Little Wandle Fluency
We are committed to ensuring every child develops the secure phonics knowledge they need to start reading. However, becoming a successful, lifelong reader requires much more than just sounding out words—it requires reading fluency.
Reading fluency is the bridge that connects word recognition (phonics) to understanding (comprehension). It involves reading a text accurately, at an appropriate speed, and with expression.
What is the Little Wandle Fluency Programme?
The Little Wandle Fluency programme is designed to take children who are secure in their phonics skills (typically those who have completed a Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme) and guide them to become truly fluent, motivated readers.
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Vibrant and Diverse Books: The programme uses engaging chapter books (fiction and non-fiction) created by contemporary authors. The books are carefully organized into Fluency levels, meaning the complexity of the language and ideas gradually increases as your child progresses through the program (Years 2, 3, and beyond).
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Focus on Prosody (Reading with Expression): A key element is teaching prosody—reading with appropriate rhythm, stress, and intonation. This is crucial because reading with expression helps children access the meaning of the text at a deeper level and bring the words alive in their minds.
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The Power of Repeated Reading: Research shows that reading a text multiple times builds accuracy and speed. Our lessons include practical activities like echo reading and rehearsed reading to make these gains "stick" as children move onto new texts.
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Building Deep Comprehension: We focus on genuine understanding, not just answering recall questions. Our lessons promote comprehension through:
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Vocabulary support.
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"Dialogic Talk": Collaborative, open-ended discussions where children and the teacher think together and build on each other's ideas about the book.
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Teaching prosody to highlight the text's meaning.
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This programme is for children who have successfully completed the core phonics programme (Little Wandle or another equivalent). It is NOT for children who still require phonics instruction. We use initial assessments to ensure children are reading at the right level of speed and accuracy to benefit from this dedicated fluency work and continue assessing throughout the year to ensure that they are reading books matched to their reading ability.
We are excited for our students to embark on this journey and unlock all aspects of confident, fluent reading!