ABSTRACT
There is much debate concerning the different literacy practices that children encounter at home and in school. This chapter aims to investigate some of the issues around reading in the transition between Key Stage 2 (KS2) and Key Stage 3 (KS3). It will consider the range of literacy practices, literature and other texts and discourses that children may encounter at this age, and the relationship between children’s choices in their reading and engagement with texts, alongside expectations of them as readers at home and in school. This discussion will be embedded in a brief overview of the changes in teaching reading in these two Key Stages in recent times, as well as some consideration as to what the future may hold. We will also consider how and whether teachers can work beyond those texts normally prescribed by the curriculum, particularly in KS3, and how a teacher can make informed choices about broadening children’s reading experiences within the context of curriculum demands. We ask questions such as: What are the differences between the two Key Stages and what impact might they have on children as readers? Are the children inspired or disillusioned? The aim throughout this chapter is to investigate how young readers can have, and maintain, interest in such an important area of learning as they move from one Key Stage to the next.
