Reading

"I didn’t want to read but the school has made me want to."

Year 6 pupil

 Our whole school reading approach is to encourage a love of reading for pleasure and to increase fluency and confidence. We have a number of approaches in place for this year.

Some of our strategies are included below:

Whole School Reading Approaches 2023/2024

Accelerated Reader and MyOn

All pupils at Leighton Middle have access to Accelerated Reader and MyOn to support their reading. Accelerated Reader is a reading system that enables us to closely monitor their reading age and ability. This is used alongside MyOn, which is an online library of books that can recommend books to pupils based on their reading ability. Years 5, 6 and 7 have a weekly Accelerated Reader lesson in the library as part of their English lessons and Year 8 have theirs fortnightly. During this lesson, they can read online using MyOn; read a physical copy of a book or they may be heard reading aloud by an adult.

All children are assigned a ‘ZPD’ by Accelerated Reader which then allows them to choose books that aren’t too easy, but do offer some level of challenge to help improve their reading. The vast majority of the books in our school library are labelled with Accelerated Reader codes to help them when choosing a book to read. Once a pupil has read a book, they can complete a quiz on the book they have read which will focus on assessing both their word reading and comprehension of the book. Once the quiz is completed, pupils are then free to read another book within their ZPD. Children can read books on electronic devices if they prefer as they can still quiz provided the book is on Accelerated Reader.

Since launching Accelerated Reader in September 2022, our pupils have spent over 800 hours reading on MyOn and have read a combined total of over 28 million words!

To find out more information about how Accelerated Reader and MyOn work and how to support your child, please see the LMS Guide to Accelerated Reader here.

In afternoon registrations, on a Monday and Tuesday, all pupils are read aloud to by their form tutors. All tutor groups are reading whole books which have been voted for through pupil voice and give pupils to listen to a whole text, immerse themselves in text and foster a love of reading.

Reading for pleasure - afternoon reading by the Form Tutor

 RATIONALE

Reading for pleasure comes with HUGE benefits for pupils!  

• Reading enjoyment has been reported as more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status
• There is a positive link between positive attitudes towards reading and scoring well on reading assessments  
• Evidence suggests that reading for pleasure is an activity that has emotional and social benefits
• Other benefits of reading for pleasure include positive reading attitudes, pleasure in reading in later life, and increased general knowledge  

Year 8 Voted afternoon reading book

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyce

Berlin, 1942: When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion, and the family must move to a new house far, far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do.

 A tall fence stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people in the distance. But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different from his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

A poignant tale that explores the power of innocence and the impact of war.

British Value links:

 Rule of Law: wariness of ‘blind obedience’ and the impact that it can have.

Democracy: develop an understanding of why democracy is important and the consequences of extreme regimes and how easily people can be swayed by propaganda.

Individual Liberty: harsh reality of life in Auschwitz and its consequences.

Tolerance: acceptance of others different to us and the consequences of extreme views. 

Year 7 Voted afternoon reading book

Year 6 Voted afternoon reading book

British Value links:

Rule of Law: Al Chaudhury’s time travelling and respecting the rules of time.

Respect: Understanding Grandpa Byron’s heritage and his experience as an immigrant.

Year 5 Voted afternoon reading book

Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King

A brilliantly funny young murder mystery from a rising stand-up comedian, podcaster and filmmaker - and exciting new talent in children's fiction.

Many people go their whole lives without noticing anything that is afoot, amiss, or even untoward; without ever experiencing that toe-tingling, stomach-twisting sensation that a mystery is about to unfold. Not Bonnie Montgomery - the world's best detective. Not that anyone (other than Grampa Banks) has heard of her... But they might have heard of the great Montgomery Bonbon, the well-dressed gentleman detective who (apart from the hat and moustache) looks suspiciously like a 10-year-old girl.

Their newest case: solving the mystery surrounding a highly suspicious death at the Hornville Museum. Together they'll interview some dodgy witnesses, scour the scene for clues and - above all - hope no one notices that Bonnie and Montgomery are never in the same room at the same time. 

British Value links:

Rule of Law: Bonnie investigating the murder at Hornville Museum. Consequences for the murderer.

Tolerance: Bonnie works with a range of people to find out what happened at the museum.