Reading
Please see above information about the No Limits reading festival taking place in North Lincolnshire in a couple of weeks time. There are some fabulous authors attending on both days and entry is free. Local author, Hannah Gold, who wrote The Last Bear is one of the authors attending on Saturday and Thomas Taylor, the author of the Malamander series will be there on Sunday, as well as Sue Hendra who has written many books including the Supertato series.
Miss Parker is going for the whole weekend and can't wait to add even more books to her 'to be read' pile!
September 2023
As we start the new school year, we are pleased to announce that at the end of last year, we had our review meeting for the Lincolnshire Reading Pledge and we have successfully gained our Bronze award.
We already have some of the Silver and Gold elements ticked off too, and some great plans for new reading themed activities so it hopefully won't be too long before we can exchange Bronze for Silver and then we will be Going for Gold!
Going for Gold
June 2023
There have been so many things going on around reading in the last few months that it has been hard to keep up at times, but here is a quick catch-up...
World Book Day 2023- back in March we changed things up for this year's World Book Day and organised a visit for every child in the school to Bookmark bookshop, in Spalding, to exchange their £1 WBD token (and in some cases buy some extra books too) and also to visit the library. There was also a book swap that ran in school, allowing children to bring in an old book from home that they no longer wished to read and to swap it for another, new (to them) book.
World Poetry Day 2023- as well as celebrating World Book Day, we also celebrated World Poetry Day. Each class now has a poetry anthology in their classroom that they regularly share poems from.
The Big Amazing Poetry Project- Miss Parker was lucky enough to be given one of only 30 places on a course run by the CLPE and Macmillan publishers, focusing on the development of poetry. She has been down to London for 2 fabulous training days with poets Valerie Bloom and Matt Goodfellow, and has 1 more day later this month to look forward to. As part of the training, the school will be given a 'poetry library' and Miss Parker is working on further developing our school poetry curriculum.
Parents in Class- Term 5 saw the start of our Parents in Class sessions. Each classroom opens its doors for the final 20 minutes of the day, once a week, to allow parents to join us for a reading session. Each class does it a little bit differently, but we are hoping to show parents how we develop a love of reading, the range of reading genres that are out there as well as some of the more technical aspects we teach such as inference.
Year 1 Phonics Screening Check- We also organised some parent drop-in sessions, for Year 1 parents, to find out more about the Phonics Screening Check which happens every June. Parents had a chance to see some past booklets and examples of the kinds of words that the children are asked to read as well as being able to ask any questions.
Teachers as Readers- Miss Parker has continued to attend the Teachers as Readers group which is linked to the Open University and UKLA. These sessions have been a great way to find out about new books and authors and also discuss different ways of helping children to find a love of reading. With the help of the Reading Ambassadors, we have been trying out 'book promotion' using QR codes and book trailers in the school library.
Spalding Library Easter Events
November 2022
We have been chosen to take part in a shadowing scheme for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2022. We have been sent the 6 shortlisted books to review and select our favourite. They are all science themed and there are some fabulous looking books in the set. Our KS2 Reading Ambassadors are putting together a group of children who would like to read the books and then share their thoughts and opinions on them.
Miss Parker has also had her first session as part of the ‘Teachers as Readers’ programme which is part of the Open University Reading for Pleasure resources. She is looking forward to the gap task which is to read a new book- any excuse to buy another new book is always welcome, even though her ‘to be read’ pile is dangerously high!
October 2022
The children have been given the opportunity to 'Read & Review' some fabulous new, football themed, Tom Palmer books through the Reading Agency. On the back of the success of the Lionesses at the Euro’s, many of our KS2 girls have been taking part in an Inspire+ lunchtime football club this term, so the timing was perfect too. They get to keep the book for themselves in return for a review. We also received a full set of the Roy/Rocky of the Rovers novel series and graphic novel series for our school library too.
September 2022
Our Reading Ambassadors had their first meeting on the 26th September. Their first task is to let their classes know all about the corridor book areas. We have set up EYFS/KS1 and KS2 children’s laureate displays to introduce the new children’s laureate Joseph Coelho and show off the work of some of the previous laureates too. There is a mix of poetry and fiction and some works by other authors that the laureates have illustrated too.
We have also set up a Twitter page for our Reading for Pleasure journey as part of the Lincolnshire Reading Pledge. You can find it @tsm_wh
September 2022
This academic year, we have signed up to the Lincolnshire Reading Pledge. There are three awards, bronze, silver and gold. We have to go for the Bronze Award first but ultimately, we are going for Gold! There are lots of aspects for us to work on over the year but we have already made a great start.
Miss Parker was really pleased to see how many children and adults in school had managed to complete their summer reading challenge. On the first staff training day, before the children came back into school, there were so many conversations between the adults about books that they had enjoyed reading. It was wonderful to hear. When Miss Parker visited the local library, the staff there mentioned that they had had lots of Weston Hills children visiting over the summer, which was also wonderful to hear.
