STAR READERS

We want to foster a culture of reading whereby our students enjoy reading and develop lifelong reading habits, not just in their academic pursuits, but in their lives outside of school. Through our Book Culture, we aim to inspire our students to empathise and understand the world we live in. The aim is to create a ‘world class reading culture.’  This means reading a range of age-appropriate materials, reading online and reading to peers. Through our STAR Read Aloud initiative, Subject readers, ReadingWise and the library, we aim to inspire our students to empathise and understand the world we live in.

Reading plays a crucial role in supporting pupils’ learning and development and their understanding of the subjects they are studying. As they prepare to sit the exams that will help to shape their futures, it is important for all of our pupils to continue to expand their vocabulary and improve their writing, language and comprehension skills. Reading a wide variety of books from an assortment of different authors will help our pupils to grow into powerful and knowledgeable communicators.

As well as being a gateway to learning and understanding, reading also helps young people to develop their social and cultural capital by giving them access to new ideas and experiences and encouraging them to empathise with people and characters from all walks of life. Authors use a wide variety of literary techniques to foster and sustain their readers’ interest, helping young people to discover characters that intrigue and inspire them, plots they can relate to, and genres that they love.

Our Star Readers initiative is designed to promote the joys and benefits of reading to all of our pupils, whilst simultaneously improving their writing, vocabulary and comprehension skills. Experienced staff have searched through the best of contemporary and classic young adult literature to provide a recommended reading list for each year group. The books have been selected to give pupils a window into other people’s worlds, promote discussion and build reading resilience.

From contemporary classics like Harry Potter, His Dark Materials and the Hunger Games Trilogy, to universal favourites like To Kill a Mockingbird, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the programme features acclaimed titles dating back to Aesop’s Fables and includes ground-breaking literature from the 19th to the 21st century. All of the books are aligned with our leadership specialism and have been selected with the age of students in mind, both in terms of their reading ability and the main themes explored.

The recommended reading lists for each year group are included in the Star Readers Secondary Edition booklet. All our pupils are provided with a copy of the booklet to take home and will be encouraged to participate in the Star Readers Challenge, which involves reading at least 10 books from the recommended reading list for their year group. We hope parents are also able to get involved with the initiative by encouraging their children to read as many of the books as possible.

Pupils are able to borrow all of the titles featured in the Star Readers Secondary Edition booklet directly from school and many, if not all, are likely to be available from local libraries.

To monitor pupils’ progress and development, all pupils will be given a reading record to track their own reading and participation in the Star Readers Challenge. All pupils who complete the Challenge by reading at least 10 books from the recommended reading list for their year group over the course of the academic year will be awarded a Star Readers certificate of achievement during the school’s annual Star Readers Awards Ceremony, which celebrates pupils’ commitment to reading.

A list of the titles featured in the Star Readers Secondary Edition can be downloaded below.

Leaders of Reading

 

Role Update/Modification/Planning/Timescale

 

 

 

Librarians

Librarians are appointed by the English department. The role of the librarian is to:

·       Maintain the order of books.

·       Assist pupils especially the Gold Readers in choosing books.

·       Manage the upkeep of loans and return.

·       Engage in conversations about the library and reading with other pupils.

·       Oversee the smooth running of the library.

 

 

 

 

Reading Buddies

Buddies are older children in the school who help to develop reading skills of younger pupils and less confident readers. Reading buddies:

·       Meet at least three times a week.

·       Read books together and practise reading out loud to promote fluency, correct pronunciation and intonation.

·       Discuss books the books that they are reading

·       Help develop a passion for reading with less confident readers.

 

 

 

 

 

Reading Monitors

Form Reading Representatives are appointed by Learning Co-ordinators

Reading monitors:

·       Keep a record of the books that are being read by the form.

·       Ensure boys are reading the books that they have borrowed by checking the understanding of the books.

·       Help develop a passion for reading across the form by acting as ambassadors for reading

 

Book Champions

Pupils are chosen or volunteer to ‘positively promote’ a book they have enjoyed reading.

These videos are presented to pupils during Form Notices every week. Pupils have the choice of a dressing up as a character from that book for the day.

 

 

 Reading in Subjects

 

In order equip our pupils to succeed academically, to enable them to think and read like experts, all subject areas across the curriculum promote reading by setting half-termly subject specific reading to promote and engender a passion for research outside of the learning that takes place in the classroom. Every subject includes challenging high- quality texts whereby pupils regularly learn new Tier 3 words; words that teachers know will help them to break social barriers. Reading in subjects improves reading ages, fluency and knowledge of the world.  In order equip our pupils to succeed academically, to support them with mental health, to equip them with a job with a high income, for them to understand political processes and to have the power to self-advocate, reading plays a fundamental part in each subject. To detail a few examples, pupils read  to enhance their understanding of historical, social and political context to support them in English and History. They learn about famous sports people and sportsmanship to inspire them and the history of manmade borders to support them in Geography.

All Stars Succeed

Support on a micro-level for struggling readers and SEND low ability pupils is paramount.. These pupils will have to navigate the same written language, unlock the same alphabetic code, learn the same skills, and remember the same body of knowledge as their peers and our staff are equally ambitious about ensuring they are able to read and develop a love of reading through exposure to a variety of different texts. Therefore, Reading Buddies, reading of the Classics and Books and Cookies Club are all a means of encouraging SEND pupils who have a low reading age.

Implementation

Reading Road map