Literacy
It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas
and structuring them in speech, before writing)
The children share books with friends, experiment with mark making and play reading games. There are also lots of opportunities to mark-make on a large scale in the Nursery and Reception outdoor areas.
Reading in the EYFS curriculum
In our EYFS curriculum our reading curriculum goals are called 'Brilliant Bookworms'
Nursery milestones and goals for a 'Brilliant Bookworm'
Reception milestones and goals for a 'Brilliant Bookworm'
Phonics and Reading
At Clee Hill we teach the children the skills needed for reading and spelling by following the Little Wandle scheme. We believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Nursery/Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression up to year 1, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.
For more information on how you can support your child with their reading and phonics, please look through the link below:
http://chcacademy.co.uk/reading-and-phonics/early-reading-and-phonics
Core text are read to the children in both Nursery and Reception instilling a love of reading and exposing them to a range of text.
Nursery rhymes and songs
Nursery rhymes and songs are part of everyday practice at CHCA, both in the Nursery and Reception classes
In Nursery, we have a selection of different traditional and new rhymes and songs. We also enjoy children’s own choices and ‘made up’ songs and rhymes! We use our nursery rhyme spoons to help prompt children if needed. The link below plays each of these Nursery Rhymes if parents and carers are unsure and also includes lots of other fabulous rhymes to share.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-a-to-z-index/z4ddgwx
- Wind the bobbin up
- The wheels on the bus
- Humpty Dumpty
- Hickory dickory dock
- Row, row, row your boat
- Miss Polly had a dolly
- One, two, three, four, five, once I caught a fish alive
- Twinkle twinkle little star
- The Grand old duke of York
- Old MacDonald had a farm
- Incy wincy spider
- Baa baa black sheep
- I'm a little teapot
- Jack and Jill went up the hill
- Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet
Rhymes learnt in Reception
Here are some of the rhymes and songs which we learn in Reception. There is lots of research about the importance of repeating songs and rhymes to develop language skills. Have a look at the links for the rhymes and songs below and practice them at home with your child - it's lots of fun and they are learning at the same time!
- The Animal Fair The animal fair - BBC Teach
- The Animals went in Two by Two The animals went in two by two - BBC Teach
- 5 Little Ducks Five little ducks went swimming one day - BBC Teach
- 5 Little Men in a Flying Saucer Five little men in a flying saucer - BBC Teach
- 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed Five little monkeys jumping on the bed - BBC Teach
- Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes Heads, shoulders, knees and toes - BBC Teach
- 5 Little Speckled Frogs Five little speckled frogs - BBC Teach
- If You’re Happy and You Know It If you're happy and you know it - BBC Teach
- A Sailor went to Sea A sailor went to sea, sea, sea - BBC Teach
- Ten in a Bed Ten in the bed - BBC Teach
- 10 Green Bottles Ten green bottles - BBC Teach
Nursery Rhymes and Songs - A to Z - BBC Teach
Helicopter poems – In Reception, the children share a poem each week from the ‘Helicopter poem range’
Writing in the EYFS curriculum
In our EYFS curriculum our writing curriculum goals are called 'Ready to go WOW writers'
Nursery milestones and goals for a 'Ready to go WOW writer'
Reception milestones and goals for a 'Ready to go WOW writer'
Children are given a wide range of opportunities to experiment with their emergent writing and mark making. In the EYFS, children are introduced to the correct letter formation and given lots of support and encouragement to develop their fine motor skills. We follow the Kinetic Letter handwriting scheme. Please see the link below for more details: