English - Reading

At Broadmayne First School, reading sits at the heart of our curriculum. Our approach is whole‑class reading, meaning every child learns through shared texts, shared thinking, and shared discussion. This ensures that all pupils—regardless of starting point—access rich language, ambitious vocabulary, and high‑quality stories every day.

Whole‑class reading follows a simple, powerful structure:

• Teacher Reading — the adult models fluency, expression, and comprehension strategies.

• We Do Reading — the class reads, thinks, and discusses together.

• You Do Reading — children apply the skill independently, building confidence and mastery.

This consistent structure helps every child develop the skills they need to become confident, fluent, and joyful readers.

Meet Our Reading Squad!

Our Reading Squad characters help children understand how readers think. Each character represents a key reading skill, making learning memorable, visual, and child‑friendly.

Wally the Word Wizard

Wally helps children decode and blend sounds, recognise tricky words, and build fluency.

Penny the Predictor

Penny teaches children to use clues—pictures, words, actions—to guess what might happen next.

Vera the Vocabulary Vulture

Vera helps children explore new words, spot interesting vocabulary, and use ambitious language in talk and writing.

Sally Sequencer

Sally supports children in retelling stories in order and understanding how events link together.

Riley the Retriever

Riley helps children find information directly from the text.

Indigo the Inference Inspector

Indigo teaches children to read between the lines—spotting clues about feelings, motives, and hidden meanings.

Eddie the Expressive Elephant

Eddie helps children read aloud with expression, fluency, and confidence.

How Whole‑Class Reading Works in Practice

I do (Teacher Reading) Reading

The teacher models expert reading—pace, tone, expression, and comprehension thinking. Children hear what great reading sounds like.

We Do 

The class reads together. They discuss vocabulary, make predictions, sequence events, retrieve facts, and explore characters’ feelings using the Reading Squad.

You Do

Children apply the skill independently through short tasks, partner reading, or written responses. This builds confidence, independence, and mastery.

Why Our Approach Works

• Every child accesses high‑quality texts.

• Vocabulary is taught explicitly and revisited often.

• Children learn to think like readers, not just sound out words.

• The Reading Squad gives a shared language for reading skills across the school.

• Teacher modelling ensures all children experience fluent, expressive reading daily.