Literacy

WRITING

At Rainbow Forge we aim to offer our children as many different writing opportunities through real-life experiences as possible; we take children out on visits to inspire their writing. Most writing will be tied into the theme being studied in class and linked to a rich text which children will immerse themselves in throughout a writing unit. Children learn to write for multiple purposes while they are with us, and we work with them to ensure that all can structure the content of their writing correctly, as well as punctuate their work properly. Grammar is a big focus too with Active English being taught daily as part of our Literacy work, allowing children to learn grammatical features and apply it to their work. 

READING

In school we use a reading system, Oxford Reading Tree, where children are assigned a book band according to their reading ability. Children read in school through daily guided reading and book study lessons. In EYFS and KS1, guided reading happens daily, where the teacher works with a small group and the rest of the class carry out other reading activities. This continues for the week, to allow the teacher to work with every group in their class. In KS2, whilst children are still learning to read fluently, they continue to access guided reading session with the teacher. Once they can read fluently, they focus on comprehension. In upper KS2, reading is taught exclusively through whole class book study lessons, focusing entirely on comprehension

To fully support your child’s learning in reading you should listen to them read daily. Your child will be allocated books of the correct level on Bug Club, our online reading platform.

Reading this year:

This year ‘reading’ is one of our big school focuses. We are trying hard to not only develop the fluency of children’s reading but also promote a love of reading.Children will be allowed to take books home to read but we ask they only change these once a week. This is so they can re-read the same book a number of times to build up their fluency. Parents can help out at home by asking children where certain words are in sentences, getting them to self-assess their reading and also asking questions about what they have just read. Don’t forget to record this in their reading diary.We also will be launching a ‘passport to reading’ where children read different text types and have recommended reads to try. Once a book has been read they will be given a ‘task’ to complete before receiving their stamp. We have also introduced the ‘Rainbow Book Swap’. Anyone is welcome to use this; all you have to do is bring a book to swap in place of another!We will also be introducing ‘bed time’ reads where children will be invited back to school in the evening to share and listen to stories.

PHONICS

All children in foundation and Key Stage One receive daily phonics teaching (Letters and Sounds) to help support their reading and writing. As children move into Key Stage 2 they will receive phonics teaching if needed or move onto a spelling programme. If you would like further information on the teaching of phonics then please look out for Mrs Beckett-Singh’s workshops which she runs each year.

ACTIVITIES

READING.

Log on to your Bug Club account here http://www.activelearnprimary.co.uk/

Please see you class teacher to find out your username and password.

WRITING

Try the 100 word challenge – https://100wc.net/

Get creative and continue a story – http://www.pobble365.com/

PRACTICE SPELLING!

Writing spelling lists on a piece of paper can sometimes it gets a little boring and children often forget the words they’ve learnt using this method. 

Make spelling more exciting and increase the chances of them remembering the spellings by:

Play Dough Words – use play dough to form letters to spell out each word.

Pipe Cleaner Words – use pipe cleaners and bend and form to make letters used to write out the words.

Paint It! – use a paintbrush and paint to spell words

Finger Paint – let them get messy and have some sensory fun and finger paint to spell their words

Chalk  – go outside and spell your words using outdoor chalk. Just taking the spelling practice outside makes it more fun for kids.

Shaving Cream – This is another fun sensory experience. Make a thin layer of shaving cream on a tray and use a paintbrush or better yet a fingertip to spell out the words. Have some napkins on hand

Letter Tiles – spell words using letter tiles

Build a Word with Lego – using some tape write the letters needed for each word ahead of time on some Lego. Mix them up and then call out a word and have child(ren) build it using the appropriate Lego and you will end up with some spelling word towers

Bathtub Paint – Still feeling adventurous? Use bathtub paint and write or paint words onto your shower door, tub or tiled wall. It washes out!