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English: Reading

At Manland we strongly believe in children developing a love of reading, whether it is through books they read at school, books which are read to them at by someone else or books they discover for themselves in a library.

The ability to read confidently and fluently is a life-long skill that sets children up well for learning.  Aside from that, children at Manland love reading!  Fortunately, our children are already very positive about reading and relish getting ‘lost’ in a book.  The Manland Book Spine encompasses a range of titles that explore relevant social issues, contain big ethical questions, raise moral dilemmas and are joyful literary experiences!

These carefully chosen titles encompass new authors (and much-loved ones too!), stories from our literary heritage, high-quality non-fiction, poetry, and characters who are ethnically diverse. Our carefully chosen Book Spine acts as both a window and a mirror – a window into other places and experiences, a mirror in which children can see themselves reflected in the characters they’re reading about.  These titles also serve to complement and support our English lessons. They cover a range of genres: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and play-scripts. These texts serve to support and inspire children’s writing by providing a structure to base writing upon and ideas or plots to borrow for their own writing.

What we read shapes how we think.  At Manland, we encourage children to read deeply and ‘loiter’ with a text; we have had so many rich discussions about books and stories this year.  Our children have taken this one step further: not only do they want to read ALL the books on the Spine, they’re inspired to read other titles by newly discovered authors too.  It is so important that children have access to familiar titles they love, and new titles to ignite and inspire.  We are passionate about reading and are determined that every child leaves our school having read a healthy breadth of books combined with a true love of reading.

Phonics and Reading Scheme

We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds phonics and reading scheme for Reception and Key Stage 1. Little Wandle Letters and Sounds is a complete systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP) developed for schools by schools. Based on the original Letters and Sounds, but extensively revised to provide a complete teaching programme meeting all the expectations of the National Curriculum, the Ofsted Deep Dive into reading and preparing your children to go beyond the expectations of the Phonics Screening Check.

For further information on our phonics and reading scheme, please click here. The resources on Little Wandle’s website will help you to support your child with saying their sounds and writing their letters.

There are also some useful videos at the bottom of the page so that you can see how your child will be taught at school, how to say the letter sounds and providing some information to help you to feel confident about supporting your child’s reading at home. Find the full Reception and Year 1 teaching programme overview here to see what your child will learn and when.

Listed below are the initial phonics phases that your child will be taught in the first half of their Reception years:

Pronunciation Guide 1 – Autumn 1

Pronunciation Guide 2 – Autumn 2

Grapheme Information Sheet – Spring 1

Reading workshop

For further tips on reading, please take a look at our reading workshop slides:

KS2 Parent Reading Workshop

Tips for parents: reading stories to children

Introduction
Your child will bring home two books. One is for your child to read to you. It has been carefully chosen so that they can work out all the words. The other book has words your child may not be able to read yet. It is for you to read to your child and talk about together.
How to read a story to your child
If you can find the time beforehand, read the read-aloud book to yourself first, so you can think about how you’re going to read it to your child.
On the first reading:
• Make reading aloud feel like a treat. Make it a special quiet time and cuddle up so you can both see the book.
• Show curiosity about what you’re going to read: ‘This book looks interesting. It’s about an angry child. I wonder how angry he gets…’
• Read through the whole story the first time without stopping too much. Let the story weave its own magic.
• Read with enjoyment. If you’re not enjoying it, your child won’t.                                                                                        • Read favourite stories over and over again.
On later readings:
• Let your child pause, think about and comment on the pictures.
• If you think your child did not understand something, try to explain: ‘Oh! I think what’s happening here is that…’
• Chat about the story and pictures: ‘I wonder why she did that?’; ‘Oh no, I hope she’s not going to…’; ‘I wouldn’t have done that, would you?’
• Link the stories to your own family experiences: ‘This reminds me of when …’
• Link stories to others that your child knows: ‘Ah! Do you remember the dragon in ….? Do you remember what happened to him?’
• Encourage your child to join in with the bits they know.

As a school we offer a range of text types and hope this is encouraged at home as well.  To help support you and your child in selecting a book that will capture their imagination, support their love for a particular theme or engage them in a lifetime of loving a chosen author, we have worked together as a school to create an interactive and current booklist. We hope you and your child find it enjoyable reading a range of our suggestions.

Supporting your Child at Home

Made by Dyslexia is a great website (run by people with dyslexia, for use by others with dyslexia).  We’ve recommended this to individual parents before, but we think it’s a useful link for all.  

https://www.madebydyslexia.org/

Choosing Books Online

The Reader Teacher website will help your child find the correct book for themselves and their interests:

 

 

https://www.thereaderteacher.com/

http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

Manland Favourites

Who better to ask which book to read than ask other children your age? At Manland we came up with class favourites and then had a vote to choose our top 5 selections.  Some books overlapped because as we know some books are great books, however old you are! So please don’t limit yourself to the class your child is in.  We hope you enjoy some of our favourites too.

