Stretford Grammar School Literacy Policy
Literacy Policy Date of Policy: September 2015 Date of Review: September 2016 Member of staff with overall responsibility: Miss E. Wood Governing Body Sub-Committee with reviewing responsibility: Curriculum Rationale The National Curriculum KS3 and 4 statutory requirements: Literacy is a statutory part of the National Curriculum. All teachers should demonstrate an understanding of and take responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy and the correct use of standard English, whatever the teacher s specialist subject. (Teachers Standards September 2012) Students should be taught in all subjects to express themselves correctly and appropriately and to read accurately and with understanding. Since standard English, spoken and written, is the predominant language in which knowledge and skills are taught and learnt, students should be taught to recognise and use standard English. Aims To enable students to develop effective communication skills in speaking and listening, reading and writing to prepare them for the next stage of their education, training or employment To emphasise that effective literacy underpins all successful teaching and learning To embed literacy across the curriculum using a range of resources and strategies To continue to raise levels of literacy and thus improve teaching and learning across the curriculum
To develop a shared understanding of the role of language in students learning and how work in different subjects can contribute to the development of students literacy Curriculum areas will: Display key words and terminology Use writing frames where appropriate Provide dictionaries/thesauruses where appropriate Develop strategies to support students in reading, writing and speaking and listening Teachers will: Plan and deliver activities that promote students reading, writing and speaking and listening skills Monitor students progress with literacy and provide them with verbal and written feedback which enables them to make progress with reading, writing and speaking in their subject area Address subject specific literacy through their marking and the assessment The school will: Identify EAL students and implement support strategies where necessary Identify students who have lower levels of literacy and provide appropriate support and intervention Provide opportunities for professional development on literacy issues, including EAL Monitor implementation of the literacy policy The SENCO will: Liaise with the English Department regarding students reading ages Provide support for students with literacy difficulties Provide support for staff with students who have difficulty with literacy Aims of the three language modes: Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing Speaking and Listening Students to develop increasing confidence to: Use language precisely and cogently Clarify and express ideas Speak for a range of purposes Use varied and specialised vocabulary Listen with understanding and respond sensitively and appropriately, building on their ideas and views constructively Ask as well as answer questions
Reading Students to develop increasing confidence to: Read fluently, accurately and with understanding Become independent and critical readers Locate and use information from a wide range of sources ( print, media, ICT) and evaluate these texts Follow a process or argument and summarise Synthesise and adapt what they learn from their reading Use techniques such as skimming, scanning and annotation effectively Writing Students to develop increasing confidence to: Write for a range of purposes including to interpret, evaluate, explain, analyse and explore Develop ideas and communicate meaning through a wide ranging vocabulary and an effective style Produce writing whose meaning is clear through accurate punctuation, correct spelling and legible handwriting following grammatical conventions Implementation In order to reinforce students language skills across the curriculum, each curriculum area should aim to: Speaking and Listening Develop strategies for students to participate verbally in their learning through question and answer, pair and group work activities Encourage students to use appropriate language accurately, precisely and coherently both in spoken and written work Utilise class discussion and group work to encourage students to listen and respond to others, and to build upon their ideas constructively and with confidence Reading Display and use key subject specific vocabulary and high frequency terminology Provide students with appropriate reading strategies to help them use dictionaries, glossaries; textbooks; websites etc Differentiate written texts where appropriate Develop strategies to help students read with greater understanding: locating and using information; following a process or an argument; summarising etc
Writing Use models and examples of good practice to support and improve written work Ensure that students are aware of the intended purpose and audience of their written work Plan opportunities for students to practise a range of writing styles Provide some literacy focussed feedback when marking work Literacy Focus Groups The English Department identifies students whose literacy development should be a particular focus across the curriculum. Staff are asked to mark the work of these students using the following codes, which are displayed on the front covers of exercise books of students in the Literacy Focus Groups: Marking for Literacy: Please use these codes when marking students work: Code: Meaning: // Paragraph Sp T G WW P ^ C Spelling Tense Grammar mistake Wrong word Punctuation Missing word (s) Capital letter needed?? Unclear meaning AP Apostrophe needed
Students should be taught the technical and specialist vocabulary of subjects and how to use and spell these words. They should also be taught how to use the types of writing and expression used in different subjects, for example, essays in History, case studies in Business Studies, reports in Geography and longer answer responses in Science.