
Reading
FOCUS Reading at TALA
Overview
The FOCUS Reading (FOCUS) curriculum at TALA is designed to ensure that all students in the school are supported with the process of reading non-fiction texts to build their knowledge about the wider world in which we live.
Texts are chosen based on current global issues and needs of the students and in previous terms have looked at TALA values, travel and inspirational people. Each extract is designed to help students develop skills to tackle non-fiction texts, something they are exposed to across all subjects. This has been embedded with a four step approach:
- Identify key points and summarise in their own words
- Highlight key concepts, words and phrases
- Write engaging questions to support further independent study
- Write a detailed summary
Implementation
FOCUS is delivered to students during tutor time with every student across the school reading the same articles. This helps to build a sense of cohesion around reading at TALA and reminds students that they are not limited due to their reading ability or age.
Teachers, once again, are experts on their knowledge of students and their reading abilities, and deploy reading strategies that best support every individual in the classroom. This could be through expert model reading from the teacher, individuals reading out loud or paired reading. Teachers model to students through their use of the visualiser on how to annotate texts.
All students will use a ruler to follow along with the reading. This is a non-negotiable. This is because:
- Best practice nationally suggests that ruler reading leads to students being able to read more efficiently- even if they don’t have an identified need.
- Students who do require a ruler to read are not singled out or treated differently
- This is a clear visible sign for teachers as to whether the student is actively engaged in the reading, or is pretending to be.
Ultimately FOCUS is designed to help students breakdown the barriers that are faced when approaching a non-fiction text. Theses texts help to build connections between students’ opinions, knowledge and curriculum to engage in relevant conversations.