Reception Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Jake and the Netherland Pirates by Disney The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson   Hairy McClary by Lynley Dodd   I went to the Zoopermarket by Nick Sharrat  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Rainbow Fairy Magic by Daisy Meadows Julia Donaldson books e.g. What the ladybird heard Where’s Wally by Martin Handford   The Jolly Postman by Allan Ahlberg Dinosaurs in the Supermarket by Timothy Knapman Dick- King Smith books. E.g. Sophie’s Adventures Horrid Henry series by Francesca Simon The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy Holly Webb books e.g. Puppy Tales   Space Penguins by Lucy Courtenay Astrosaurs by Steve Cole Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Matilda by Roald Dahl Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown The Demon Dentist by David Walliams
Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Other Popular Choices
Enid Blyton’s ‘Adventure Books’ Mr Gum books by Andy Stanton Tom Gates books by Liz Pinchon Born To Run by Michael Morpurgo Pippi Longstocking books by Astrid Lindgren My Story (history series) e.g. The Trenches by Jim Eldridge Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney Diamond Brothers Detective Agency series by Anthony Horowitz Enid Blyton books e.g. The Faraway Tree and Malory Towers Michael Morpurgo books e.g. Toro Toro, Kaspar and War Horse Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling David Walliams books e.g. Gangsta Granny and Mr Stink Jacqueline Wilson books. E.g. Lily Alone Percy Jackson series by Rick Riorden Awesome Animals series (various authors) e.g. Panda Panic and Koala Calamity Beast Quest by Adam Blade Quentin Blake books Children’s Classics e.g. The Secret Garden and The Railway Children

 

Booklist

If you would like some further inspiration for choosing a book please refer to this recommended booklist produced by James Clements (“Shakespeare and More” Director):

Great Picture Books
Would you Rather… by John Burningham Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen
Mr Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham Hairy Maclary books by Lynley Dodd
Courtney by John Burningham The Selfish Crocodile by Faustin Charles
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton
A Friend for Little Bear by Harry Horse Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Shh, We Have a Plan! by Chris Haughton
Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg Ladybird Picture Books- Fairy Tales
Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg Slow Loris by Alexis Deacon
Dogger by Shirley Hughes Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
I Really Want to Eat a Child by Sylvianne Donnio Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sandak
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Drywalt Kicking a Ball by Allan Ahlberg
The Green Ship by Quentin Blake Edgar Get Ready for Bed by Jennifer Adams
Mother Goose’s Playtime Rhymes by Axel Scheffler  

 

Picture Books for Older Children
Tuesday by David Weisner How to Live Forever by Colin Thompson
Flotsam by David Weisner The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman
The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan The Island by Armin Greder
Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs I am the Mummy Heb-Nerfert by Eve Bunting
Night of the Gargoyles by Eve Bunting Mythological Monsters of Ancient Greece by Sara Fanelli
The Paperbag Prince by Colin Thompson Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

 

Retellings of Classics
Robin of Sherwood by Michael Morpurgo The Orchard Book of Shakespeare Stories by Andrew Matthews
Beowulf by Kevin Crossley-Holland Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green
Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield The Orchard Book of Swords, Sorcerers and Superheroes by Tony Bradman
Myths and Legends retold by Anthony Horowitz The Oxford Treasury of Fairy Tales by Geraldine McCaughrean
Collected Folk Tales by Alan Garner The Odyssey Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds
Stories from Shakespeare by Geraldine McCaughrean Greek Myths by Ann Turnbull
Atticus the Storyteller’s 100 Greek Myths by Lucy Coats The Adventures of Odysseus by Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden

 

Classic Children’s Literature
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Charlotte’s Web by E B White
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Treasure Island by Robert Louis StevensonLord of the Flies by William Golding
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
The War of the Worlds by H G Wells Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Poetry
Where my Wellies Take Me by Clare and Michael Morpurgo The Rattle Bag edited by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes
The Nation’s Favourite Children’s Poems – BBC New and Collected Poems for Children by Carol Anne Duffy
Classic Poetry selected by Michael Rosen Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
The Ring of Words by Roger McGough The Oxford Treasury of Classic Poems
Cautionary Verses by Hilaire Belloc IF- A Treasury of Poems for Almost Every Possibility edited by Allie Esiri and Rachel Kelly
Collected Poems for Children by Ted Hughes  

 

Beautiful Non-Fiction
The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins The Usborne History of Britain
A Dictionary of Monsters and Mysterious Beasts by Carey Miller Professor Stewart’s Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities by Iain Stewart
The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzenberger What Makes Me? By Robert Winston
How to Keep Dinosaurs by Robert Mash Wholly Irresponsible Experiments by Sean Connolly

 

Traditional Stories
Tales from the West Indies by Faustin Charles Grimm Tales by Philip Pullman
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights by Geraldine McCaughrean Book House Ancient Greek Myths
The Thousand Nights and One Night retold by David Walser The Odyssey retold by Robin Lister
The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor retold by John Yeoman The Trick of the Tale by John and Caitlin Matthews
Aesop’s Fables retold by Alice Shirley  

 

Great Contemporary Fiction
Not the End of the World by Geraldine McCaughrean A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
His Dark Materials books by Philip Pullman Ribblestrop by Andy Mulligan
Lyra’s Oxford by Philip Pullman Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman The Various by Steve Augarde
Montmorency by Eleanor Updale Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror by Chris Priestly Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Clockwork by Philip Pullman
Coraline by Neil Gaiman Once by Morris Gleitzman
The Last Polar Bears by Harry Horse Diamond Brothers books by Anthony Horowitz
Clockwork by Philip Pullman Young Bond books by Charlie Higson
Holes by Louis Sachar The Magician of Samarkand by Alan Temperley
Mouse Bird Snake Wolf by David Almond Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge

 

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