Bishop Milner Catholic College. Literacy Policy

Transcription

1 Bishop Milner Catholic College Literacy Policy Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise DEUTERONOMY 6:6-9 Reviewed June 2016 Approved by Representatives ; June 2016 Review Date: June

2 Aims of the Policy We believe that developing effective literacy skills is fundamental to the successful education of all of our learners. We believe that equipping our learners with the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening is the responsibility of all teachers. The principles and strategies outlined below have been agreed through consultation with all staff and represent our best existing practice in this school and the practice we are aiming for within departments. It is intended that this policy document will both reflect and inform departmental development plans and schemes of work in which literacy objective(s) will accompany the learning objective(s). This literacy policy is based upon a respect for and courtesy towards, the language and culture of individuals, and a respect for dialects and other languages. All curriculum areas: Will support learners developing ability to speak with confidence and clarity for a wide range of audiences and purposes and to promote their development as critical and responsive listeners. Will support the development of reading competence and confidence. Will provide the widest variety of opportunities for learners and support them in developing confidence, fluency and accuracy in their writing. Definition of Literacy: Quite simply, literacy is the ability to read and write. At Bishop Milner Catholic College, we aim to ensure that all students have a confidence with gaining meaning from the written text and assured capability with being able to produce accurate written texts themselves. The key to all literacy is reading development; a progression of skills that begins with the ability to understand spoken words and culminates in a deep understanding of text. Once these skills are acquired, the reader can attain full language literacy whereby they can approach texts with critical analysis, inference and synthesis; to write with accuracy and coherence and to use information and insights from text as the basis for informed decisions and creative thought. 2

3 Everyday uses of Literacy: being able to speak and communicate with each other in a fluent and coherent way being able to read a range of reading material and offer opinions and viewpoints being able to produce a range of written texts for a variety of purposes and audiences being able to critically analyse written texts adhering to Standard English and the accepted codes and conventions of grammar We must develop the literacy skills of all of our students through consistent and accurate application across the curriculum. Literacy is the most fundamental skill for life and we have a responsibility to ensure that all students experience literacy teaching in each subject and by each staff member; adhering to a consistent approach linked to raising the achievement of all our students. We must: 1. Continue to raise the profile of whole school literacy within college 2. Model our own good practice and explicit teaching of literacy 3. Make literacy an explicit part of every curriculum area and schemes of work 4. Plan and deliver effective, dedicated literacy lessons across Key Stages, allowing students time for self-assessment and reflection to improve their own work 5. Lead by example in everything we say and do with our students 6. Create a positive and attractive teaching and learning space which celebrates literacy 7. Respond to the demands of the 2015 curriculum changes to reflect the new success criteria where SPAG is now an integral part of the mark scheme/grade descriptor Departmental responsibility: All staff must assist students with acquiring proficient literacy skills. The result should be literate students who are able to speak, read and write with high levels of accuracy and confidence. Students will thrive in an atmosphere where high levels of literacy skill are demonstrated, encouraged and celebrated. 3

4 Each department will: Recognise and respect the fact that not all students will have the same literacy skills and must use available data to establish starting points in order to maximise individual potential. Reading ages will need to be examined closely and ensure these are on seating plans. use Blooms language in order to expose students to skills ensure subject specific vocabulary is identified, explained and displayed where possible encourage students to read around topics in order to facilitate independent learning Provide departmental reading lists across all key stages to support and facilitate wider reading (Jan 2016 onwards) support the English department in its drive to promote reading by encouraging students to be reading a book in their spare time and during tutor time recognise that there is never only one correct response and that students need to be encouraged to discuss and explain their thoughts and opinions lead by example by discussing the importance of reading and sharing views on books and writers with students ensure that specific literacy skills are addressed in lessons: use of dictionaries, thesauri, re-drafting, purpose and audience identified, modelling of written work to students, provision of writing frames, use of drafting techniques provide differentiated quality reading material depending on the capabilities of individual students Utilise information from ART data to ensure all texts used are accessible for all. Literacy across the Curriculum: The development of literacy skills does not fall solely with the English department. All teachers and support staff must use relevant data and assessment to inform planning for the provision of literacy skills. There should be opportunities in every lesson for students to use and apply literacy skills in a range of contexts; students must see the importance and relevance of good literacy skills. College must adopt a cohesive approach in our pursuit of outstanding teaching and learning and literacy needs to be at the heart of this approach. 4

