Reading

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.” Kofi Anan

 

What is the intent of our reading curriculum?

 At St Osmund’s CE Middle School, the intent of our reading curriculum is to develop fluent readers with rich vocabularies who fully comprehend a variety of texts whilst at the same time instilling a life-long thirst for reading.

The school Christian values of respect, hope, community and love are embodied through our English curriculum in the themes of the carefully chosen texts we use as class novels, within whole class guided reading extracts and within English writing stimuli. These form the basis for discussion of our values.

Texts are deliberately chosen to provide pupils with knowledge and experience of a range of cultures and ways of life. Visual literacy resources and writing stimuli celebrate the diverse make-up of the UK and the world, teaching pupils empathy and compassion. These are reviewed regularly (at least annually) in order to assess their suitability and ensure the pupils receive a rich diet of culture and world views.

 
We nurture a love of reading on an ongoing basis through our curriculum. However, special events are part of our offer to engage pupils with reading. See below for pictures from our most recent World Book Day celebrations which included: pupils dressing up as characters from books we have shared in school, staff dressing up as ambitious vocabulary choices and a book sale with proceeds going to book-based charities.
 
Are you looking for some reading inspiration? Take a look at these extracts from a variety of texts below. Also, check out the Author of the Week website link below for further ideas...