English
Developing skills in speaking and listening, reading and writing is essential to this. We believe that one of the best ways to inspire and enthuse children is through books – both fiction and non-fiction – so we have developed a whole school book-led curriculum of high-quality texts covering a range of genres. These books are the building blocks of our English curriculum and also extends into learning across other curriculum areas. Our book curriculum reading spine can be accessed via the link below.
Foundational Knowledge in English
Spoken Language
Communicating with language, and therefore developing spoken language, is a key aspect of learning at Lanner. Research suggests that those children who are language disadvantaged from an early age, become educationally disadvantaged – and that the impact of this continues into their adult lives. At Lanner, we want to empower all children to be confident communicators of language to give them the best possible opportunities in life. Therefore, we are working with the charity, Voice 21, to develop oracy across the school. We use oracy as a tool to support learning across the curriculum, including within English, but also as a subject in its own right.
Phonics
In the Early Years Foundation Stage, starting in the summer term in Nursery, children are taught RWI phonics for Nursery. Prior to this, our nursery children take part in a range of activities to develop their phonological awareness to support and encourage them to listen and distinguish between sounds. As soon as children start in the Reception class, they continue their learning with the Read, Write, Inc (RWI) programme. The Read Write Inc (RWI) phonics programme provides a sound foundation for children’s learning in literacy. RWI is a method of learning letter sounds and phonics which is used to help children develop their reading and writing skills.
Learning to read is one of the most important things your child will learn at our school: everything else depends on it. We want your child to love reading – and to want to read for themselves. This is why we put our efforts into making sure they develop a love of books as well as simply learning to read.
Using RWI, the children learn to decode words, and to read fluently so that they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read. Learning the sounds that match each written letter enables children to begin to use their knowledge to spell words. Acquiring these foundational skills is essential in the early years and KS1. When using RWI to read the children will:
o learn that sounds are represented by written letters
o learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple picture prompts
o learn how to blend sounds
o learn to read words using Fred Talk
o read lively stories featuring words they have learned to sound out
o show that they comprehend the stories by answering questions.
When using RWI to write the children will:
o learn to write the letters/letter groups which represent 44 sounds
o learn to write words by saying the sounds in Fred Talk
o write simple sentences.
The program is followed until every child can read fluently, confidently and with understanding. As well as whole group teaching, top up sessions take place to enable children to accelerate and consolidate their phonics understanding so that they can keep up with their peers.
Reading
In EYFS and KS1, children have plenty of opportunities to practise their reading at home as well as at school. All children take home a ‘reading for pleasure’ book each week. Once children start blending letter sounds to read words, they take home a RWI ‘book bag’ book. In addition to this, in KS1, children take home a further RWI book each week, matched to the letter sounds they are reading in school. Finally, all children also have an Oxford Owl online reading book matched to their RWI book in school to further practise their reading. Once children have developed the skills to read fluently, and have completed the RWI programme, they move onto choosing reading books within the Accelerated Reader (AR) programme. Children’s progress within AR is closely tracked through half-termly Star Reader tests and regular book quizzes.
In addition to RWI, and in order to develop and extend children’s reading comprehension, in Y2 one English session per week is dedicated to reading comprehension focused on the class books. Tier 2 vocabulary is also shared and practised to develop and extend children’s vocabulary bank. They are then encourage to apply their vocabulary knowledge and understanding to their written work. These sessions help to prepare Y2 children for their transition into KS2 as they build towards our ‘Talk for Reading’ programme which is taught daily in Y3 – Y6.
Our ‘Talk for Reading’ approach focuses on reading whole books from the fiction and non-fiction books in our reading spine. Reading activities include explicit teaching of vocabulary; the teaching of fluency using modelled, echo and repeated reading; regular opportunities for extended reading and close reading where the text or authorial intent is analysed. Reading is supported through the use of oracy in pairs, small groups or as a whole class to develop a range of reading competencies, including comprehension.
In KS2, children continue on the AR programme, with day-to-day reading and books quizzes being monitored by the class teacher. The English lead monitors the half-termly ‘Star Reader’ assessments, ensuring that children get support where necessary.
To further develop a love of reading, our children have regular opportunities to visit the school library, including during our lunchtime library club, where they are able to choose any book of their own choice to enjoy.
Writing
Alongside RWI phonics, in EYFS and KS1 focus first and foremost on the foundational skills needed for writing. In EYFS children have planned opportunities to experiment with mark-making and writing through continuous provision, but are also taught the correct seating position and pencil grip needed for writing. Children are taught letter formation and, where appropriate, number formation, alongside learning and practising these skills within the RWI programme where appropriate. Retelling stories and oral composition are also key aspects of EYFS, alongside adults modelling accurate speech patterns for writing.
In KS1, handwriting is taught daily, focusing on seating position, pencil grip and accurate letter and number formation. Dictation is used daily in Y1 and three times per week in Y2 to practise handwriting, spelling and punctuation. Oral and written composition is modelled by adults and there are regular opportunities for children to orally compose and write sentences. Scaffolds are used for support where needed.
In KS2, children are taught to join their handwriting in Y3. Daily teaching of handwriting continues through Y4. In Y5 handwriting is practised daily and is revisited as a learning focus weekly in Y6. KS2 pupils are taught daily spelling lessons which follow the Sounds and Syllables approach to spelling. Dictation is used regularly throughout Y3 and Y4 to provide continued practice of the foundational skills of handwriting, spelling and punctuation.
Central to our writing composition lessons is our whole school book curriculum. Our high-quality texts are used to inspire children’s writing, helping them to connect to, and engage with, text types and vocabulary that they have explored through reading. We use text models which cover a range of genres, progressively building on the range of writing genres through KS2.
We have developed a series of small steps for writing for each year group so that learning builds progressively across a unit, and is then revisited through the children’s independent writing activities. Elements of Talk for Writing are used, particularly in KS1, to help children to embed sentence and text structures ready for writing. Grammar is taught progressively across the school. Teacher modelling of writing is a feature of lessons, while regular independent writing sessions provide opportunities to practise what has been learned.