Ready to Read series

The Ready to Read series supports early literacy learning for children in years 1–3. The series includes Ready to Read Phonics Plus books and Ready to Read Colour Wheel books.

Please note: Over the coming months we are making changes to guidance and resources on Literacy Online to ensure that the additional focus on decoding is reflected in our supports for teachers.

Throughout this process you may find content has been changed or has been moved. Please let us know by emailing [email protected] if you cannot find something you are looking for and keep an eye on the newsreel for links to newly updated content. We welcome any feedback that will help us make it easier for you to navigate the changes.

Connecting Phonics Plus to the Colour Wheel

This video provides an overview of the Ready to Read journey. It describes how the Ready to Read Phonics Plus books link in with the Ready to Read Colour Wheel books.

Learners build their word recognition fluency as they use the Phonics Plus books. When they move to the Colour Wheel books, they use their word recognition skills, and the emphasis shifts to developing language comprehension. Together, word recognition and language comprehension underpin children becoming skilled readers.

This poster shows the Ready to Read journey. It describes how the Ready to Read Phonics Plus books link in with the Ready to Read Colour Wheel books.

Posters will be sent to schools in term 2, 2021. Teachers can order additional copies from Down the Back of the Chair.

Pathway to Reading Poster (PDF 876KB)

Instructional reading – RTR Phonics Plus tree

Ready to Read Phonics Plus

The Ready to Read Phonics Plus books support instructional reading and focus on explicit teaching of word recognition knowledge and skills. Children learn to "crack the code" while also building their language comprehension knowledge and skills.

Children start their learning journey based on what they know and what they need to learn next. See Ready to Read Phonics Plus: Assessment.

Ready to Read Colour Wheel

The Ready to Read Colour Wheel books support guided reading for children. They can be introduced when children are reading at the end of phase 3 books, onwards.

The Colour Wheel books are designed to help children use a combination of language comprehension strategies and word recognition skills to make meaning and think critically.

Approaches to reading

The table below describes the range of reading approaches children should experience as they learn to read.

The instructional reading approach describes a focus on building word recognition fluency, and is supported by the Phonics Plus books.

Once children can decode new words independently, they are ready for guided reading using the Colour Wheel books. Children will continue to reinforce their word recognition skills with an increasing emphasis on building comprehension strategies as they respond to text and think critically.

The Ready to Read Phonic Plus books and the Ready to Read Colour Wheel books are designed to support different purposes as children learn to read. They support the four key approaches to teaching reading so that children develop the knowledge and skills they need as they learn to read.

The approach	The text	The teacher	The learner
Instructional reading	is selected to match the learners’ current knowledge of letter-sound patterns and what they will learn next in the scope and sequence	uses knowledge of their learners (from diagnostic assessment data and ongoing monitoring) and knowledge of literacy learning to group learners by their next learning needs provides explicit instruction in the target letter-sounds identified from the scope and sequence and new high-utility words with reinforcement of previously learnt patterns and words helps learners develop independence in using letter-sound patterns to decode unfamiliar words as the basis of a reading processing system	draws on their increasing body of known letter-sound patterns to sound out and blend new words, leading to increasing independence and fluency rereads the text with increasing independence and fluency engages in conversation and thinks critically about what they have read
Guided reading	once learners can independently attempt new words by decoding, they will be ready to engage with texts independently. Texts are at a level of difficulty where learners, after careful introduction, are likely to make no more than one error in every 10 words on the first reading	uses knowledge of their learners (from assessment data and ongoing monitoring) and knowledge of literacy learning to group learners scaffolds learners to read the text themselves helps learners to refine their reading processing system so they can apply it when they read independently	draws on their literacy and world knowledge, along with sources of information in the text, to read the text for themselves engages in conversation and thinks critically about what they have read rereads the text several times with increasing independence and fluency
Reading to students	is drawn from a wide range of texts too difficult for students to read by themselves	promotes and fosters a love of books and reading supports learners to extend their oral vocabulary and knowledge of book language and text forms engages learners in conversations about texts	actively listens to create meaning by making connections between what they know already and what they hear engages in conversation and thinks critically about the text
Shared reading	using texts which are initially too difficult for learners to read by themselves	models how an expert reader negotiates and makes sense of the text using decoding strategies, comprehension knowledge and skills and critical thinking. creates opportunities to draw learners into the reading, pausing from time to time to involve learners in conversations about the text during subsequent readings, focuses on the specific learning needs of the learners rereads the text, often for different purposes, including for phoneme awareness activities	behaves like a reader – actively listening and reading along once they are familiar with the text engages in conversation and thinks critically about the text interacts with shared reading book independently