Reading and Writing
Welcome to our Reading and Writing Page
Reading is like breathing in, Writing is like breathing out…
At The Queenswell Federation, we want all of our pupils to love their teaching and learning in all areas of English: Speaking and Listening, Reading, Writing and Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation. Our aim is to develop confident, articulate and creative learners in English. We believe that immersing the children in a language rich environment will inspire and promote a love of Reading and Writing.
Our creative, broad and balanced curriculum follows a clear pathway of progression through from EYFS up to Year 6. We know that a secure foundation in English skills is crucial to children succeeding in all areas of the curriculum. We always ‘promote high standards of literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.' (National Curriculum 2014)
This page is here for all things to do with Reading and Writing. Please come and see me if you would like to share book reviews for books you have read or stories/poems that you have written and I will publish them on this page for you.
You may have heard your child using the term ‘Reading VIPERS’ and wondered what snakes have to do with reading!
This is a mnemonic we use at school to cover the key comprehension skills that we teach as part of the National Curriculum. The term ‘Reading VIPERS’ was created by Rob Smith from The Literacy Shed, a website which provides a wide range of interesting and engaging resources for teaching English.
we use the term ‘Reading VIPERS’ to encourage children to actively think about the comprehension skills they are using when they read.
|V - Vocabulary
|I - Infer
|P - Predict
|E - Explain
|R - Retrieve
|S - Sequence (KS1) or Summarise (KS2)
Once children reach Key Stage 2, they will be exposed to all of these terms regularly throughout their English work and other areas of the curriculum.
See the link below to view the VIPERS question stems we use in reading lessons to develop skills.
These question types are applied to all reading materials, but also, pictures, videos and other media. .
Reading VIPERS - questions for learning the skills for reading
Meeting for parents and carers -24th January 2024 - Reading in KS2
Reading at Home
Things to say to encourage a love of reading
Tips to support your child
Questions to support your child's comprehension
''If you don’t like to read,
you haven’t found the right book.''
Ideas for new books
https://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/kids-zone/ this link takes you to a great website that gives you all the latest books out for children including reviews. If you go to the kids zone section there are competitions for you to enter to win books too!
Also another great website for book reviews and giveaways is Toppsta.com- check it out. I have won several books for our Library through this website and it's all free.
Here are some links to online audio stories.
Videos of authors reading stories- this link is perfect if you are in between books but still want some storytime with authors reading their books to you!
Books to look out for in school!
If you were a fan of 'The Boy at the Back of the Classroom' by Onjali Q Rauf, then you might like to try her new book 'The Night Bus Hero' that was only released two weeks ago. Read the blurb below to see if you think you will enjoy the book.
"The boy's an absolute menace. Why can't he be more like his sister? He's a bully! He's a lost cause."
'I have been getting into trouble for as long as I can remember. Usually I don't mind because some of my best, most brilliant ideas have come from sitting in detention. But recently it feels like no one believes me about anything-even when I'm telling the truth! And it's only got worse since I played a prank on the old man who lives in the park. Everyone thinks I'm just a bully. They don't believe I could be a hero. So I'm going to prove them all wrong...'
For older children, The Goldfish Boy is a book about a twelve-year-old boy, Matthew, is trapped in his bedroom by crippling OCD. Until one day his neighbour disappears and he must become a detective to solve the mystery. This story is perfect for fans of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' and 'Wonder'. It is a book that will make you laugh and cry!
If you have read a book that you would like to share with the school, please bring it to me or give it to your teacher and the can pass it on to get it published on this page.
BOOK DONATIONS and BOOK CORNERS
Don't forget, if you have any old books that are still in good condition, you can always donate them to your class book corner. I have a stamp that I put in the book with your name on.
Look out for some of these new books in your book corners.