‘A reading for pleasure school? It’s just… who we are.’
The social, emotional and cognitive benefits of reading for pleasure are unquestionable and a love of books permeates through all that we do at Longvernal.
As such an influencing factor, how do we ensure that books become life?
Reading Spaces
Each class has a cosy Book Nook for children to snuggle down and share books. Our Reading Snug is opened every lunchtime and Reading Leaders helps children choose books and encourage ‘book talk’.
Library Visits
Every year group visits the library each short term. The class teacher has a class library card, allowing the children to borrow books, which can be returned at a later date. This gives the children access to thousands of books as well as encourages a new generation of library users.
Our teachers and support staff love reading children’s literature too and will often get caught reading by the children. All of our staff are encouraged to read books on prize-winning awards lists.
Special Books
Teachers have their own special book that children can borrow if they promise to respect and take care of them.
Each Class is given a must read list of books and the children are encouraged to read as many as they can with a prize for the class that manages the most.
Everyday, story time takes a special place in the children’s day. At the end of the year when children reflect back on their time, the most memorable books often pop up.
Each week during celebration assembly, the Reader of the Week ascends the golden ladder to choose a book from the Golden Bookcase - a high esteemed prize by all
Longvernal's Literature Spine
Our Longvernal Literature Spine has been developed so that pupils gain a rich literary canon and help them access the best of what has been written for children throughout their primary school years.
Click here to see the Literature Spine and to find out more.
Click links below to find 100 recommended reads for each year group:
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Longvernal Loves Reading – World Book Day Celebrations
Longvernal Loves Reading – never a truer phrase than during celebrations that span the week: authors, illustrators, books and most importantly a love of reading take a central focus for the children’s learning. The pupils dressed up as characters from their favourite books, crafted brilliant bookmarks, and created illustrations in the style of artists they had studied and penned brilliant book reviews. The children also took part in an extreme reading competition, where they were ‘caught’ reading in bizarre places. A highlight of the week came from the Natural Theatre Company’s fun-filled drama workshops. Cindy James, English Lead, said: “We really are a Reading for Pleasure School and this week is a culmination of what we do on a daily basis.”
Longvernal Loves Reading: a sentence that is often uttered within the community of Longvernal, couldn’t be truer this Autumn! With the highest uptake of the Summer Reading Challenge in all the schools in Midsomer Norton, Longvernal School is certainly proud to show off its avid readers.
As a Reading for Pleasure School, the written word is valued highly. “I’m not surprised,” commented the Literacy Coordinator, Cindy James. “The cognitive, social and emotional benefits are so well documented, at Longvernal we ensure reading permeates all that we do.”
Year 4 pupil William also won the ‘Wild World Hero’ Art competition.
A huge well done to all who took part and the library services for providing such a valuable resources.