Reading - Curriculum

At Glenmoor and Winton we recognise that for all pupils to lead happy and successful lives with a broad range of opportunities they must be literate. However, we acknowledge that literacy is not simply the ‘ability to read and write’ but goes much further. Literacy encompasses the cultural references pupil need to read widely, the resilience needed to meet the demands of challenging texts, alongside a vast vocabulary to decode texts and express themselves. Ultimately, we recognise that literacy is a broad term for the multiple skills and knowledge which pupils need to be fluent readers, writers and speakers. 

Reading Programme  

Here at the Academies we pride ourselves in our belief that reading is a vital life skill that all our students should be able to access and enjoy independently. We most ardently view reading as something that we would love our students to be passionate about both in school and out of it.  

Our Reading Programme is delivered during tutor time where students are given access to a range of genres and texts which are designed to be accessible for their year group. The books we read are carefully chosen to ensure both challenge and engagement with reading. Our books are read aloud by tutors and students are regularly invited to partake in questions and discussions around their reading. We have bespoke Knowledge Organisers that are designed to encourage the students to comment and engage with the book their tutor group is reading.  

ReadEasy

ReadEasy is a charity organisation who aim to support adults who struggle with reading fluency. Through their one to one, confidential and free coaching, they have assisted thousands nationally to fulfil their potential and become more confident readers. If this is something you are interested in, please contact either their Bournemouth or Poole representatives via the below contact information.

https://readeasy.org.uk/groups/poole/

At Glenmoor and Winton, Subject leaders and teachers are responsible for reading in their subjects and their lessons. Students gain knowledge about their subjects through reading about them and reading content is part of all lessons.  This includes teachers frequently reading aloud to their classes, supporting students to read aloud, facilitating independent reading, using strategies to support comprehension, supporting decoding and pronunciation, and vocabulary instruction. We ensure that staff are regularly trained to ensure that they deliver these strategies effectively. 

Sparx Reader  

Here at the academies, we set SparxReader homework in English for Years 7-10. We believe this is extremely beneficial for our students as it ensures that they are reading actively and independently each week. Additionally, the platform allows our students to access a wide range of genres which are appropriate for their current reading age.  

Sparx is designed to match to the students’ reading age by making them complete a reading test before their books are assigned to them. This test is vital to enable our students to be accessing reading that will be beneficial in supporting their development in reading.  

Students are required to score 200 points each week. They can do this by reading sections of the book and answering comprehension questions based on the section they have just read. The higher their accuracy, the more points they gain.   

High Quality Intervention 

At Glenmoor and Winton Academies, we have been working with Educational Intervention Specialists Lexonik for over 8 years and have helped over 650 students improve their reading age and their studies in general. 

We use Lexonik to target students whose reading age is below their chronological age, particularly in KS3 but if needed it can be used in KS4 too.  It is a six-week course, which is fun, fast and focused. Lexonik advance is based on phonological knowledge, syllable, polysyllabic knowledge and being able to determine the meaning of words through the understanding of prefix, stem(root) words and suffixes.  

We also use Lexonik LEAP, which is a great course for students who are missing some or large portions of their phonological knowledge, this could be down to being a student with EAL status, having additional needs or with gaps in their knowledge base.  LEAP is different because it targets the gaps in knowledge, and you only teach what the student doesn't know. After an initial diagnostic assessment, you know exactly what areas need to be focused on.  It takes place once a week for 20 minutes in registration time, meaning students still experience majority of their tutor time. LEAP covers phonemes, graphemes, split diagraphs, high frequency words, 2 syllable word reading and the meaning of prefixes.   

In Year 7, we want to continue the passion and enthusiasm that has been instilled by their Primary Schools. Through the Reading Programme, we wish to settle students into the Academies by enabling them to begin their journey with us through the power of stories. Initially, Year 7s all start with a Short Stories Booklet where they are able to engage with a range of different story types. Once they have been organised into their house tutor groups, they move onto whole novel reading.

	Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Author: Lewis Carroll	Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland tells the story of Alice, a young, curious girl who follows a white rabbit down a rabbit hole and into Wonderland. There, she encounters some of the strangest and most peculiar creatures, including the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter.
	War Horse Michael Morpurgo	In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?
	The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S Lewis	The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first her brothers and sister don't believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Lion Aslan, they realize they've been called to a great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch's sinister spell.
	The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins	There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her younger sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
	Wonder R.J Palacio	August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a severe facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, Auggie wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can't get past his extraordinary face.
	Scarper Jack & The Blood Stained Room Christopher Russell	I heard a murder being planned.' Scarper Jack is a chimney-sweep's boy and he's actually in a chimney when he hears two voices planning a murder. He knows where and when it's going to happen but there's no way he can stop it. With the help of two unexpected friends a posh boy and a sewer rat of a girl he sets out to solve the mystery and track down the murderer. Only to find that it can be dangerous to know too much . . .

In Year 8, our students begin to access more challenging texts which delve into deeper issues in both society and life. We wish to encourage students to perhaps engage with genres that they might not typically choose as they will challenge them to think carefully about their compassion towards others.

