Reading
At Waterhead Academy, reading is vital to all that we do and prioritised to ensure that all of our students can read and in turn, write and speak with increasing accuracy. Most importantly however, we want all of our students to enjoy and value the practice of picking up a book!
Not only will reading support in your child’s day to day learning, but will open a world of new experiences where they can identify with characters and follow journeys and adventures. Reading for pleasure builds vocabulary and also helps with communication and expression amongst peers.
We promote reading at Waterhead Academy through our Library, during Pastoral time and in all of our lessons highlighting that we see reading as a springboard to success in all areas. We also see that reading is crucial at home and have a Virtual Library in addition to our Library at school to ensure that your child always has access to books.
Within Years 9 and 10, we have Student Librarians who promote reading within lower years and also support our Form Time competitions where we track how many books are taken out of the Library.
Subject areas promote reading and reading for pleasure to enhance their understanding of all topics studied; exposure to texts are signposted well in the Library.
The Library also rewards students every year with ‘Buzz Books’- these are given to all students in Year 7 and 8. Through the celebration of the Advent Calendar books and via the 'Book vending machine'.
It remains open as part of our homework support until 4pm but students are able to come for independent reading there too.
We pride ourselves on our Form Time reading, too. Students receive at least 2 sessions a week to support their reading and oracy. Students engage in Form Time reading that comprises of short extracts linked to their curriculum learning. Pre-selected vocabulary is clear in the extracts and then delivered during their lessons to strengthen their understanding and again, to promote the need to read to excel in all subjects. Reading ages are drawn upon to ensure that whilst students receive the same reading material (read by the tutor to model proficiency), there are differentiated comprehension questions to support. Students also engage in a weekly ‘Big Question’ that builds on their reading skills but allows for the demonstration of discussion and debate. Oracy underpins learning in all areas and oracy prompts have been developed to enhance communication. In addition to this, Students in Year 7 and 8 receive a reading for pleasure book that is rotated every term and read together as a Form group.
The development of vocabulary is also a focus as Waterhead Academy. The ‘Word of the Week’ supports vocabulary acquisition with an end of year round-up for a ‘speedy review’ students are encouraged to ‘Say it for a Stamp’ and ensure that these new words feature in their writing.
Finally, popular books and book tokens can be found in our Rewards shop!
Interventions
Every child at Waterhead Academy will complete an NGRT test which provides a detailed insight into their current reading ability and any areas of concern; they will also complete CATs tests and progress tests to continue to monitor progress. If it appears that your child requires support to reach their expected reading standard, we will initially screen using the Fresh Start programme. We are fully trained in delivering Fresh Start Phonics which supports struggling readers to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension; it is rooted in phonics and uses age-appropriate decodable texts. From here, students will have
A universal offer accompanied by selected intervention and targeted intervention is mapped into 3 clear pathways for all students in KS3 (and developing into KS4) to ensure that your child is able to fully access the curriculum and fulfil their potential.
Interventions may take place in groups or one-to-one depending on the needs of your child and are completed at least 3 times a week to ensure that your child knows more and remembers more.
Reading in English
Homework for all KS3 will be reading x 3 times a week for a minimum of 20 minutes.
Reading in KS3 English
Year 7
Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
A selection of poetry
Year 8
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Animal Farm by George Orwell
A selection of poetry
Year 9
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
A selection of Poetry
Dedicated reading lessons are also timetabled for KS3. A tight structure to these lessons, reflecting the Academy’s five phase lesson format has been introduced with a core group of staff delivering.
Reading in KS4 English
Year 10
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Blood Brothers by Willy Russell
Power and Conflict Poetry
Unseen Poetry
Year 11
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Reading for Pleasure
Reading for pleasure comes in many different forms. The point is to enjoy reading! This should not be a ‘medicine’ forced to be taken (as Michael Morpurgo would say) and should not limit the types of books students read. Reading for pleasure includes magazines, fiction, non-fiction, blogs, and articles.
We aim to promote a culture that promotes a love of reading not only for our students but, for our staff too! Outside each classroom Teachers have displayed what they are currently reading and enjoy discussing their reading habits with students.
For more information on Reading for Pleasure, go to National Literacy Trust for some advice and resources.
At Waterhead Academy, all pupils can now open a world of reading anytime and anywhere with our Virtual Library:
Click on the Library VLeBooks icon on your school desktop or follow www.VLeBooks.com
Your logon details are:
Organisation ID * here you type WATERHEAD (this is only require if not using the desktop app)
Username *here you type the user name you use to log onto the school system (it is also the start of your school email address)
Password *here you type Waterhead20!
Also visit:
Welcome to Open Library | Open Library
National Teen Book Club
From September, at suitable times during the school-day, students will engage in 45-minute online sessions with a focus on one hero read per term with six live broadcasts for each.
The books chosen connect with the English curriculum and provide new perspectives and talking points to stimulate engagement and support classroom study. Our focus is on promoting a culture of reading and discussion, and we’ll be drawing on books, TV, film, comics and graphic novels, and meeting speakers from a range of careers connected with book themes, storytelling, and communication.
Our 3 Hero Reads with be:
