English and Reading

English

We aim to produce fluent, expressive readers, who enjoy reading and who are able to gain knowledge and understanding through its use.
We aim to produce writers, who can express themselves appropriately on paper, in a clear, legible hand, to be able to write for different purposes and to be competent in the use of standard English, punctuation and spelling.
We aim to enable our pupils to express themselves orally to a range of audiences and to be able to listen and respond to the views of others.
We aim to enable our pupils to appreciate literature and to introduce them to a variety of authors and reading material.

The school follows a carefully prepared scheme designed to meet the needs of the children as individuals and the requirements of the National Literacy Strategy. Full use is made of broadly resourced reading schemes. Positive provision is made for the able reader in the well stocked Key Stage 1 Library and individual class book collections.

Reading

At Guiseley Infant School we believe reading to be one of the most important things your child will learn. Our aim is for every child, on leaving, to be able to read both for enjoyment and educational value. This is best achieved when parents plan an active part in helping their child learn to read. This can be done by hearing them read frequently and also reading stories to them, whatever their age. Children will be taught to read through this session, rather than individual ‘hearing children read’.

Please encourage your child to take their book home, hear them read and return it to school as directed by the teacher.

Book bags are for sale at the school office.

What can you do to help your child?

Sharing a book with your child should be an enjoyable experience so make sure that you:

• are both comfortable
• are sitting so that you can both see the pages of the book
• are undisturbed
• choose a book with good clear print and attractive pictures
• give permission for your child to join our school library lending service for non-fiction books.
• Make use of the school and public library.

When children are sharing a book with parents they are picking up the process of reading, learning, and understanding. Paired reading – that is both of you reading a familiar story – will encourage your child to join in with the story. Let your child tell the story from the pictures. Always discuss the pictures in the book, ask your child to tell you about the pictures. If you show how much enjoyment can be gained from reading, it will be good training for your child. Parents are welcome to come into the school to help with reading. Please ask your child’s teacher.