Literacy & Reading
Reading
At Hodge Hill Girl’s School reading for pleasure is something we feel passionate about as the benefits are wide-ranging.
"Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better at reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background." (Pearson website).
Below are a range of activities we run to help develop our pupils love of reading:
Global Reading Challenge
We aim to change the change lives of our pupils by promoting books and a love of reading. To celebrate this, all Year 7-8 pupils have taken part in a Global Reading Challenge. Pupils have been given Reading Passports and for every 15-20 minutes of reading, they collect 500 air miles. Our pupils have read over 10 million words, that’s 33,000 air miles per child. In addition, we will be extending this initiative to all Year 9 pupils, next term.
Renaissance Reading
All pupils in Years 7-8 follow a personalised reading programme during their Library lessons. Pupils have one library lesson once every two weeks. Pupils take individualised reading quizzes based on the books they have read, each fortnight. The quizzes monitor comprehension and literacy skills. We aim to build a robust reading culture which fuels our pupils with reading resilience and growth.
Book Recommendations
All pupils are sent, via email weekly book recommendations in the form of an informative PowerPoints. Pupils are then encouraged to write book reviews which are then shared with the whole school.
World Book Day
To celebrate World Book Day pupils in Years 7-8 are given the opportunity to own two free books of their choice from 17 book titles. This initiative is to start some pupils on their way to building their own library at home. Targeted pupils in Year 9 and Year 10 are also given the opportunity to own their books. These book choices stem from a national reading initiative. We promote reading for pleasure with the help of Book Trust and Bookbuzz.
Tutor Group Reading Programme
To promote independent reading, pupils have been given the opportunity to read a wide range of texts that challenge and introduce them to new ideas and styles of writing. The aim is to build upon pupils’ enjoyment of reading and their confidence to read independently. We also aim to encourage pupils to read more challenging texts.
All pupils from Years 7-11 currently read a range of literature during Form time. Their tutors read aloud to them, model fluency and articulate complex ideas and vocabulary. In turn, pupils can offer their ideas and join in discussions.
Lexia
Target pupils are chosen to take part in the Lexia programme this is to help build their confidence and ability in reading. This programme will help pupils peruse their love of reading throughout life.
Theatre in Education
To support our pupils with reading, we promote and expose our pupils to theatrical cultural capital. Currently, we have three theatre groups visiting our school this year who will be performing: ‘Macbeth’, ‘An Inspector Calls’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.