	Keeper Mal Peet	In a newspaper office, Paul Faustino, South America's top football writer, sits opposite the man they call El Gato "the Cat", the world's greatest goalkeeper. On the table between them stands the World Cup. In the hours that follow, El Gato tells his incredible story – how he, a poor logger's son, learns to become a World Cup-winning goalkeeper so good he is almost unbeatable. And the most remarkable part of this story is the man who teaches him: the mysterious Keeper, who haunts a football pitch at the heart of the claustrophobic rainforest...
	I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb	I am Malala The remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Siobhan Dowd | WaterstonesA Monster Calls Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.
	Animal Farm George Orwell	When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master, Mr Jones, and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless elite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control.
	Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman	They've been friends since they were children, and they both know that's as far as it can ever go. Noughts and Crosses are fated to be bitter enemies - love is out of the question. Then - in spite of a world that is fiercely against them - these star-crossed lovers choose each other.
	The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas John Boyne	Nine year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution or the Holocaust. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas. Bruno’s friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation.
	The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien	Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services – as a burglar – on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug the dragon. Bilbo’s life is never to be the same again.
	The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman	The Graveyard Book tells the story of how a young boy comes to be raised by ghosts, and a guardian, Silas, who is neither dead nor alive (although it is not clarified his characteristics suggest he is a reformed vampire). They name the boy Nobody Owens and everyone calls him Bod.

By Year 9, our students need to feel supported in their reading as they head towards the years of GCSEs. Therefore, the Reading Programme reflects the challenges that they will begin to face. The texts at this level become more challenging in both vocabulary and content.

	Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different Karen Blumenthal	Steve Jobs has been described as a showman, artist, tyrant, genius, jerk. Through his life he was loved, hated, admired and dismissed, yet he was a living legend; the genius who founded Apple in his parent's garage when he was just 21 years old, revolutionising the music world. He single-handedly introduced the first computer that could sit on your desk, and founded and nurtured a company called Pixar, bringing to life Oscar-winning animations Toy Story and Finding Nemo.
	Mud, Sweat and Tears: Bear Grylls Bear Grylls	Gripping, moving and wildly exhilarating, Mud, Sweat and Tears is a must-read for adrenalin junkies and armchair adventurers alike. Bear Grylls is a man who has always sought the ultimate in adventure. Growing up on the Isle of Wight, he was taught by his father to sail and climb at an early age.
	The Book Thief Markus Zusak	It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier and will be busier still. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.
	A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens	Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean, miserable, bitter old man with no friends. One cold Christmas Eve, three ghosts take him on a scary journey to show him the error of his nasty ways. By visiting his past, present and future, Scrooge learns to love Christmas and the people all around him.
	Life Of Pi Yann Martel	After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan - and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.
	Ways To Live Forever Sally Nicholls	My name is Sam. I am eleven years old. I collect stories and fantastic facts. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead. Sam loves facts. He wants to know about UFOs and horror movies and airships and ghosts and scientists, and how it feels to kiss a girl. And because he has leukaemia he wants to know the facts about dying. Sam needs answers to the questions nobody will answer.
	Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro	Narrated by Kathy, now thirty-one, Never Let Me Go dramatises her attempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world. A story of love, friendship and memory, Never Let Me Go is charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of life.
	1984 George Orwell	Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening and awakens to new possibilities.

Thursday afterschool in the Library (WL06)

Every week on a Thursday, the Book Club meet in the library and spend some time reading, surrounded by books. The club is open for any students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10.  

Students can either bring their own books from home or they can take one out of our very well-stocked library.  

Each student is given a reading journal when they join where they can complete reading related activities linked to the book they are currently reading.  

We complete a range of activities in our journals which students can also complete at home if they want to engage with their independent reading.  

Reading Journal activities  

• Write a review  
• Re-design a book cover  
• Design a bookmark  
• Re-write a blurb  
• Write a diary entry from a character’s point of view  
• Create a new character and explain their purpose  
• Write a recommendation  
• Draw a timeline of the main events in the story  
• Write a summary of the story in no more than 100 words 
• Write a film script for one of your favourite parts in the book  
• Draw a cartoon strip of one of the main events 
• Write a letter to the main character telling them about what others think/feel about them 
• Write an alternative ending to the story  
• Think of 3 adjectives to describe the story – explain why you chose each of these 

Parents- How can you support reading at home?  

Reading for pleasure  

The school library is open to students at lunch and break. We stock 3500 fiction titles and 2100 non-fiction titles which cater to a wide range of interests and reading ages. Our library walls feature ‘face-out’ displays which enable students to see the book cover and engage with a wider range of genres and topics.  

We made the decision in 2021 to ‘genre-fy’ our library shelving which has resulted in a significant increase in student engagement and confidence in selecting books to read. Libraries are typically arranged by the author’s last name, whereas our library sorts by genre. This enables students to feel more confident exploring a wider range of authors that they may previously not have considered. Our library space features a digital kiosk which allows students to search for a genre, book title or author’s name, to find where the books are in the library. Books can also be borrowed from our online lending system, which is available to all staff and students. We are empowering our students to independently explore the library and make informed decisions about the books they wish to read.