Reading
Our reading intent, implementation and impact can be read here
At St John’s we use a structured reading scheme to ensure that children are supported in making progress with their reading skills, while also developing a love for reading.
The books selected for both the phonics scheme and the reading scheme provide opportunities for children to develop their knowledge and cultural capital. They ensure progression in developing the skills needed for reading, while promoting reading stamina and a life-long love of reading.
Reading scheme:
The books within the following scheme require children to use a range of skills for reading including phonetic understanding, sight word recognition and using illustrations and familiar characters to help them decipher unfamiliar words.
Children following the reading scheme will be assessed half termly using ‘PM Benchmark’ to help determine which of the colour books bands is suited to their reading ability. ‘PM Benchmark’ assesses word level reading, as well as comprehension and inference skills.
Once your child has been levelled as reading beyond ‘Lime’ they may become a ‘free reader’. They will be able to choose from a range of books that require them to practise their reading skills further. They may also be selecting chapter books.
Book Bands
Lilac |
Lilac If your child brings home a Lilac book you can support them by modelling the processes of reading, such as how to hold a book and turn a page. The story is being told through the illustrations, therefore, talk about what they notice, who the characters are and what they like/dislike about what they can see. Help your child locate the title. |
Pink |
Pink Your child is beginning to learn to read. As they read, please help them to:
Tell you about something that happened in the book, or about something they found out in the book. |
Red |
Red As above |
Yellow |
Yellow Now that your child is reading Yellow books:
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Blue |
Blue Children on blue books will be able to:
Show you how they can find things that interest them in non-fiction texts. |
Green |
Green As above but with a little more focus on punctuation. |
Orange |
Orange Now your child is reading orange books:
Talk about how characters are feeling and what they might be thinking. |
Turquoise |
Turquoise When your child is reading Turquoise books:
Ask them to tell you about interesting things they found out and to show you where the information is located in the book |
Purple |
Purple The purple reading books require:
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Gold |
Gold You can support your child read Gold books by:
Encouraging them to look for more books of the type they enjoy. |
White |
White Your child is now reading longer books with fewer illustrations, so they continue to need your help to ensure they are getting the full meaning and enjoyment from the text. They may prefer to read one chapter or section at a time, rather than reading the whole book in one session. They will now be:
Express reasoned opinions and interpretations about what is read and compare texts. |
Lime |
Lime Although your child is now taking off as a reader, it is still important that you read with them and talk to them about their reading. This reassures them that their reading is still important to you, as well as giving you an opportunity to share an enjoyment of books. Children will be able to:
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If your child’s teacher assesses your child and believes that although they are reading beyond Lime, they would still benefit from choosing a levelled reading scheme book that bridges the gap between a reading programme and longer chapter books, they will choose a book from the following colours:
Brown |
Brown Although your child will now be enjoying reading independently and is less likely to read aloud to you, to support their reading you can:
Continuing to read aloud to your child at bedtime. This shows them the importance you place on reading |
Grey |
Grey As above |
Dark Blue |
Dark Blue As above. Books on this level give increasing opportunities for children to develop their skills of inference and deduction. |
Dark Red |
Dark Red As above Books on this level offer fluent readers a complex, substantial text with challenging themes to facilitate sustained comprehension. |
Within this scheme there are a range of publishers including:
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Oxford Reading Tree
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Ransom Reading Stars
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Rising Stars Reading Planet
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Collins Big Cat
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Oxford Project X
Reading for Pleasure
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Please watch our video about why it is so important for our children to be reading and our aims for reading. |