Language is a life skill. It is through language that we explore, organise and make sense of our own experiences. Through language we are able to develop skills essential in the adult world. The learning of language and its uses is a process that goes on for the whole of our lives.
SPEAKING AND LISTENING
Our aim is to provide experiences that will enable the children to:
- Ask and respond to questions with increased confidence
- Develop their interactive skills and the ability to contribute from their own experiences
- Develop the skill to be able to listen to others
- Express opinions, describe events, present information, debate issues and to construct an argument
- Develop their self-esteem
READING
We aim to:
- Foster an enjoyment of reading
- Give the children the necessary skills and knowledge to enable them to read
- Give the children confidence to work with a variety of media
- Develop the child’s self-esteem
- Develop close links with parents providing a partnership between home and school to support the child
WRITING
We aim to:
- Generate enthusiasm and interest in writing
- Enable the children to write in a variety of styles
- Enable the children to write for a range of audiences and purposes
- Provide opportunities for learning through writing
- Make the children aware of the conventions of writing – including grammar, punctuation and spelling
- Develop self-esteem
We follow a Mastery approach to English through the programme ‘Pathways to Write.’ Units of work are delivered using a series of high-quality, engaging picture books and novels (please see the overview above). These books form a basis for our children to learn about writing in a variety of genres and give them a sense of genuine purpose for their writing. Skills are built-up through repetition within the units and applied in diverse writing activities. Many opportunities for widening children’s vocabulary are provided through the Pathways to Write approach and this builds on the extensive work we do in school to expose our children to rich and varied language.
You will find the end of year expectations for writing, reading and spoken language for each of our year groups in the below documents. For further detail on the skills that your children are learning on a termly basis, please contact your class teacher.
Shared/Guided Writing
Throughout Key Stage 1 and 2, Shared Writing and Guided Writing take place.
Modelled Writing
Modelled Writing provides opportunities to demonstrate to children that the teacher is working with them.
Modelled Writing gives children the chance to:
- See the process through which writers work
- See that writing is an interactive process
- Be reassured that writers’ make mistakes
- Become aware of the process of editing
- Develop confidence in using the process themselves
Independent Writing
Independent writing is always encouraged throughout the school.Children write independently every week.
Grammar and punctuation
This is developed throughout the school. Teachers though should also be guided by the needs of the children and the skills needed to foster an improvement in the children’s language. The teacher will decide whether Guided Groups or the whole class can benefit from the introduction of a new convention.
Spellings
Encourage the children to have-a-go.
How?
‘Have a go’ books/paper to try out spellings.
Guess spellings – child puts down how they think the word is spelt and underlines it to check it later.
Spelling lines – child puts down beginning/end letters eg. bread ~ br___/br__d.
Burst writing – child has to write as much as possible in a short period of time without worrying about spelling and punctuation.
Revise – redraft if appropriate
Who with?
- Teacher
- In pairs
- With response partner
- In groups
- Whole class
Proof read
- Check spelling and punctuation, layout and presentation
Function and Forms
- Recording
- Stories
- Reporting
- Poems
- Narrating
- Playscripts
- Describing
- Reports
- Expressing feelings
- Recipes
- Informing
- Letters
- Explaining
- Posters
- Persuading
- Pamphlets
- Classifying
- Newspapers
- Speculating
- Diaries
- Instructing
- Notes
All of these writing forms are included from Reception to Year 6.They are taught in line with the Primary National Curriculum 2014.
A variety of resources and teaching styles are used to ensure full coverage of all the range of Non-Narrative Writing.
Narrative Writing
Foundation Stage/Key Stage 1
- This is taught in conjunction with a variety of publications, including Primary National Curriculum 2014, Read, Write, Inc.
Key Stage 2
- This is taught in conjunction with a variety of publications, including Primary National Curriculum 2014, Read, Write, Inc.
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Writing – Here are some important things to know that will help to improve writing:
Alliteration – The term used to describe a set of words that all begin with the same sound. Eg, Beautiful Buzzing Bee
Fiction – Fiction is an imaginative text that is made up by the writer. Eg, story, poem, novel
Non-Fiction – Non-Fiction is a text that is factual. Eg, dictionary, encyclopaedia
Glossary – A glossary is a list of words and their definitions, often found at the back of a Non-Fiction book
Dictionary – A dictionary is a book in which words are listed in alphabetical order and their meanings are explained.
Paragraph – A paragraph is a section within a piece of writing. Each paragraph begins on a new line. It shows a new piece of information or idea.
Sentence – A sentence is a group of words that make sense when read together. A sentence must begin with a capital letter, contain at least one verb and end with a full stop.
Noun – A noun is the word used to identify a person, place, object or idea. Common nouns refer to any of the above, whereas proper nouns refer to any particular person, place or idea. Eg, Common Noun = glass, pen, girl / Proper Noun = Paul, Knowsley
Pronoun – A pronoun is a word used in the place of one or more nouns. Eg, It was almost noon when he was able to ask his friend if he had seen him.
Adjective – An adjective changes a noun or a pronoun. It describes the colour, shape, size, what kind and how many.
Verb – A verb is a word that expresses action or a state of being. The tense of the verb shows the time of the action or state.
Adverb – An adverb is used to modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb. It expresses where, when and how much.
Preposition – A preposition shows the relationship between an noun or pronoun and the rest of the sentence, making the meaning clearer. Eg, The car pulled up alongside the truck.
Connectives – A connective joins words or groups of words.
Time connective – A time connective joins two short sentences and gives a time frame.
Full stop ( . ) – Place a full stop at the end of a sentence that is not a direct question or exclamation.
Capital letter – Use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence, for someone or somethings name.
Comma ( , ) – Use a comma to show a natural pause ina sentence or to seperate three or more items in a list.
Exclamation mark ( ! ) – Use an exclamation markat the end of a sentence to show emotion such as anger, surprise or joy.
Colon ( ; ) – Use a colon before a list of items or an explanation or an example.
Quotation marks ( ” ” ) – Use quotation marks to show direct speech.
Apostrophes ( ‘ ) – Use apostrophes where letters have been omitted or to indicate possession.
Question mark ( ? ) – Use a question mark at the end of a sentence to show that you are asking a question.
We have created a guide for parents to help support the development of your child’s literacy skills. Our glossary of Literacy Terms can be accessed via the link below:
Useful websites:
World Book Day and Displays