We also had another visit from the Norfolk Children's Book Centre, this time to update our fiction books and provide us with a nice easy system for finding the books that we want to read. Miss Parker and Mrs Milbank were both excited to see 'The Wild Robot Escapes' in the new collection as they had both really enjoyed 'The Wild Robot' from our Reading for Pleasure train line. Before the end of the first week, the shelves were looking a bit empty as the children and staff had been finding books that they wanted to read.
We will be opening the library again to allow the children to choose from our wonderful non-fiction collection of books too. Sonny and Abbi have been appointed as our first librarians who will be helping out with the running and organisation of the library each week.
We have appointed Reading Ambassadors for each class too; Leighla-May, Hamilton, Arianne, Evelyn and Matilda. They will have a wide range of responsibilities over the year, but their first tasks will be to let everyone know about the new, corridor, 'children's laureate' book areas, and find 10 children who would like the chance to read and review Game Changer: A Rocky of the Rovers Novel by Tom Palmer, that we will be getting through the Reading Agency Read and Review scheme. Their first meeting will be on Monday 26th September at 12.30pm.
We have also been chosen by The Royal Society to take part in the judging for their Young People's Book Prize. We will be receiving the 6 shortlisted books soon and will then form a judging panel to find our favourite, sending in our opinions before the final winner is announced in March 2023.
We have also started a Parents Bookshelf in the entrance hall where parents and carers can also have a chance to find a new book to read.
It's been a busy start to the year, but there is much more to come. Keep checking back here to see what we've been up to!
Mrs James has taken the opportunity to go shopping for some new reads and Miss Parker has chosen 7 books because she couldn't decide on just 6 from her 'to read' pile. Even Mr Browne, our chair of governors, is getting involved in the challenge.
Friday 22nd July 2022
As we go into the summer holidays, some of the children have already started their Summer Reading Challenge at the local library and some of the staff have already got their 6 books chosen too. We look forward to coming back together in September and seeing how many of us have managed to complete the challenge.
Wednesday 6th July 2022
Summer Reading Challenge
This summer, we would like to invite the children to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge. It is run by The Reading Agency, alongside local libraries and aims to keep children reading for pleasure over the summer.
The children can take part in the Summer Reading Challenge in 2 ways
At the library 1. A child will visit their local library and sign up to the Challenge for free. They receive their Gadgeteers core pack poster. 2. They set a personal reading goal for the summer (we recommend six books). 3. Borrow and read books, eBooks and audiobooks of their choice. They can read anything they like: fiction, fact books, poetry, joke books, picture books, graphic novels, audiobooks… 4. Collect special incentives from the library each time they finish a book. 5. Receive a certificate and/or medal for taking part, or for reaching their Challenge goal. In addition, libraries offer a wide variety of events and activities for families to enjoy throughout the summer. | Alternatively, children can participate in the Challenge online. 1. Sign up at summerreadingchallenge.org.uk 2. Set a personal reading goal for the summer. Receive book recommendations and tips for accessing books for free at home. 3. Each time they finish a book, the child adds it to their online profile and leaves a review. They unlock digital badges and online rewards along the way. 4. Unlock a certificate for reaching their Challenge goal. Children can also play games, enter competitions, share book recommendations and more on our free, safe, moderated platform.
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The Summer Reading Challenge is open to all primary school-aged children and launches on Saturday 9th July. Attached is a leaflet from Spalding Library, explaining the activities that they will have on offer.
The teachers will be taking part too, and we would love to see your certificates when we come back to school in September.
Happy Reading!
Friday 22nd April 2022
Every year Scholastic pick out 12 very funny books from the last two years to be in the shortlist for their 'Lollies' award. There are 4 books in each age category and we have been asked to choose our favourites too.
Miss Parker has a copy of each book in school, that you can borrow and read at home (or share with a grown up) to help you decide on your favourite. You don't have to only read the books from your age group so you can pick and choose which ones you would like to try.
Miss Parker will have a list for each book so that you can sign up for the books you would like to read and then she will deliver them to you when they become available. All you have to do is read the book, score it our of 5 (by colouring in the laughing mouth icons) and then return the book to Miss Parker so that she can give it out to the next person.
Once you have read the books that you would like to try, give the voting sheet (click on link below) back to Miss Parker and she will work out which book is the winner.
You have until Friday 15th July to read the books and cast your votes.
HAPPY READING!
Friday 3rd December 2021
From now until Sunday 16th January 2022, some of the teachers are taking part in a reading challenge. It is called the 'Winter Mini Reading Challenge' and is run by The Reading Agency. You can take part too if you like (children and grown-ups). If you would like to take part, visit the website https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ and then click the green 'join' button. Grown-ups will need to do this part to sign the children up.
Once you are signed up, you can join the 'Winter Mini Reading Challenge'.
