English at Barrow Hedges Helping You Succeed With Curriculum 2014 Mrs Katie Paull English Subject Leader
English at Barrow Hedges We are passionate about English. We encourage all pupils to have a love of reading and writing. We teach in an effective, fun and creative way. We teach both explicitly through direct lessons and through our broad range of foundation subjects (Topic lessons). World War II / Gods & Mortals We engage the children fully in the subject matter. We teach reading skills 1:1, small guided groups and whole of class. We use exciting stories by respected authors. We ensure ALL pupils have the support they need to progress We immerse children in the magic of reading and writing.
English at Barrow Hedges We inspire children with a real life audience and purpose. We use cross curricular opportunities through our Cornerstones Curriculum. We capture their interests and spark their imagination by using trips and experiences as starting points for writing. E.g. Year 3 visited Grove Park which led to inventing a playground ride. We encourage Speaking & Listening through paired talk. We use drama to provide children with a better understanding of plots and characters. We conduct daily phonics lessons in KS1 matched to the understanding of each child. We will ensure the new curriculum is adopted in full with the use of Cornerstones and our Bug Club.
New Curriculum What s new? Stronger emphasis on vocabulary development, grammar, punctuation and spelling (for example, the use of commas and apostrophes will be taught in KS1). Handwriting (not currently assessed under the national curriculum) is expected to be fluent, legible and speedy. Spoken English has a greater emphasis, with children being taught debating and presenting skills.
New Curriculum What s new? There is an emphasis on reading for pleasure. One of the aims of English in the new National Curriculum is to develop [pupils ] love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. This is to be achieved by ensuring that they develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.
New Curriculum What s new? There are more objectives covering the various stages in the writing process. forming and articulating ideas and planning, drafting, evaluating and revising texts. None of this is unfamiliar. They are all part of good classroom practice, but are now newly specified. At Barrow Hedges we call this our Learning Journey.
New Curriculum What s new? Off By Heart! Learning poetry by heart and writing dictated sentences (in both key stages), and summarising longer texts (in Upper Key Stage 2). For further information on the new curriculum please see hand out.
Questions Key stage 1 English grammar, punctuation and spelling
Questions
Cornerstones Engage!
Cornerstones Learning Journey RESEARCH GENRE what makes good See appendix. COLD WRITE TEACHER MODELS & SHARE WRITING TRIP/HOOK PUBLISHED PIECE OF WRITING
Cornerstones Learning Journey
Learning to Write
Learning to Write
Learning to Write Most children start to write before they go to school. It may just look like scribble, and adults may not be able to read what they have written, but very young children are making marks on paper that mean something to them. They will also be drawing pictures and will be able to tell you what they are.
Learning to Write
Learning to Write
Learning to Spell
Learning to Spell Phonics is the basis of spelling. Recognising, using and blending sounds. Learning sight words. Learning rules to spelling. Research shows children go through finite stages when learning to spell. Guiding children through these stages with lots of opportunities to read and write rapidly increases their skills. Further information can be found in the Appendix
How do we test spelling? Year 1 and 2 we use phonics which is taught in phases. DfE Letters and Sounds. Animal spellings High Frequency words. Year 3 6 we use a published spelling scheme Recommended by the borough. The children complete a diagnostic test This determines what spelling group the child is in. This is monitored by the class teacher.
How can I help my child? Support your child by discussing their weekly spellings. Helping them to learn the words. What sound, letter pattern or rule are they learning this week? SHARE IDEAS
Kung Fu Punctuation! CAPITAL LETTER Make a triangle with your hands above your head. Make the noise, Ha- ya! FULL STOP Throw a short, right-handed punch at the air in front of you. Make the noise, cluck (tongue against the roof of your mouth)! Further information can be found on the Barrow Hedges website
Handwriting At Barrow Hedges, we aim to teach children to write in a way that is legible, fluent and fast. This means that we have a developed a style which enables the letters to be joined easily.
Cursive writing Top tips! All start in the same place Children need to be able to confidently form single letters before joining. Practice letters with similar formation pattern. When writing in cursive script (joined), it is necessary to plan ahead for the upcoming letters while writing the current letter.
What to teach in Handwriting Appropriate pencil grip Paper placement Posture Correct letter and numeral formation Size of letters Writing on a line
Handwriting at Barrow Hedges
Weaving
Threading
Pincer Movement
Creative Pursuits
Cutting
Composition Composing is the most important element of writing. Children need to: Generate ideas Organise their thoughts Express them on a page This can be daunting for many children but I don t know what to write.. Good composition aids the development of spelling and grammar.
