Reading
Reading at St Thomas More
We recognise that literacy is currency; we are passionate about whole school literacy because strong literacy skills empower students and open opportunities for them. We understand that to access the curriculum, students need to be able to read increasingly challenging fiction and non-fiction fluently. We ensure that high-quality texts are at the heart of our curriculum and that students are regularly given books to build their home libraries. We systematically develop reading skills (phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, and comprehension) with a consistent approach across the school so that all students can read with accuracy, speed and expression. We apply cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies (activating prior knowledge, predicting, inferring, questioning, re-reading, summarising, selecting, comparing) and critical reading (evaluating, identifying bias, contextualising) to build students’ independence and resilience when encountering challenging texts.
We also recognise that reading is not merely a functional skill but should be a joy and part of life’s experiences, and we have a comprehensive programme of activities to promote reading for enjoyment and empowerment.
Reading for fluency
To ensure that all students are fluent readers, we make sure that all staff have a detailed picture of reading within the school and for each individual pupil. We use Scarborough’s Reading Rope to break down the complexity of learning to read, and ensure that all staff are explicitly aware of and trained on each component (phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition for fluency, and background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge for meaning). We test every student regularly for reading age and then complete diagnostic tests to identify whether the student needs support with decoding, fluency, or reading for meaning. Students then receive personalised intervention as part of a robust, systematic programme that is carefully monitored. Reading for fluency strategies, such as choral reading, teacher modelling, and paired reading are applied in all classrooms.
We use scaffolded reading as our whole school reading strategy and this is applied consistently across the school. Integral to this is the building knowledge of vocabulary, and we also follow the EEF’s guidance for developing students as strategic readers by activating prior knowledge (making connections to previous reading, trips etc) and we use reciprocal reading strategies (students predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarising) across all subjects.
Reading for meaning
We apply subject-specific strategies to develop subject-specific reading skills. The EEF states that ‘as students progress through an increasingly specialised secondary school curriculum, there is a growing need to ensure that students are trained to access the academic language and conventions of different subjects. Strategies grounded in disciplinary literacy aim to meet this need, building on the premise that each subject has its own unique language, ways of knowing, doing, and communicating’. Therefore, each subject applies its own reading strategies. For example, in history, students read through a critical lens, examining the context of production and reception, identifying bias, and corroborating across texts. In English, students explore figurative language and explore multiple interpretations. In maths, students apply close reading to identify all meanings, and cross-reference across multiple representations of information (words, graphs etc). In Computer Science, students read sequentially, applying and building on previously learned words, codes, and symbols.
Reading for enjoyment
We recognise the importance of reading for enjoyment and the part it plays in academic achievement and wellbeing. As such, we have a range of embedded reading for pleasure strategies and an extensive programme of extra-curricular and enrichment opportunities:
- KS3 rolling timetable of library lessons
- Author visits once a year for each year group, with students taking a book home
- Year 7 BookBuzz scheme
- The library promotes a Book of the Month for each key stage
- Book clubs specific to year groups and key stages
- Alexandra Palace Book Awards
- National Reading Champions Quiz
- Poetry By Heart
- Clubs that promote critical literacy e.g Mock Trials/Bar Mock Trials
- Programme of events for World Book Day
- Year 8 book launch
- Trips to local bookshops
- Charity Readathon
- Trips to theatre productions
- Christmas/Summer holiday reading challenges
- Books in the E-Praise shop
How you can support your child with reading at home
- Talk about books at home – discuss your favourite books (both when you were your child’s age and now)
- Model reading regularly, and discuss what you are currently reading
- Establish a routine. Build up slowly. Start with 15 minutes a day.
- Build motivation through rewards
- Make sure the phone is away! Remove phones/computer games from your child’s bedroom after a certain time (around 9pm). Encourage reading instead as they are going to sleep.
- Ask your child to read aloud to you – this will develop fluency and confidence
- - Ask questions about the text
- - Make links to prior experiences and prior reading
- Ask your child to summarise what they have read
- Newspapers can be incredibly useful for learning about tone, exploring different perspectives and how they are conveyed, reading specialised vocabulary in context, and building the habit of reading through shorter articles
How to help your child choose a book
- Hook into your child’s interests
- Encourage as much choice as you can
- Encourage your child to visit the school library – ask to see what they have borrowed
- Use your local library
- Use the extended reading lists and reading for pleasure recommendations (see below/link)
Drop Everything and Read
Drop Everything And Read takes place for all students, years 7-13, for 30 minutes each week. Years 7 – 9 independently read a challenging novel, with the aim of fostering reading for pleasure, as well as improving reading fluency and increasing vocabulary. For years 10-13, subject teachers provide students with a stimulating, extended text such as a news article or academic journal that is directly integrated with the curriculum. This is then interwoven into the lesson through a discussion of big ideas, learning new technical vocabulary in context, or an evaluation of how contemporary issues and current affairs contribute to the subject. The whole school focus allows us to develop rigour and raise the profile of high-quality reading for students. This focus on disciplinary literacy makes clear the value of reading in every subject and that each subject has its own unique language. Sixth form students benefit from developing a substantial wider reading base, and from the explicit preparation for university in which they will read substantial texts in any subject they go on to study.
Extended Reading Lists
Please see extended reading lists for each key stage. All texts are available in the library.