeed, for adults.
There are two high-frequency themes that arise in the engagement of parents/guardians in the development of reading at home: reaching those that you really, really want to reach; and moving others away from thinking that listening to their child read more challenging words is the goal. This latter has a related issue: once the child can read independently, there can be a perception that no more parent-level engagement is required – and we’ll come back to that.
Who do we see in the imagined worlds of literature – do we see ourselves, and do we see others?
Stop. Just stop whatever you are doing and go and have a look at the book corner in Year 5. What does it look like? What does it tell you about the reading culture in your school? What do the children think of it? Do they want to grab a book? Do they want to immerse themselves in a new world, a new dimension or a story about someone just like them?
The chicken or the egg. What comes first, reading or writing? In this blog Ben Connor discusses how reading supports successful writing.