Taking part is easy, simply read at least 3 books before the end of the challenge and then log them on the website. Once you have completed the challenge, you can download a certificate to show everyone how well you have done. All books are included, so everyone can take part. Even after the challenge has ended, you can still use the website to log the books you have read and earn badges as you read more books. There are also games and other fun activities there too. If you manage to complete the challenge and get a certificate, we would love to see it. The teachers will share theirs on the school website, so make sure you take a look after the challenge ends to see who has managed it!
Thursday 2nd December 2021
Today we were finally able to open our new and improved school library for the first time. Lots of children came over at lunchtime to either read in the library space or to choose books to take home. It was lovely to see it so full of children, all excited about books.
Thursday 25th November
We are lucky to have been sent some copies of Tiger Warrior by M. Chan as part of Read & Review. The Year 2 children have had the chance to keep a copy of the book FOREVER (!) as long as they agree to write a book review and send it back in to school by Wednesday 15th December. As the first class in school to get the chance to take part in Read & Review, we were very excited to take part.
Wednesday 24th November
Today the children in Oak class and Cherry class both had a virtual author visit from Sharon Davey, the author and illustrator of ‘Oh! Sir Bragalot’. It was a perfect fit for our topic ‘People Who Rule Us’ and was a great opportunity to ask a real-life author about her work and also to learn about how she creates her characters.
Monday 22nd November
It’s been another busy time for new reading books this week. Our Reading for Pleasure Underground Maps for KS2 are ready to go (once the Covid restrictions allow us to mix again). Each child in KS2 will be given an Underground Map of brilliant reading books for their age group. There is a 7+ and a 9+ map with 7 Underground lines on each one.
If, for example, you are a fan of David Walliams books, then you can look on the Walliams Line for other books that you might enjoy by different authors. Outside of the KS2 classrooms, you’ll find the WH Readers Express, with each carriage linked to a different line on the RfP Underground Map.
There are 2 copies of each book on the line and a waiting list just in case your chosen book has already gone. Some of the lines are the same on both maps e.g. the Must Reads Line, but will have different books for each age group. There are picture books, graphic novels and more traditional chapter books to choose from. Some books are repeated on both the 7+ and 9+ maps so if you really enjoyed it on the 7+ map, you can find other, similar books on the 9+ map too.
The 7+ line includes…
And the 9+ line has…
The 7+ books are aimed at children in Years 3 and 4 and the 9+ books are aimed at Years 5 and 6. Age really doesn’t matter though- Miss Parker already has her eye on a few of the books on the ‘Potter Line’ once she’s finished the book she’s reading at the moment (The Lion Above The Door by Onjali Q. Raúf- a great read if you’ve not already read it!).
Because many of the books are the first in a series, if there are any that are particularly popular then we will be able to buy further books in that series for the classroom reading areas too, so make sure to let the adults know which ones you are enjoying most.
Monday 15th November 2021
Over the weekend we had a visit from the Norfolk Children’s Book Centre. The NCBC team have given our non-fiction library a complete makeover. They started by clearing out any out of date books and then relabelled everything to make them easier to find. There were piles of books everywhere!
After sorting out all of the books that we already had, they then added in lots of brilliant new books! Here are just a few of them (ones that Miss Parker has already added to her ‘want to read’ list).
When they had finished, the library looked amazing!
Once our current Covid restrictions can be lifted, the library will be open on Tuesday lunchtimes to allow the children to come and choose a book that they would like to take home. Or, if they prefer, to just spend some time reading in our lovely new library space.
Our next mission, in the new year, is to get the NCBC team to come back and help us to renovate our fiction collection too.
Monday 4th October
Today the children in EYFS have been given their first homework bags. There are 17 different bags with themes such as Bugs, Sport, Dinosaurs, Fairy Tales and Food. Each bag contains a game and 2 books to share with a grown-up. The bags stay at home for a whole week and then get swapped for a new one every Monday.
Monday 13th September
We are starting our brand new school year with lots of lovely new phonically decodable reading books for our EYFS and KS1 children. We are using the Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Revised programme for our Phonics teaching so have bought all of the Collins Big Cat for Little Wandle books to go with it. The children will each have 3 reading sessions in school before bringing the book home to share with an adult. Our 3 sessions in school will focus on decoding, prosody and comprehension and the aim is that the children will be able to read 95% of the text when they bring it home. This means that they can focus on reading fluently and with understanding.
We have our teacher ‘Reading Squad’ all set up to run groups in both classes. Miss Parker, Mr Sharman, Mrs Fletcher, Miss Wantling and Mrs Stanley all read with groups in Cherry class and Mrs Gibbin, Miss Parker, Mr Sharman, Mrs Bull, Mrs Ross, Mrs Stanley and Miss Wantling all read in Oak class.
As well as the decodable books, the children will also have the chance to choose a ‘book to share with an adult’. This book is one that they won’t be able to read on their own but is a lovely story to share with a grown-up.
