Reading

At Luddenham, we are super passionate about reading! In order to access the entire curriculum children must be able to read, which is why we promote reading in a variety of ways...

Guided Reading

Every day, all classes across the school have a guided reading session. This is half an hour of the day where the children are taught skills to help decode texts as well as igniting a passion for reading at the same time. We take a mixed approach with some elements of whole class reading and carousel activities, where we read a book (or a selection of books) related to our term's topic. We try to expose the children to as many genres as possible to build up their reading repertoires, which in turn builds their writing repertoires too. Each class carries out a variety of activities in order to help build confidence in reading and develop the necessary skills needed to help children reach their true reading potential.

Independent Reading

As a school, we use the Oxford Reading Tree to develop the children's reading abilities. Every other term, the children will take a reading age test to determine at which level they should be reading. The books are written specifically to focus on targets for particular ages, which helps the children to progress quickly.

Every morning between 8:30-8:50, the library is open for the children to change their books. There is always a member of staff in the library at this time to assist the children in any way they can. Please encourage your children to take full advantage of this time and change their books.

Reading for Pleasure

Along with a book from the reading scheme, it is also hugely important that the children have a book to read that is not linked to the scheme. Children are encouraged to read books that they know they will enjoy to keep up the passion for reading.

If your child is unsure of what to read, please feel free to ask class teachers for recommendations!

I'd also like to draw your attention to the 'Reading Roads' document at the bottom of this page. This is a document with different genres and books for each year group from year 1 to year 6, plus a KS3 recommendation. The last book of each road is the KS3 recommendation, therefore the themes in the books may not be suitable for your primary aged child, despite the fact they may be reading at an advanced level. If you are unsure as to whether or not you should allow your child to read the KS3 level book, please contact Miss Reddey at peacock@luddenham.kent.sch.uk or I'd recommend looking at the amazon reviews for the book.

Buster's Book Club and Home Reading

Buster's Book Club is a fantastic initiative that we take part in. It encourages children to read at home every Wednesday night. There are some fantastic class prizes and whole school prizes up for grabs each week. Please follow this link for more information: https://www.luddenham.kent.sch.uk/busters-book-club/

Events

Reading is encouraged at Luddenham through taking part in a variety of events: we always celebrate Roald Dahl Day and World Book Day; we have our annual book fair which raises money for our school; last year we had our first ever (and very sucessful) sponsored read; and we have also had a visit from children's author, Jack Trelawny.

Through all of these fantastic events, children become excited about reading and they develop a love for books. Look out for our reading newsletter which has information about all past and upcoming events!