Reading at OLOR
A guide for parents
Our school is systematic in teaching reading, to ensure that every child will leave for secondary school with certain key competencies in reading. Teachers take responsibility for the following:
word-reading skills (being able to de-code and read words):
comprehension skills (being a reader who can discuss what they have read):
Where it all begins.
Word-reading: Phonic decoding skills (Phonics)
The first step on every child’s journey is systematic phonics teaching, continuing throughout Key Stage 1, ensuring every child can read.
Learning to decode fluently and accurately will allow children to become confident readers, able to access all the enjoyment and excitement books can bring.
In addition to the direct and systematic teaching of word-reading knowledge and skills, children need to listen to books and stories to develop their comprehension, making links between books and their developing knowledge of the world.
Where it all begins.
Word-reading: Phonic decoding skills
In Key Stage 1, ‘Phonics’ lessons are taught daily, using the Letters and Sounds phonics programme. Sessions are pacy, rigorous and around 20 minutes long.
Our reading bands are directly linked to each phase of our Phonics teaching.
New for 2021:
Children will bring home decodable reading books which are closely aligned to the sounds they have been taught up to that point. This gives children confidence as readers.
The next slides show the progression of sounds and how these relate to our reading bands.
Progression of sounds aligned to reading bands
Phase 2 | Pink Band | Set 1: s a t p i Set 2: n m d g Set 3: o c k ck Set 4: e u r h Set 5: b f, ff l, ll ss |
Phase 3 | Red Band | Set 1: j v w x Set 2: y z, zz qu Set 3: ch (chair) sh (shark) th (thumb) th (feather) ng (king) Set 4: ai (snail) ee (tree) igh (light) oa (boat) Set 5: oo (moon) oo (book) ar (car) or (fork) ur (fur) Set 6: ow (cow) oi (coin) ear (ear) air (hair) ure (cure) er (teacher) |
Phase 4 | Blue Band | Consolidation phase Click here for the Phase 4 Adjacent consonants exemplification video Reading CVCC and CCVC words (C:consonant, V:vowel) (e.g. just, lamp, chest, pram, drum, fresh) Reading words containing digraphs (e.g. brown, snail, ladder, charm) Reading compound words (e.g. football, handstand, chopstick, lightbulb) Reading polysyllabic words e.g. faster, parking, hospital Reading CCVCC (e.g. ground, stings, twist) Regular misconceptions: Children regularly hear these adjacent consonants incorrectly… jrum instead of drum jrop instead of drop sboon instead of spoon sbot instead of spot chree instead of tree chrap instead of trap sdop instead of stop |
Phase 5a | Green Band | Set 1: ay (play) ou (house) ie (tie) ea (beach) Set 2: oy (toy) ir (shirt) ue (glue) aw (saw) Set 3: wh (wheel) ph (dolphin) ew (screw) oe (toe) Set 4: au (sauce) ey (key) Set 5: a-e (cake) e-e (athlete) i-e (kite) o-e (note) u-e* (cube)(*extra intro u as in unicorn) |
Phase 5b | Set 1: i (tiger) o (open) c (city) g (giant) Set 2: u (unicorn) ow (snow) ie (chief) ea (bread) Set 3: er (fern) e (me) a (baby) a (swan) y (fly) y (gym) y (pony) Set 4: ch (school) ch (chef) ey (grey) | |
Phase 5c | Orange Band | Set 1: t (picture) tch (catch) wr (wrap) ere (here) ear (learn) or (worm) Set 2: dge (fudge) st (listen) ere (there) ear (pear) are (bare) oul (could) u push Set 3: mb (lamb) se (please) a (father) al (half) Set 4: kn (knit) gn (gnat) o (some) al (all) our (four) augh (caught) |
Progression of sounds aligned to reading bands
By the end of key Stage 1, most children will be secure in all the phonics phases.
Year Group | Expectations for Coverage |
Nursery/Preschool | Phase 1 |
EYFS | Revise Phase 1 then Phase 2-4 |
Year One | Phase 5a - Phase 5c |
Year Two | Phase 5 consolidation - Spelling Rules & Patterns |
Years Three - Six | Spelling Rules and Patterns (phonics where needed) |
Expectations for reading at school & home: Reception
At school, children in EYFS will have a daily phonics lesson and read to an adult individually twice a week. The highlights indicate our expectations for support at home.
Children in EYFS will have one decodable* book sent home three times a week. This book will be closely aligned to the sounds which have been taught up to that point in class. Each book must be read to an adult at home and the reading record book completed to confirm that reading has taken place.
As well as these three books, they will bring home ONE sharing book to read for pleasure. This will not be a reading scheme book but one that parents can read to children, modelling the joy of reading, pointing out any familiar words, discussing the pictures and asking questions about the story as you go along.
For more ideas about books to read for pleasure please see our
*Decodable means a book which contains the sounds taught so far.
