Year 1 Rationale

Whole class reading is placed very highly as part of the reading curriculum at St Michael with St John as it is where the explicit teaching of reading takes place. Whole class reading across school takes place at 1.00pm to 1.25pm in all classes and is led by the class teacher. Each year group has an overview mapping out carefully selected texts for the year. There is one text type allocated per week, which follows a cycle of fiction – nonfiction – poetry.

Each day has a focus on a different reading domain and the teaching sequence is as follows:

Monday- Vocabulary and Prediction

Tuesday- Sequencing (KS1) Summarising (KS2)

Wednesday- Retrieval

Thursday- Inference

Friday- Explanation

Autumn 1

Alongside our whole class reading sessions we also teach reading through our English units. During the first half of the Autumn term the children practise their reading skills through three genres:

• Stories with familiar settings
• Non-chronological reports
• Poems on a theme

Children begin the Autumn term by building on what they have learnt in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Through the fiction unit, children learn to read accurately by blending sounds in unfamiliar words. They develop and demonstrate their understanding of characters through role play and drama, drawing on language from the text and use patterns and repetition to support oral retelling. When reading texts both independently and with an adult, children are taught to relate texts to their own experiences and make predictions based on what has been read so far. They identify and discuss the main characters and events in stories and begin to orally retell familiar stories in a range of contexts. Moving towards the end of the first unit, children start to make basic inferences about what is being said and done.

During the non-fiction unit, children are introduced to and discuss key vocabulary and begin to link meaning of words to those already known.  They activate prior knowledge and learn to explain their understanding of what is read to them. Whilst reading, children are taught to recall specific information and locate parts of texts that give particular information. After reading, children are taught to demonstrate their understanding by answering questions related to who, what, where, when, why and how.

During the poetry unit, children listen to and discuss a range of poems at a level beyond at which they can read independently. They are taught to recognise and join in with language patterns and repetition and use these to support oral retelling. Children at this stage begin to enjoy and recite rhymes and poems by heart and can give opinions and support with reasons.

Autumn 2

During the second half of the Autumn term the children practise their reading skills through three genres:

• Repetitive patterned stories
• Poems on a theme
• Range of non-fiction texts

Children begin the second half of the Autumn term by looking closely at stories with repetitive patterns. They are taught to identify and discuss the main characters and events and build upon their ability to make predictions based on what has been read so far. Children will also learn to orally retell familiar stories and make basic inferences about what is being said and done. New learning is introduced at this stage, where the children learn to make personal reading choices and explain their reasons for these choices.

During the poetry unit, children listen to and discuss a range of poems at a level at which they can read independently. They are taught to recognise and join in with language patterns and repetition and use these to support oral retelling. Children at this stage begin to enjoy and recite rhymes and poems by heart and can give opinions and support with reasons. New learning is introduced at this stage where the children learn to read words containing –ed endings.

During the non-fiction unit, children are introduced to and discuss key vocabulary and begin to link meaning of words to those already known.  They activate prior knowledge and learn to explain their understanding of what is read to them. Whilst reading, children are taught to recall specific information and locate parts of texts that give particular information. After reading, children are taught to demonstrate their understanding by answering questions related to who, what, where, when, why and how.

New learning is introduced at this stage where the children learn to read aloud accurately books that are consistent with their developing phonic knowledge. During discussions, children are also taught to listen to what others say and to take turns.

Spring 1

During the first half of the Spring term the children practise their reading skills through three genres:

• Stories on a theme
• Instructions
• Traditional rhymes

Children begin the first half of the Spring term looking closely at stories on a theme. They are taught to identify and discuss the main characters and events through role play and drama, drawing on language from the text and learn to discuss the title of a text and how it relates to the events in the whole story. They build upon their knowledge of prediction and are taught to apply their phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words. At this stage in the year, children are introduced to new learning. They are taught to read words containing –ed –er and –est endings and are encouraged to give opinions and support with reasons e.g. I like Peter Rabbit because…

During the non-fiction unit, children are introduced to and discuss key vocabulary and can link meanings of words to those already known. They continue to read aloud accurately books that are consistent with their developing phonic knowledge and are taught to check that texts make sense while reading. If a mistake is made, children will make an attempt to self-correct. During a discussion surrounding a text, children are taught to listen to what others say, to take turns and to explain clearly their understanding of what is read to them.

