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Developing reading skills |
Read To Learn |
A Love Of Reading |
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Everyone as a Teacher of Literacy |
Our Approach To Reading Intervention |
Developing Vocabulary |
Reading Within The Wider Curriculum |
Our Reading Environment |
Celebrating Reading |
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At TKS we are all teachers of literacy. Students access a variety of challenging disciplinary texts across the curriculum and have increased exposure to high level vocabulary as they progress through the years. Staff use our TKS Reading Strategy where a key feature is the modelling of reading fluency. Teachers are asked to connect reading prior knowledge and check for comprehension during and after the reading. We have a dedicated literacy slot during form time where students engage with ‘Politics, Philosophy and Economics' themes by reading a high-quality text and discuss the ‘big ideas’ surrounding it, developing both literacy and oracy skills. |
At TKS we follow a rigorous literacy assessment system. Students’ reading comprehension ages are assessed annually to quickly diagnose those below chronological reading age. We adopt a waved intervention strategy to provide targeted support to students at whichever stage of their literacy that may require further intervention. Following a variety of diagnostic testing to determine specific needs, some students benefit from targeted in-class support, while others benefit from a variety of one to one and small group interventions delivered by our trained Reading Intervention Coordinators. Intervention programmes include Lexonik Advance to develop spellings, vocabulary and comprehension, Lexia PowerUp for word study, grammar and comprehension and Ruth Miskin Fresh Start for synthetic phonics intervention. We use Sparx Reader for paired reading and to encourage independent reading. Additionally, our Student Leaders of Communication have been trained to support KS3 students with reading, oracy and vocabulary to develop fluency, prosody and confidence. |
We see reading as an integral way to support the development and growth of students’ disciplinary vocabulary. Across the curriculum, students are regularly exposed to reading that extends their vocabulary. Essential Knowledge Sheets for every scheme of work outline key subject-specific vocabulary to be taught across the scheme. All disciplinary schemes of learning introduce new vocabulary using either etymology, morphology or both. Subject teachers are trained to deliver these lessons using explicit vocabulary instruction. Opportunities to develop oracy skills are also embedded across subject schemes to give students the opportunity to put their learning into practice. |
At TKS, our passion for reading is at the heart of our rich and varied curriculum. Students enjoy a wide exposure to a wealth of sophisticated language and texts in order to develop and embed their vocabulary, reading and oracy skills. Staff in all subjects are enthusiastic in sharing their knowledge and enjoyment of reading, and every student is inspired to become independent readers with a thirst for knowledge. Students access a wide range of high quality, challenging texts across the curriculum and have increased exposure to high level vocabulary as they progress through the years. Students are able to explore the ‘big ideas’ linked to our high quality texts and apply these ethical, social, historical and cultural factors to help enhance understanding.
Within each subject, careful consideration of curriculum requirements informs our choice of texts and vocabulary so that the challenging texts they read enhance their literacy skills. |
Every classroom fosters a positive reading environment by following the TKS reading strategy and exploring challenging texts. Our KS3 library is a calm, inviting space to enable students to relax with a good book, with a wide variety of titles to encourage a love of reading. Our KS4 Study Centre provides a quiet and focused space for pupils to study or take time out with a good book.. Both spaces have knowledgeable librarians on hand to offer advice and recommendations. Both spaces also provide a purposeful atmosphere to enable students completing literacy interventions to make swift progress and build confidence. Cross-curricular reading is encouraged through themed library events and World Book Week, where classes experience a wealth of literary based activities across their subjects. |
TKS aims to foster a genuine love of reading. We see books as the gateway not only to developing students’ knowledge in key subject areas, but to different worlds, environments, times and perspectives. Reading feeds a student’s imagination and encourages them to question and explore big ideas in the world around them. Staff encourage this by modelling their love of reading to inspire and motivate students. We promote reading at home through the Sparx Reader platform, with rewards for careful reading, including bronze, silver and gold award badges that students wear with pride. Annual competitions, including a Spelling Bee for KS2 students and Battle of the Books for KS3 and 4, promote literacy and oracy, and we encourage students to enter popular creative writing and poetry competitions. Our KS3 Book Club and KS4 Classics Club attract our avid readers who would like a challenge, and are attended by students and staff alike to discuss and share their love of literature. We are further encouraging our pupils reading with our “16 by 16” Reading Challenge for those in Year 9, 10 and 11 to choose 16 books from a curated list and to have read 16 of these by the time they leave. |