EYFS and KS1
Rising Stars Reading Planet
Collierley primary school uses Rising Stars reading scheme to support children in their journey to becoming a fluent reader and enriches the reading curriculum with captivating fiction and non-fiction books and eBooks.
Children will start their reading journey with beautiful wordless and first words books and then begin to build firm foundations in reading with fresh and fully decodable books matched to the Letters and Sounds Phonic scheme.
The online Program is also used alongside the books to allow teachers to:
- Use the integrated features such as read aloud audio (Reception and Key Stage 1 only) and highlighting and comment tools, to engage children even more with each eBook
- Strengthen home-school links by allocating eBooks as homework – the Library can be accessed by parents and pupils anywhere, on any device
- Practise and improve comprehension skills and vocabulary acquisition with interactive, self-marking quizzes for each eBook and track progress via the easy-to-use reporting too
When children become Fluent readers they will then move onto the Accelerated Reader Scheme and continue their reading journey.
Reception-KS1-Pupil_user_guide
KS2
Accelerated Reader (AR)
Collierley Primary School uses Accelerated Reader as a way to encourage children to be enthusiastic, independent readers. It is not tied to a scheme and uses books easily found in school and public libraries as well as homes and book shops.
This online program is used by children who are fluent readers towards the end of Year 2 key stage two. The computer program assesses each child and determines an appropriate level for the books which they read. Mrs Wilkinson leads the Accelerated Reader in our school.
The benefit of AR is that the children take fun quizzes once they have read their book and receive immediate feedback on their performance. It means that children are improving their comprehension skills as well as the mechanics of reading. Often with reading schemes, children appear to be fluent readers but have little understanding of the texts they are reading. AR allows the child to read interesting books at an appropriate level. They learn and grow at their own pace.
A simple parents’ guide is available here.
How can I help my child become a better reader?
As with anything, performance improves with practice. According to Renaissance Learning’s research, children who read at least 20 minutes a day with a 90% comprehension rate on AR quizzes see the greatest gains. Encourage your child to read at home, discuss books, ask questions about what they have read and visit your local library.
For Early Years children this booklet – I-spy-a-picture-book – gives lots of tips and activities for introducing very young children to reading. There are excellent tips for sharing books and encouraging reluctant readers on the Book Trust website.
Parents often ask for lists of recommended books. This site has lots of lists! Use the drop down menu at the top of the home page to find books suitable for each school year.
Lexia
This computer based reading software is used by selected children in KS1 and KS2 as an additional support to improving their skills as a reader. Originally developed to support children with the diagnosis of dyslexia, it was recognised that all children can benefit from the personalised programme as it adjusts to what the individual child needs.