During the poetry unit, children listen to and discuss a range of poems at a level beyond at which they can read independently. They are taught to recognise and join in with language patterns and repetition and use these to support oral retelling. Children at this stage enjoy and recite rhymes and poems by heart and can give opinions and support with reasons. New learning is introduced at this stage where the children are introduced to and discuss key vocabulary, linking meanings of new words to those already known. They are also taught to demonstrate their understanding of characters and events through role play, drawing on language from the text.

Spring 2

During the second half of the Spring term the children practise their reading skills through two genres:

• Traditional tales
• Recounts

Children begin the second half of the Spring term looking closely at traditional tales. They listen to and discuss a range of texts at a level beyond that at which they can read independently and are taught to identify and discuss the main characters and events through role play and drama, drawing language from the text. They also learn to discuss the title of a text and how it relates to the events in the whole story.

Children build upon their knowledge of prediction and are taught to apply their phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words. Inference is focused on during this unit where teachers place a particular focus on making inferences about what is being said and done. When children have finished reading, they are encouraged to give opinions and support with reasons e.g. I like Peter Rabbit because…

During the non-fiction unit, children are introduced to and discuss key vocabulary and begin to link meaning of words to those already known.  They activate prior knowledge and learn to explain their understanding of what is read to them. Whilst reading, children are taught to recall specific information and locate parts of texts that give particular information. After reading, children are taught to demonstrate their understanding by answering questions related to who, what, where, when, why and how.

Summer 1

During the first half of the Summer term the children practise their reading skills through three genres:

• Stories with familiar settings
• Non-fiction texts: booklets
• Traditional rhymes

As the children begin the Summer term in Year One, they build upon their knowledge of fiction texts through relating texts to their own experiences and have more in-depth discussions, discussing titles and how they relate to events in the whole story. Whilst reading, children consolidate their understanding of main events and characters and can explain clearly their understanding of what is read to them.

In preparation for Year Two, new learning is introduced at this stage. Children are taught to read words containing –s, -es, -ing and –ed endings and to read words with contractions e.g. I’m, I’ll, we’ll, understanding that the apostrophe represents the omitted letter. By the end of this unit, to support blending for reading, children also learn to split two and three syllable words into the separate syllables.

Throughout the non-fiction unit children consolidate their understanding of vocabulary by linking meanings of new words to those already known. They are encouraged to read aloud books closely matched to their developing phonic knowledge and can activate prior knowledge when discussing a text in detail. When answering questions, children can demonstrate a clear understanding of texts and can explain clearly their understanding of what has been read. During discussions, children are taught to listen to what others say and can take turns.

During the poetry unit, children listen to and discuss a range of poems at a level beyond at which they can read independently. They are taught to recognise and join in with language patterns and repetition and use these to support oral retelling. Children at this stage enjoy and recite rhymes and poems by heart and can give opinions and support with reasons. They are also taught to demonstrate their understanding of characters and events through role play, drawing on language from the text.

Summer 2

During the second half of the Summer term the children practise their reading skills through three genres:

• Stories with fantasy settings
• Poems to learn by heart
• Recounts
•  

As the children begin the final half term in Year One, they start to prepare for Year Two.

Throughout the fiction unit, children are taught to read words containing –s, -es, -ing, -ed, -er, -est endings and begin to read more challenging texts using phonics and common exception word recognition. They develop in fluency, accuracy and confidence by re-reading books and listen to and discuss a range of texts at a level beyond that at which they can read independently. Children also consolidate their ability to make predictions based on what has been read so far and basic inferences about what is being said and done.

Throughout the non-fiction unit children consolidate their understanding of vocabulary by linking meanings of new words to those already known. They are encouraged to read aloud books closely matched to their developing phonic knowledge and can activate prior knowledge when discussing a text in detail. When answering questions, children can demonstrate a clear understanding of texts and can explain clearly their understanding of what has been read. During discussions, children are taught to listen to what others say and can take turns.

During the poetry unit, children listen to and discuss a range of poems at a level beyond at which they can read independently. They are taught to recognise and join in with language patterns and repetition and use these to support oral retelling. Children at this stage enjoy and recite rhymes and poems by heart and can give opinions and support with reasons. They are also taught to demonstrate their understanding of characters and events through role play, drawing on language from the text.