Reading

We believe that reading is one of the most important things that your child will learn at Hazel Wood. Reading is truly at the heart of everything we do at school and in the wider world, which is why we make sure that our children learn to read as quickly and as confidently as possible. We want our children to learn to read so that they can eventually read to learn; we aim to promote a lifelong love of reading.

Phonics:

 At Hazel Infant School, we use Ruth Miskin Read Write Inc to support your child with learning phonics. This means the children learn how to “read” the sounds that are within words and how these sounds can be written down. We teach the children how to segment (break up) and blend (put back together) sounds to read and write words, using a range of strategies.

Please see more information using the link below:

Parent guide to Read Write Inc. Phonics - Oxford Owl

We know how important it is to work in partnership with parents and carers to help children to develop their confidence with their reading. Reading together at home is one of the most important ways in which you can help your child. Sharing books together, you will help to develop your child’s reading skills and show them how enjoyable and important reading is.

Each week your child will bring home a phonics book matched to their phonics lessons, a home reading book that your child has chosen themselves and a library book. These books will be their reading books for the week, and you can help your child by reading together. Please support your child to re-read these books to ensure successful blending of sounds, recognition of “red words”, develop fluency and expression. In Year 2, once your child can read fluently and successfully blend, they will have a wide variety of books and will join ‘bug club’ where they will be able to choose a book to match their ability this book is instead of a phonics book.

We provide each child with a home reading record where you can write when you have read with your child.

To support reading at home we encourage the Year 1 children to complete ‘The 5 a week’ reading challenge which rewards your child for reading 5 times a week for 5-10 minutes. For each phonics book reading entry in the diary children receive a stamp. Collecting 50 stamps they will receive a small prize in an end of term assembly.

The Year 2 children have a reading marathon to complete which you will find at the back of their reading record. It encourages your child to read a range of different texts. At the end of the term, children who have completed the lap will win a prize in assembly. Year 2 children who do not wish to complete the reading marathon can also collect stamps which will be recognised with a certificate.

Re-reading texts at home can help to develop fluency, which is the ability to read accurately, smoothly, and with increasing confidence and expression. As children become fluent readers, they spend less time working out individual words and can concentrate more on understanding and enjoying what they are reading.

Guided Reading

As the children become more fluent within their reading, we focus on the child’s comprehension and understanding of the texts that they have read.  We do this through guided reading sessions and when reading aloud to the children. Throughout the week your child will have the opportunity to read with their teacher to support them to apply phonic knowledge and develop comprehension skills. We support and encourage our children to develop their comprehension by:

• Making connections between the text and our prior experiences, other texts and the wider world
• “Read between the lines” to gain a deeper understanding
• Consider how language is used effectively within texts
• Answer simple questions about the text
• Develop new vocabulary through reading

We strongly believe that by developing these strategies within our reading curriculum, our children not only become fluent but also a skilled and analytical reader.

The library at Hazel Wood Infant School

In our school library we have a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction texts to engage the children in reading.

Each class has a library session each week where the children can browse the books or sit and read, either on their own or with their friends, sharing stories or facts with each other. They will be able to take home one book home each week to share at home.

Writing

At Hazel Wood, we aim to inspire every child to become a confident, creative, resilient and enthusiastic writer. We believe that all children should develop a love of writing and understand its purpose as a powerful tool for communication, expression, and learning.

Through high-quality teaching, rich language experiences, and meaningful writing opportunities, we encourage children to:

• Develop strong early writing skills.
• Write with confidence, creativity, and independence.
• Use their imagination and personal experiences to communicate ideas.
• Build accurate spelling, punctuation, and handwriting skills.
• Take pride in their work and see themselves as successful writers.

We strive to create a nurturing environment where every child feels supported, challenged, and motivated to achieve their full potential as a writer.

In Year R we focus upon the development of gross and fine motor skills during “discovery time” activities throughout the curriculum. Mark making and experimenting with writing tools is encouraged in to ensure children can develop a secure and comfortable pencil grip. Letter formation is a key focus that runs alongside the children’s phonics lessons ensure they can read and write the sounds they are learning.

 

In Key Stage 1 writing is taught through an engaging and structured approach that develops children's transcription, composition, vocabulary, grammar, and handwriting skills. We provide purposeful writing opportunities linked to high-quality texts, real-life experiences, and the wider curriculum. Our teaching enables children to plan, draft, edit, and improve their work while developing confidence and enjoyment in the writing process.