Reading Environment
Reading Environments at Holden Clough
We have worked tirelessly to ensure our children have calming and engaging reading areas/displays in an attempt to promote a love of reading and thus develop a positive reading culture amongst our students. We have sourced hundreds of books for both Key Stage 1 and 2 libraries through various funding streams such as our 'Amazon Wish-list' for example, ensuring we have a broad and balanced range of different and diverse authors, text types, and genres. Take a look at these environments below!
Outdoor Reading Areas
We have outdoor reading areas for both KS1 and KS2. These were recently renovated by Parent volunteers and now provide a calm, comfortbale and above all dry, space for children to indulge in a book. Books in the areas are rotated at half-termly intervals and each area has a set of devoted pupil monitors who are responsible for the up-keep of the areas.
School Entrance Hall
The focal point is our 'One Stop Non-Stop Book Shop'. Opposite this, we also have a tweet from Manchester United footballer, Marcus Rashford, promoting his own love of reading - someone who our children can really relate to! We posted pictures of this area and Rashford himself re-tweeted with comments which can be seen below. This area is completed by our 'History through Books' display. This documents a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry books that are linked to various points throughout time. The corresponding books can be found on a bookcase by our book vending machine for children and staff to peruse. The timeline itself also helps children develop a better chronological context when it comes to History.
Key Stage 1 Library
This library is located downstairs just outside the Year 1 classrooms. It provides a great space whereby children can read a selection of different books. As you can see, 'The Little People Big Dreams' collection is a massive hit at Holden Clough. We also have focus authors in this particular library space - as seen in the photos below.
Key Stage 2 Staircase
These book spines can be found on the staircase leading upto the Year 4, 5 and 6 classrooms. Can you spot how many titles you have read? (Make sure you pay attention whilst on the stairs however!)
Key Stage 2 Library
This library space can be found upstairs on the main corridor between the Year 4 & 5 classrooms. We're very fortunate to have such a big space, (it can quite easily accomodate a whole class) and the library has its own monitors dedicated to maintaining the space. Again we have a diverse range of authors and text types, and we celebrate reccomendations through our 'Bookflix' display. This isn't to mention our wonderful storytelling chair that can been seen in the photos below!
Reading Displays
In terms of reading displays, we have 'Running Reading Records' outside of each class so children and staff can gage which books they have read. These are divided into the following categories: picture books, fiction, non-fiction and poetry. We also have class novel walls withing classrooms as demonstrated in the images - the idea being that children add to these in the process of reading. See 'The Haunting of Aveline Jones' & 'The Great Chocoplot' for examples. We also have class reads dislayed on classroom doors whereby children write reviews of the book, and then higher up the school, as you can see in the photos, we encourage children to make links between different books/genres they have read.