5 What subjects have in common: Language for learning Blooms/BLP Whole College marking use of AFL language to maximise potential and make progress Forms of writing: Inform, Explain, Describe, Argue, Persuade, Advise all subjects require that students are able to access these skills We are the qualified professionals and so we should be modelling high levels of accuracy with spelling and punctuation commonly misspelt words need to be revised and revisited and we should model the use of varied punctuation including colon, semicolon, ellipses, apostrophe etc. Students workbooks should evidence the teacher s understanding of the importance of technical accuracy and fluency, marking not just content but SPaG too. Subject areas: Maths/Science/Business: These departments must ensure explicit teaching and consolidation of key words and subject specific terminology alongside ensuring accurate spelling of complex terminology. Articulate communication of processes and methodology must be offered with explanations made coherent and logical. Theories and concepts must be broken down so that students can read and interpret material effectively. Written responses need to be proof read and larger written responses need to have specific literacy time built in to ensure high levels of accuracy in written expression. Arts: These departments must ensure vocabulary development is explicit in order to allow students to produce engaging performances using expression and intonation most effectively. Reading skills must be assessed in order to assist students with the reading of scripts, stage-directions and musical compositions. Written evaluations of performances require specific literacy teaching in order to ensure high levels of accuracy. Effective research skills must be clearly taught and students need to understand how to collect research. Using 5

6 vocabulary as a stimulus can be highly effective in order to encourage students to engage with feeling and emotions. Opportunities taken to engage crosscurricular links with the English department, for example Art in Poetry external competitions. Humanities: Reading skills are essential in these subjects for instance with map-reading in Geography and critical analysis of source material in History. Use of ART data will be important in establishing starting points and moving forward. Explicit teaching of Purpose, Audience, Form (PAF) will be needed in order for students to understand the historical documents to allow them to formulate their opinions. Extended writing tasks will require explicit teaching/consolidation of literacy skills. Health & Social/Child Care/Law: Clarity with reading case studies and confidence in evaluating and analysing details is prevalent in the subject areas. Excellent communication skills will need explicit teaching so that students can liaise effectively with professionals within these fields such as nursery managers, hospital staff etc. Extensive written responses will require excellent modelling of exemplar writing from teachers. PE/DT: Clear communication of instructions is essential in the safe provision of such practical subjects. Writing frames can be utilised for modelling written responses in particular with significantly differentiated groups. RE/Social Science: Analysis of texts in crucial in allowing students to formulate views and opinions. Skills of argue and persuade need to be developed when discussing issues of morality in particular and encouraging students to engage with discussions. Written work will require explicit teaching and consolidation of literacy skills. MFL: The understanding of the codes and conventions of another language can only be built on the solid foundations of good literacy skills. Verb/tense agreement must 6

7 link explicitly to English patterns and formulas. Reading ages must be taken into consideration by MFL teachers. The main Literacy strands Speaking and Listening Planning for a range of talk Activities for both these language modes should be integrated into reading, writing and practical tasks Learners should be offered opportunities to talk and listen in pairs, groups and in whole class discussions, for different audiences and for a range of purposes e.g. explaining, predicting, describing, sharing opinions, asking questions. Opportunities for Thinking Time to enhance the quality of Q&A should be common practice in all classrooms. Teacher Talk We communicate ideas through talk and we must ensure that our language is clearly understood and accessible to learners of all abilities, allowing them ample opportunities to make contributions. We should provide models and experiences to enable all learners to develop a confident usage of Standard English. We should establish opportunities for Talk for Learning. Managing pupil talk The benefits of planned and purposeful talk will greatly develop learners understanding and knowledge of ideas and concepts. The College T&L principle of 70:30 (student/teacher) should allow for plenty of opportunity for active talk Assessment of Pupil Progress in Speaking and Listening;- Learners need to be given clear objectives for the purpose of their talk. Assessment criteria should be shared with learners, ideally in a format that is clear and explicit. 7

