School Life
Reading in Class
Reading in class at Bishop Ramsey School
The ability to read is a fundamental life skill. It is essential to us all if we are to participate fully in society and the workplace. Students with poor reading struggle to read independently, and so read less. As a result, they do not accumulate the background knowledge and vocabulary they need to improve their comprehension. It is therefore harder for them to access the curriculum in secondary school because the required levels of literacy rise rapidly beyond primary school. ‘Now the whole school is reading’: Supporting struggling readers in secondary school. OFSTED Oct 2022
We use a common approach to reading both during form time and within lessons. Our aim is to encourage students to become fluent readers and engage more with the material that they are presented with to support their comprehension and enable progress through the curriculum. The model that we are using at Bishop Ramsey is known as ‘PQRST’. This approach, as outlined below, encourages students to think about what they are about to read as well as summarise what they have read to ensure comprehension. It is followed by a short test to establish that the key learning points are retained, enabling them to move onto the next stage of their learning. Staff will model reading, including the breaking down of key vocabulary and asking questions as they read, followed by whole class reading out loud, paired reading and eventually individual reading. Our aim is to create independent and confident readers.
The PQRST Strategy
The link below explains the process
