Why we teach Reading and Writing
"A child who reads will be an adult who thinks." - Sasha Salmina
"All the reading she had done had given her a view of life they had never seen." - Roald Dahl, "Matilda"
At Bidston Avenue we know, the most important thing we can do for our pupils–and for society–is to teach them to read well. We aim to make all our children happy, confident and competent readers. We aim to develop the skills to not just read for pleasure, but to read for purpose and growth. We believe that writing is strengthened by fostering a love of reading and language within our pupils, immersing them in the wonders of high-quality texts, developing a passion for discovery and a confidence to explore their imagination through our literature-led curriculum. Children continually build on their skills and knowledge to enable them to express themselves and communicate effectively for a variety of purposes. When reflecting on their own and others’ writing, our children become confident, capable and resilient; demonstrating an enjoyment for writing.
How we teach Reading and Writing
We focus on early development of communication and language which leads into phonological awareness by exposure to story, songs and rhymes. We then follow a successful phonics programme which ensures that all children develop the necessary skills to word read. Alongside this we use a writing scheme which focuses on engaging, vocabulary-rich texts, with a wealth of writing opportunities. All children are read using our reading spine which runs through the school and have weekly visits to the school library.
How you can support your child with Reading and Writing
Reading with your child and sharing stories is a great way to support your child’s literacy development. We provide children with home reading logs and books so that every child can read each day. Each child also has a Bug Club log in and books are provided at their reading level. These also include questions to develop their comprehension skills.