Expectations for reading at school & home: Year 1
At school, children in Year 1 will have a Phonics lesson each day and read to an adult once a week. They will also take part in a daily guided reading session from the Spring term onwards. Children who are working below age-related expectations will read to an adult every day. Here are our expectations for support at home:
Children in Year 1 will have two decodable books sent home once a week. These books will contain the phonics which have been taught up to that point in class. Each book must be read to an adult at home and the reading record book signed to confirm that reading has taken place.
As well as these two books, they will bring home ONE sharing book to read for pleasure. This will not be a reading scheme book but one that parents can read to children, modelling the joy of reading, pointing out any familiar words, discussing the pictures and asking questions about the story as you go along.
For more ideas about books to read for pleasure please see our Year 1 Reading Book Wishlist. *Decodable means a book which contains the sounds taught so far. Books may also contain some additional ‘tricky’ words.
Useful questions for reading: Year 1
Expectations for reading at school & home: Year 2
At school, children in Year 2 will have a Phonics / spelling lesson each day and develop their reading skills in daily whole-class guided reading sessions. Children who are working below age-related expectations will read to an adult on a daily basis. Children still working within Phase 5 will read to an adult once a week. Here are our expectations for support at home:
Children in Year 2 will have two *decodable books sent home once a week. These books will consolidate the phonic sounds which have been taught. Each book must be read to an adult at home and the reading record book completed to confirm that reading has taken place.
As well as these books, they will bring home ONE sharing book to read for pleasure. This will not be a reading scheme book but one that parents can read to children, modelling the joy of reading, pointing out any familiar words, discussing the pictures and asking questions about the story as you go along. For more ideas about books to read for pleasure please see our
Year 2 Reading Book Wishlist. *Decodable means a book which contains the sounds taught so far. Books may also contain some additional ‘tricky’ words.
Useful questions for reading: Year 2
Expectations for reading at school & home: Year 3
Children in Year 3 will have weekly spelling lessons and regular opportunities to practise and learn spellings through Early morning work, handwriting practise, Literacy starters and homework.
Most children will no longer need phonics teaching but interventions and support will be put in place to help those with gaps in their learning. All Year 3 children will read to an adult as part of the daily guided reading session. Here are our expectations for reading at home:
Children in Year 3 will have two reading books sent home once a week. Most children will be secure in their knowledge of phonics by this stage, so reading books will include all the sounds from phases 1-5. Each book must be read to an adult at home and the reading record book completed to confirm that reading has taken place.
As well as these books, we strongly encourage children to read outside of the scheme with their parents. When sharing books together, parents should model the joy of reading, point out and discuss any unfamiliar words and ask questions about the book using the prompts on the next slide.
For more ideas about books to read for pleasure please see our Year 3 Reading Book Wishlist. (Please see slide 16 for a note on ‘free readers’).
Useful questions for reading: Year 3
Expectations for reading at
school & home: Years 4,5 and 6
At school, children in Years 4, 5 and 6 will have weekly spelling lessons and regular opportunities to practise spelling through Early Morning work, Literacy starters and homework tasks. Children are taught how to use a dictionary to check and correct their own spelling as well as to look up the meanings of new vocabulary they encounter in the books they read. They will all take part in a whole class daily guided reading session. Children who are working below age-related expectations will read to an adult individually one or more times a week, as needed. Here are our expectations for support at home:
Although most children will have worked their way through the reading scheme by Year 3 or 4 and will be ‘free readers’ they need continual support from their parents and teachers to select age appropriate books to read (see our wish list of books per year group). Free readers should continue to read to an adult at home two-three times a week as well as reading silently and independently every day. Parents should focus on reading comprehension skills, using the questions on the next slide and discussing what has just been read as they share a book together. For more ideas about books to read for pleasure please see our Reading Book Wishlists for Year 4 , Year 5 and Year 6.
Useful questions for reading: Year 4
Useful questions for reading: Year 5 & 6
Whole-Class Guided Reading
Here at OLOR, we use the whole-class Guided Reading approach which provides a regular and supportive time for children to encounter challenging and engaging texts that will resonate with their interests and capture their imagination.
In whole-class guided reading, teachers start by pre-teaching new vocabulary that the children will encounter in the text. They model good use of intonation, movement, volume and expression with regular ‘listen and repeat’ activities to help children develop these skills themselves. Sessions include lots of paired discussion and independent follow up tasks using a range of targeted and open-ended questions. When discussing texts, teachers model and expect from children high-quality responses with evidence and explanations. They challenge all children and offer support for those who need it.
Over the course of a school year, children have the chance to encounter a wide range of genres, some of which will be unfamiliar. All this helps to broaden their experience, helps them to form opinions about books and authors, and gives them the opportunity to use a broad range of literary language.
Reading at OLOR
Thank you, OLOR parents, for all your support with reading!