Reading at Emmaus
Emmaus achieves Reading Quality Mark Gold Standard
The Liverpool Reading Quality Mark has been developed with a focus to promote reading for enjoyment amongst children. A recent study conducted by the Institute for Education found that children who read for pleasure are likely to do significantly better at school than their peers.
Andy Parkinson from the National Literacy Trust stated: “We are delighted to be supporting this initiative. Reading is incredibly important and encouraging children to enjoy literature helps develop a habit that lasts a lifetime.”
Literacy is vital in order for children to progress in life. It has been found that nearly half of those who never read outside of class, read below the level expected for their age and one in five children and young people rarely or never read in their own time. Children, who grow up without books and without positive associations about reading are at a disadvantage in the modern world.
Employment, education or the enjoyment of reading aside, literacy skills are vital to communication. Children without these skills are less likely to be sending emails, reading websites or engaging with their peers through social networks. In effect, they risk isolation educationally, economically and socially.
Andy Parkinson from the National Literacy Trust stated: “We are delighted to be supporting this initiative. Reading is incredibly important and encouraging children to enjoy literature helps develop a habit that lasts a lifetime.”
Literacy is vital in order for children to progress in life. It has been found that nearly half of those who never read outside of class, read below the level expected for their age and one in five children and young people rarely or never read in their own time. Children, who grow up without books and without positive associations about reading are at a disadvantage in the modern world.
Employment, education or the enjoyment of reading aside, literacy skills are vital to communication. Children without these skills are less likely to be sending emails, reading websites or engaging with their peers through social networks. In effect, they risk isolation educationally, economically and socially.
Schools can be accredited with a bronze, silver or gold award, which recognises the effort that they have made in promoting the joy of reading amongst their pupils. In order to attain these awards schools are assessed across six themes, and whether they meet the criteria for bronze, silver or the gold award.
Key themes:
Key themes:
- Leadership and management
- Workforce development
- Reading promotion
- Reading events and groups
- School wide opportunities for reading for enjoyment
- Family/community involvement/ public library service
Reading is at the very heart of our learning in Emmaus. In addition to developing the children's technical reading skills, we also strive to foster within them a love of reading which they will carry throughout their lives.
Reading takes many forms in Emmaus and the children are provided with a wealth of experiences and opportunities which promote reading.
We utilise a range of different schemes in our teaching of reading and phonics including Jolly Phonics, Phonics Bug, Bug Club, Collins Big Cat, Oxford Reading Tree,Treetops, Literacy World and Snapshots as well as using quality texts whenever possible to nurture a love of reading.
TYPES OF READING IN EMMAUS
Shared reading - Reading a text as a class, answering questions, looking at the layout, language features, use of punctuation, sentence structure, the intent of the author, choices that the author has made and responding to the text on a personal level.
Guided reading - Reading a text that is slightly more challenging for a child in a small group with a teacher or teaching assistant. Each child reads independently and we work as a group on fluency and expression, as well as the areas addressed during shared reading.
Independent reading - We promote reading for pleasure at every opportunity and set aside dedicated time for children to read independently throughout the day.
Home reading - Books that are at an appropriate level for your child that may have a small degree of challenge. Discussion and experience of sharing books with family and friends are key features of home reading.
Additional reading activities - Children also take part in daily Reading Workshops where they have the opportunity to respond to books in a variety of ways. Reading takes place across all subjects of the school curriculum and we strive to improve and apply children’s skills at every opportunity.