8 Reading Development of reading skills We should use a variety of appropriate techniques to develop the reading skills of our learners; e.g. individual, paired/small group reading to encourage the skills of extracting key facts, skimming, scanning, inference and deduction. We should develop pupil understanding of vocabulary, sentence structure and the whole text. Opportunities for reading We should offer opportunities for all pupils to read (including regular extended reading) within lessons and to promote the enjoyment and practice of reading outside school. Reading should be purposeful. All KS3 learners are expected to have an age appropriate reading book with them at all times. Reading environment / raising the profile of reading We have a responsibility to promote a positive reading environment. This could be created through word walls showing key vocabulary, labels, interactive displays, classroom libraries and the teacher s own valuing of reading as a source of information and pleasure. Teachers should be discussing their own reading habits as well as those of their students. Resources We agree that all departments should regularly review and seek to provide reading material that is appropriate to all learners needs. We must provide a wide range of reading resources, e.g. fiction, nonfiction, multimedia texts, web pages within each subject area. We must provide resources that reflect a diversity of cultures, ethnicity and gender when possible. Assessment of Pupil Progress (APP) in reading 8

9 Each department has responsibility to use the Reading Ages provided to monitor and develop reading progress within its own subject area. Learners should be supported in their understanding of key words and phrases, the extraction of information and their critical response to texts. Writing Purpose and forms of writing All subject areas should provide learners with opportunities to write for a range of purposes. Learners should experience a wide range of writing styles in each subject area, where appropriate. Teachers should ensure that learners understand the purpose, audience and form of the writing to be presented. Writing processes Writing should be prepared for through talk and discussion. Opportunities for planning, drafting, proof reading, writing collaboratively, using information technology and writing at length should be provided. Writing frames should be provided for students and need to be appropriately differentiated Pre-prepared/live modelling to be employed by teachers in line with the colleges use of WAGOLL to offer stretch and challenge Use of exemplar material from exam boards and recalled scripts from previous BMCC students to be utilised to good effect Supporting the development of technical competence We agree that a consistency of approach is vital and that all staff should mark pupils written work in line with the Whole College Marking Policy. Dictionaries, thesaurus and spell checks should be available We should provide models of good writing and provide support during the writing process, making pupils aware of the use of Standard English for formal purposes. Teachers should model effective writing for pupils to inform their understanding of the processes involved. Assessment of Pupils Progress (APP) in Writing 9

10 Each department has a responsibility to ensure pupil progression in the written form most appropriate to the subject need. *Departments will also collaborate with key stakeholders if they have any concerns over the reading, writing and speaking needs of any student so we can work together to close gaps and raise standards of Literacy for all. Blooms Taxonomy and Language for Learning Enhancing and celebrating skills of Literacy across the whole college will also be linked to our common language for learning... REMEMBER-UNDERSTAND-APPLY-ANALYSE-EVALUATE-CREATE These words are used explicitly across the college as part of Learning Objectives and Outcomes. Furthermore, they should also be considered in the planning, delivering and feedback stages of learning creating opportunities to enhance the quality of the skills inherent to reading, writing and speaking and listening success. Celebration of literacy across the college including Book Buzz, the opportunity for all year 7 learners to be given a new reading book of their choice on entry; use of the celebration wall to promote literacy as well as excellence in subjects; the explicit celebration of World Book Day and dedicated week across the college to Reading Week. In conclusion, this policy will ensure that each learner at Bishop Milner Catholic College will be given the opportunities to be proactive and literate citizens of today and the future, able to make positive contributions to their community. 10