Literacy
Subject Leader Mrs J Harrison
The aims of English are to enable all pupils to fully develop their ability to use and understand English and equip them with the necessary language skills to cope, with confidence and understanding, in all aspects of life. The four basic skills are speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Speaking and Listening – activities are carefully planned to stimulate talk and where children can give opinions, ask questions and make suggestions.
Reading – Learning situations are provided where reading for meaning has priority and children are taught to appreciate that reading is an aid to communication. A range of methods, including phonics, is used to build around our structured reading programme. Children are encouraged to read regularly both at school and at home.
Writing – Grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting are taught to enable pupils to express themselves accurately, creatively and factually in a variety of situations. Computers are used to support the children’s learning.
Spelling – We teach a variety of spelling methods – phonics: look, say, cover, write, check: looking for words within words: breaking words into syllables and investigation of prefixes, suffixes and root words. Our phonic programme is linked to the N.L.S. and Progression in Phonics and we use a range of resources in our daily spelling activities. At KS2, formal handwriting lessons are often linked to the spellings being covered each week.
Current Events
Dads and Lads Reading Projects – held twice a year. Dads and Lads in Reception and Dads and Bigger Lads in Y3 develop their PE skills together. Dads then act as role models by settling down to share a book together, encouraging the boys to read for pleasure.
Book Fairs – These are held in the Autumn and Spring terms and the profits are shared between the classes to enhance Book Corner reading materials. The Spring Book Fair coincides with World Book Day, and on this day children are invited to enter competitions based on book characters and authors.
