Reading
DEAR
Drop Everything And Read
“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” - Malorie Blackman
Our DEAR Pillars:
Oasis South Bank students are given regular opportunities before the start of the day to Drop Everything And Read with their house group to both build reading fluency and awareness of a range of texts and stories. The success of DEAR is dependent on all staff functioning together to implement our core beliefs as we understand literacy underpins every aspect of education. We believe our DEAR pillars provide transferable skills which not only lay the foundation for success in all subjects but also help build the joy of reading across the school.
In DEAR we encourage pupils to read expressively with a focus on our three pillars:
These principles are about modelling reading expertly to expose students to high-quality spoken language and make the reading pleasurable for everyone:
Cold Call
We firmly believe that Cold Calling helps to develop pupils’ confidence and competence in both spoken language and listening skills. Pupils are provided with opportunities to explain their understanding of the book and build on what they already know.
Vocabulary Precision
We are united in our approach to expose students to a wide range of texts in our DEAR canon and break down complex words through structured verbal rehearsal. All pupils read a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction DEAR texts which are carefully chosen to link to our school Stair Values to increase pupils’ vocabulary, knowledge, and joy for reading.
Think Aloud
We recognise that it is important to speak our thoughts aloud to seize every learning opportunity and ensure our students become fluent and joyful readers. Our House Coaches pause at key moments to share and invite reflections.
What do our students say:
“DEAR at South Bank is enjoyable because the whole group reads together. We can do funny character voices and enjoy the story together. It makes me want to read more books.” Hiyab
“DEAR gives us a 30 minutes a day to read. I like it because it’s a relaxing start to the morning.” Jusra
“DEAR gives an opportunity to read which is especially great if you don’t have time after school that day. I like it because it allows me to explore characters and language that I might not have known before.” Aimee
For further information on literacy at OASB please email: Sarah.merzouki@oasissouthbank.org
Online Library
Wheelers Online Library
Access our eLibrary anywhere, anytime, on multiple devices
It's quick, simple and free to set up. Within minutes you'll be able to read or listen to your library titles at no additional cost.
Even if you're offline, the ePlatform app is the quickest and easiest way to borrow and read eBooks as well as listen to Audiobooks on your iPad, Galaxy, Windows tablet or other tablet/mobile device - without downloading any additional software.
Just log in with your school email address and password once and begin reading or listening; when you exit, your place is automatically bookmarked, and you can begin where you stopped with just one click.
To access this online library all you have to do is follow the link below and log in using your student email and password (exactly the same as you use to log-in to your emails):
http://oasisacademysouthbank.eplatform.co/
Step 1: Click on the link provided above and sign into Wheelers using your school log in detail on the top right corner.
Step 2: Search for your assigned book
Step 3: Click on the Borrow button and enjoy read!
If your assigned book is unavailable, click Reserve and you will be informed via email when it is back in stock. Alternatively, you should then find a suitable KS3 book from the recommended list below to read from the website in the meantime.
