Read! @ FJS

Reading

Subject Leaders - Mr Croot and Mrs Harding

At Forefield, we have a passion for reading. On this page, you can find information about some of the ways we promote reading for learning and for pleasure.

Books! Books! Books!

Our stunning library is at the heart of our school with a wide ranging collection of fiction and non-fiction books. Book boxes extend the library around school and into classrooms.

Library

Reading Corners

Each classroom has it's own themed reading corner, where children can sit and relax while they read their favourite books.

Author Visits

In recent years, we had some truly inspiring visits from a number of authors, including Andy Briggs (Tarzan), Joseph Delany (Spooks), Stefan Pastis (Timmy Failure), Jacqueline Harvey (Clementine Rose) and MG Leonard (Beetle Boy), Marie Basting, Sam Gayton, Barbara Mitchelhill and Frank Cottrell-Boyce have all paid us a visit to share their experience and love of reading and writing stories.

We also have regular visits from Luke Temple who always provides excellent workshops and book signing opportunities.

Book Vending Machine

Since 2022 we have had our own amazing book vending machine for pupils to receive termly prizes! It is very exciting to insert one of the special golden coins and choose a book to be ‘dropped’.

The Reading Shed

Following a suggestion from pupils, we also have a mini library ‘shed’ for children to access books during playtime (in warmer months!)

Pritchards Bookshop in Moor Lane, Crosby Village

We are so lucky to have such a well-stocked and friendly book shop right on our doorstep!

What's more, Pritchards has recently started a loyalty scheme, which will help to keep our library well-stocked with new titles. For every £10 spent, mention Forefield Junior School and receive 1 loyalty point. For every 10 loyalty point, school receives £10 towards new books. We’ll keep you updated on how the loyalty scheme is doing!

For reading recommendations and advice on helping your child to read, Visit our English & Reading Links page.

Reading Across the Curriculum

At Forefield Junior School we incorporate subject-specific texts into our lessons across the curriculum because, in today's information-driven society, the ability to read critically is essential for academic and career success. Reading is not just about decoding words on a page, but also about comprehending and analysing information. When teaching reading we are equipping children with a crucial skill that will facilitate their learning across the breadth of the curriculum. By incorporating reading into other subjects children are able to practise their reading skills in a variety of contexts. This not only enhances their understanding of the subject matter but also helps them develop critical thinking skills.

Teaching Reading

How do we teach reading comprehension?

Comprehension is where we teach children the skills needed to engage, understand, interact and make sense of a text. We do this in guided reading sessions three times a week.

In these sessions we use VIPERS, which focuses on the skills of

Vocabulary – exploring the meaning of words, the choice of words and the effectiveness of words and learning and recording new vocabulary gained
Inference – the skill of being able to use the evidence from the text to make an opinion.
Predicting – using the text already read or pictures, to create an idea of what might happen next
Explanation – the skill of being able to retell and justify their ideas and the authorial intent of a text which helps them decide how an author can influence the reader.
Retrieval – this is finding certain passages, meaning, words or phrases from the text
Summarising – this is a challenging skill of being able ‘to take the main idea’ from a passage or to deduce a theme.

In these sessions, the children explore one text as a class, normally focussing on a few pages or a chapter, depending on their year group. They will be guided, encouraged and modelled to by our teachers, who are experts in reading. This ensures all children are able to access and enjoy age-expected texts. Texts are carefully selected based on the level of vocabulary and the recommended age and also engages children to look at the structure of a text to help make sense of it. The themes studied through these books are progressively more complex as the children move through the school.

How do we teach reading fluency?

Supporting Reading at Home

Encourage reading choice. Give children lots of opportunities to read different things in their own time - it doesn’t just have to be books. There’s fiction, non-fiction, poetry, comics, magazines, recipes and much more.	Listen to your child read; this can be anything they like to read. If they like football programmes, newspapers, magazines, graphic novels, comics, annual, Guinness book of world records, novels, non-fiction.	Discuss your child’s reading, this can include all manner of texts, from instructions to recipes, cereal boxes to shopping lists, game reviews to emails, ingredients, and of course, books.
Encourage children to try new books by different authors. Follow the links below for great ideas.	Share books together. Revisit your child’s favourites.	Read aloud to your child. You are never too old for a bedtime story!
Encourage your child to participate in the Summer Reading Challenge organised by Crosby Library	Celebrate your child’s reading - note it in their reading diaries. Any reading that your child does, is good reading! and For example ‘This weekend, we baked brownies and *** read the recipe and understood the process.’ Would be a perfect inclusion!	Record when your child has finished a book in their reading record
Make use of our local library. In addition to books, local libraries also offer brilliant online materials, including audiobooks and ebooks to borrow.	Make a comfortable area to snuggle in and read in comfort.	Try leaving interesting reading material in different places around the home and see who picks it up.
Play games that involve making connections between pictures, objects and words, such as reading about an object and finding similar things in your home. You could organise treasure hunts related to what you’re reading. Try creating your child’s very own book by using photos from your day and adding captions.		Let your child see you reading for pleasure.