Composition If a child can say it, a child can write it. Obtaining Ideas for Writing: Developing children s ability to become writers. Interaction with children: talking, singing, going on visits, engaging in role-play, sharing books, reading stories, etc, we are providing vital banks of resources into which children can dip when composing. Making writing purposeful and valuable: Children need to see that there is a reason for them to write. Writing is a valuable life skill, and whether this is composing on a computer or on paper, children need to see the value of putting the effort into producing the writing in the first place.
For what reasons could your child write at home?
How can I help my child? Shopping lists Invitations Thank You Cards / Letters Letters to relations or friends Letters of complaint These are a few ideas. Another way to help children see the value behind writing is to let them catch you writing and explain why you are doing it. Remember writing can be done for pleasure too!
How can I help my child?
How can I help my child? If your child has been asked to produce a piece of writing, discuss the task and ideas before preparing to write. It can help to sleep on it - after a talk about the expected task and the sharing of ideas. Ask your child what their writing target is - they should know what it is! If s/he does not know, your child s teacher can tell you. What is it and have they achieved it in this piece? Stress the importance of re-reading during composition to check for flow of ideas. Proof-reading their work aloud will enable them to hear whether the writing flows well and whether any words have been omitted, for example. Coming back to a piece of writing the following day can also help a child to freshly identify ways in which to improve their work. Then celebrate the writing and give lots of praise!
How can I help my child? Be as helpful as you can in helping children write. Talk through their ideas with them; help them discover what they want to say. When they ask for help with spelling, punctuation, and usage, supply that help. Your most effective role is not as a critic but as a helper. Rejoice in effort, delight in ideas, and resist the temptation to be critical.
The most proficient writers in any class are always the readers
Read a range of texts Recommended book lists are available of Barrow Hedges website
Bug Club Bug Club is a finely-levelled reading scheme, which ensures that all children can find books at exactly the right level for them. There are online versions for every printed title and a personalised website for each child.
Bug Club We allocate books to your child according to their reading levels. These books will appear on their personal homepages. Throughout the books there are quiz questions for your child to complete. To answer a question, just click on the bug icon. Your child does not need to finish all the quiz questions in one sitting and can come back to a book later. When your child has finished all the quiz questions in a book, he or she will earn Bug Points. By reading more books, your child will learn enough points for a reward. The answers to the quiz questions will be sent back to our teacher site so that we can see how your child is progressing. We will also be able to assign more books for your child to read if the virtual book bag is running low. When your child has finished a book, it will move to Books I have read (for KS1) or Look again (for KS2). Children can read these books again if they want to, or they can choose new books from My Books.
Useful websites BBC Bitesize (Grammar) www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/ BBC News in Pictures (Writing inspiration) www.bbc.co.uk/news/in_pictures/ Phonics & Spelling www.phonicsplay.co.uk http://www.spellodrome.co.uk/ Woodlands Junior http://resources.woodlands-unior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy.html Lend me your literacy http://lendmeyourliteracy.com/
Useful resources
Useful resources http://www.barrowhedges.com/curriculum.asp
English at Barrow Hedges Thank you & Questions Mrs Katie Paull English Subject Leader
English at Barrow Hedges Appendix Resources for Parents Mrs Katie Paull English Subject Leader
1. Learning to Spell Stages Children know that letters mean something, though there may be no link between the letters they write and the sounds in words. There will be a lot of squiggles with some recognisable letter shapes. Pictures may well be mixed in with the words. Children will say that they are 'writing'. At this very early stage it is important to make writing a play activity with no pressure at all. Any play activity that gets children to concentrate and use their hands carefully helps them to coordinate hand, brain and eye.
2. Learning to Spell Stages Children form letters more clearly and they realise that writing in English has to go from left to right. They are starting to put letters and sounds together and build up a writing vocabulary. When they write words, they will often miss out the vowel, for instance 'wnt' for 'went' or 'cn' for 'can'. This is because most consonants are easier to hear and make more impression when you say them than vowels do. Children at this stage will often write in the same way as they speak. * Additional phonics information available *
3. Learning to Spell Stages Children write words as they sound, giving every sound a letter. This is a big breakthrough, but as the English alphabet has 26 letters and 44 different sounds! Children at this stage may be writing 'dun' for 'done' or 'rit' for 'write'. Children are now putting a vowel in most syllables and can use what they know to make a good attempt at new words.
4. Children are now half-way between spelling as they hear and realising that many words are not that straightforward. With the words that they often read and write they can recognise how a word looks as well as how it is said. 5. Learning to Spell Stages Now it is just a question of polishing up. The learning isn't finished (it never is!) but when more experienced children meet new words they will be able to call on their knowledge of letter patterns and rules to help them. They know a lot of words and can write them without having to work them out. They can sort out words that sound identical such as 'meat' and 'meet' by using the meaning.
Learning letter formations without pencil control
Active letter learning Believe dian.jones to @deta.qld.gov.au Achieve 57
Examples of the type (genres) of writing we look at.