Reading
Here at Ingatestone Infant School we appreciate the importance and joy of being able to read. In line with the new government reading framework our approach to reading has changed.
Phonics reading books are sent home weekly that are decodable and follow the sounds and digraphs being learnt by the children in class. We expect children to read this book multiple times during the week to build up their fluency and confidence.
The children are also able to choose a new shared book to take home to enjoy with a family member daily.
Once children are confident fluent readers, they are moved onto a coloured banded book appropriate to their reading level which can be changed daily.
Children are taught how to use a full range of strategies to enable them to read and understand a wide variety of different reading forms through whole class shared reading, group guided reading and individual reading.
Phonics - Letters and Sounds
The whole school currently use the Letters and Sounds programme. This is a phonics resource published by the Department for Education and Skills. It aims to build children's speaking and listening skills in their own right as well as to prepare children for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. It sets out a detailed and systematic programme for teaching phonic skills for children starting by the age of five, with the aim of them becoming fluent readers by age seven.
For more information about Letters and Sounds please click the word machine
Handwriting
At Ingatestone Infant School we have liaised with the Junior School and agreed upon a handwriting font which is introduced in the Foundation Stage Dolphins and is used by the children throughout the duration of their time here at the Infant School. Our focus is correct starting point, orientation and reasonable sizing. The order that we learn our letters is the same as Letters and Sounds.
We ensure that the children are supported to use the correct pencil grip as shown. Please click on the image to download our letter formation sheet.
