Reading

Academic reading and reading for pleasure are principles that are threaded throughout our curriculum.

Students at RSG will experience our reading journey during form time, sharing the experience of stories from a range of time periods, cultures, topics taking them, perhaps, to unknown worlds and times.  Reading is the cornerstone to all learning and teachers recognise the importance of teaching the explicit reading techniques needed in their subject. 

Recent research by the National Literacy Trust found that young people aged between 8 and 18 who engaged in reading showed improved mental health, greater perception of future opportunities and a greater resilience to many future obstacles in life such as gender inequality.

This coupled with other research highlights the importance of ensuring that every child in our school reads and develops their skills in reading to give them the best chances for their future. 

What is a reading age?

A reading age is a way of identifying how well a child can: understand, interpret and work with texts as well as fluently read. To attain a reading age, students complete a reading test which consists of numerous questions to test their reading comprehension skills.

Students in Year 7 and Year 8 complete the STAR test as part of the Accelerated Reader Programme. Students in Year 9 and Year 10 complete the NGRT Reading test. Following the completion of the test, a reading age is produced as an indicator of how well a child can read.

The main thing to look for with reading ages is how they compare to a child’s actual age. Where a child’s reading age is in line with their actual age or above, this means that they are performing well and are doing the right things to prepare for the future. If the reading age is below their actual age, this is an indicator that they may need to spend more time reading at home and may need some additional support in learning specific reading skills. For further guidance on how you can help at home, please see our guide to Supporting Reading at Home.

What does reading look like in school?

Students read regularly in school in all of their lessons as many of us do in our daily lives. This includes learning the skills to read from the perspective of a subject specialist. Additionally, we have numerous opportunities in place where students have dedicated reading time in school including: reading in form time, quiet spaces to read in leisure time as well as reading lessons as part of their timetable.

During reading lessons, students are taught the numerous skills of reading which are embedded into their English curriculum as well as reading their own books to quiz using the Accelerated Reader program in Year 7 and 8. In addition, reading interventions run to support students in reading catch up and some students are put on the bedrock learning program. To access Accelerated Reader, you can use the following link:

https://global-zone61.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/1895477

How can I support my child?

Supporting a child with reading can take many forms but the first step is always to make sure that they have a good book for them to read. There is plenty of guidance on this in our Supporting Reading at Home guide but a good place to start when trying to find a book is AR Book Find.

https://www.arbookfind.co.uk/advanced.aspx

AR Book Find has an advanced function where you can search by fiction/ non-fiction, author, age range and genre.