22/08/2024Literacy & Reading
No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world- John Keating
Welcome to the Literacy and Reading page.
At Waingels, literacy is in everything we do: our ability to read, write and talk helps our learning in every subject. We all work to improve students’ literacy skills.
Here you will find a variety of resources to support your child’s literacy progress across the curriculum, as well as information and celebrations of words, in all their glorious forms.
Vocabulary:
In every subject we develop students’ vocabulary. We are lucky to have Bedrock software for all Key Stage 3 students to build their academic vocabulary. This vocabulary is the kind we don’t use much in every day spoken language, but come across more often in written language. By improving their academic vocabulary, your child will find learning across all of their subjects easier:
(Diagram taken from the Education Endowment Fund)
The words in the lists below form part of our academic vocabulary development. On the first slide you will find some ideas for how to develop their confidence with these words:
Reading
Reading for Learning:
This is a guide for parents about how to support your child in their reading development, written for both students who find reading challenging, and for those who don’t:
Families' Guide to Reading at Home
Here is a handy one-page summary:
What to do when I find reading challenging:
What to do when I find reading challenging?
Here are some home learning activities for your child to use if they need comprehension practice:
Reading Comprehension Activity Pack
Knowing what to do to support your child before, during and after reading can be tricky. This has some suggestions which mirror the advice in the Families’ Guide to Reading at Home, and what we do in the classroom:
Reading in the Waingels Curriculum:
Reading the Curriculum Fact Sheet
Reading for Pleasure:
Reading for pleasure helps our students in a variety of ways (taken from The Book Trust):
We are also dedicated to supporting our students in reading for pleasure. Have a look at our Reading Room section here for more information.
These recommended reading lists have been put together by our students and our staff:
12 Books to Read Before You're 12
14 Books to Read Before You're 14
16 Books to Read Before You're 16
18 Books to Read Before You're 18
If you want to suggest books for our recommended reading lists, please do so here.
We love to share the literature we are passionate about. Around our school you will find random acts of literature, celebrating a variety of authors and poets, such as these:
Random Acts of Literature- Jane Eyre
Random Acts of Literature- Sonnet 29, William Shakespeare
Random Acts of Literature- Wuthering Heights
Random Acts of Literature- The Night Circus
Random Acts of Literature- Still I Rise
Random Acts of Literature- Refugee Blues
You can find out more about what we are up to and reading opportunities in our termly newsletters. Please click here to view our Reading Newsletters.
Donations and Wishlist
We welcome book donations to boost our library stock. If you have any pre-loved books you would like to donate, please bring them main reception. We also have an Amazon Wishlist for specific books we are looking for. If you would like to purchase a book for our reading room, please use this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/14EW8IKJTOFNE/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex. All donations pre-loved or Amazon, are gratefully received.
Writing
We all need a bit of help to find the best way to express ourselves sometimes. This means our sentences and words have to be clear and precise.
This advice might help your child when they are planning a piece of writing:
How to Prepare for Writing Tasks
Your child will be asked to write a variety of forms, such as essays, reports, evaluations, articles and diary entries. If your child is not sure how to do any of these, here is a guide:
How to Write in Different Forms
Using a full range of punctuation helps to make meaning clearer and makes writing seem more sophisticated. If either your children or you want any help with punctuation, this guide is a good place to start:
For extra practice, here are some activities for your child to try, along with the answers for when they are ready:
Punctuation Support Tasks- Answers
Oracy
Children’s speaking skills are linked to their reading and writing skills. Many lessons rely on children’s speaking skills to build and develop their thinking and understanding. We work to support students’ speaking skills in school, but there are also things they can do at home to develop even further.
You can use these discussion frameworks and topics to have formal discussions at home:
Students can also complete these challenges to develop their discussion and presentation skills in their own time. If they complete any of these, please print off this challenge sheet and sign and date the appropriate box.
Contact
To keep up to date with Literacy at Waingels, please follow us on Twitter @WaingelsLit.
If you have any questions, please get in contact with me, Mrs Jones via communications@waingels.wokingham.sch.uk
