Developing Reading & Literacy at St. Michael’s
St Michael’s is becoming a pioneering reading school – where reading is not only part of the curriculum but is also inherent in the body of the school and its culture. No student will be left behind – they will benefit from phonics training, reading comprehension intervention, decoding intervention, book clubs and reading-related enrichment activities.
Year 7 Library Visits
All Y7 students will be given the opportunity to visit Billingham Library and learn about the different activities the library has to offer.
DEAR
Every fortnight, there will be a Drop Everything And Read session (DEAR). All KS3 students and staff will be expected to read for the full lesson. Extracts will be provided for all sessions or students/staff can read a book of their choice. This lesson will roll through the timetable to ensure that it does not impact on the same lesson each fortnight. Modelling of reading is an integral part of the strategy and is non-negotiable.
KS3 Reading – Accelerated Reader
All KS3 students will follow the Accelerated Reader Programme. They will have a fortnightly library lesson where they will read, take AR book quizzes and complete reading activities in their library booklets. All students will be aware of their ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) which determines their reading level, and their books will be chosen accordingly. Students will also be able to borrow books of any level to read for pleasure. AR testing will take place throughout the year.
Reading Mentors
Students identified as needing further reading intervention will be allocated a reading mentor. Reading mentors will be in school three days a week and will work with those children on a timetabled intervention programme. These reading sessions take priority over lessons and students must be released from lessons to attend.
Disciplinary Reading
Disciplinary reading will be a key focus across all subjects. Students will use a variety of reading strategies across the curriculum and will learn how different subjects use reading in different ways. Students will learn to ‘Read like a…’ (Historian, geographer etc). Students will have access to rich texts which should be used as a driver and a resource in lessons. Texts will be chosen carefully and contain tier two and tier three vocabulary.
Literacy Champions
Each department has a nominated Literacy Champion. Literacy Champions will work with the Curriculum Leader to develop best practice in disciplinary reading and writing, share it across the department and embed it in schemes of work. Literacy Champions from each department will meet together with the Literacy Lead to work on the implementation of the whole school literacy strategy, plan CPD and share best practice across curriculum areas.
Registration and Read
Every afternoon for 15 minutes from 1:20pm to 1:35pm all students will go to their form room for registration and read. Students will read carefully selected books as a form group every day. Form tutors will read to students modelling prosody and fluency. Fluent readers can also model for the group.
Phonics
Students identified by the Accelerated Reader Programme as requiring urgent intervention will be tested using the Salford Standardisation Test to establish if decoding intervention is required. If a decoding issue is identified, students will attend Sounds-Write Phonics intervention sessions every week.
Reciprocal Reading
Students identified as ‘On Watch’ by the Accelerated Reader Programme will attend Reciprocal Reading lessons each fortnight to secure their summarising, vocabulary, comprehension, clarifying and predicting skills.
LRC facilities
The LRC has a range of fiction and non-fiction books of all genres and several languages. There are computers to use, and revision guides are available to aid with homework/revision. Books in the LRC are clearly labelled by genre and their Accelerated Reader ZPD level. There are also magazines available, manga, graphic novels and copies of First News. Extra-curricular activities also take place in the LRC including Dungeons and Dragons Club, Chess Club and Warhammer Club. The LRC is open to students from 8.30 to 4.30 daily and is manned full-time by our librarian, Susan Bellwood.
Disciplinary Literacy
At St Michael’s Catholic Academy, we believe that every student deserves to be word rich and to have the habits of the word rich. Many of our students enter our school with sound levels of literacy. Others come to us with these skills still emerging. The 'word rich' self-regulate as a matter of course; they use their existing knowledge to absorb more; they are resilient writers who have gained resilience through having strategies to overcome their obstacles to literacy. All subjects have regular opportunities for developing subject specific disciplinary literacy embedded in schemes of work. All students, and especially disadvantaged students should have access to high quality texts that engage and inspire them and build a love for learning in each subject. The aims below are derived from the EEF Guide to Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools' and set of the responsibilities of curriculum leaders and classroom teachers in developing students’ reading and writing.
Reading: Curriculum Aims
- To provide our students with access to high quality engaging texts.
- To provide our students with the skills and strategies necessary to develop into competent and fluent readers, including the explicit instruction of subject specific vocabulary (signposted in schemes of work and in assessment opportunities.)
- To encourage the enjoyment of books and reading so that students develop a life-long enjoyment of reading and learning.
- To develop a critical appreciation of what students read, evaluating academic texts in a thoughtful and learned way.
- To develop research and study skills, using the library and class texts, in conjunction with the internet and other electronic means.
- To develop a critical appreciation of the writing of others to emulate these skills in students’ own writing and produce writing in a variety of styles e.g. descriptive, formal, academic etc.
- To encourage care and ownership of books.
Writing: Curriculum Aims:
- In all lesson’s students are expected to have the opportunity to write independently, where possible producing extended pieces of high-quality writing.
- To promote and champion the importance of checking work thoroughly.
- Teach our students to be self-correctors, editing during the writing process.
- Encourage pride in writing.
- Celebrate great writing and great progress in writing.
- Prepare our students for the increased challenges associated with curriculum and examination changes.
Oracy: Curriculum Aims:
- To develop articulate, confident communicators who can express themselves clearly, fluently, and with purpose in a range of formal and informal contexts.
- To provide regular opportunities for structured talk, including debate, discussion, presentation, and performance, across all subjects and key stages.
- To explicitly teach the conventions of effective spoken communication, including tone, register, body language, and active listening.
- To foster critical thinking and reasoning skills through dialogic teaching, encouraging students to build on, challenge, and justify ideas thoughtfully.
- To ensure students can adapt their spoken language to suit audience, purpose, and context, including academic, professional, and creative settings.
- To promote active and respectful listening, enabling students to engage meaningfully with others’ viewpoints and respond constructively.
- To prepare students for future success, equipping them with the communication skills essential for higher education, the workplace, and civic life.