English
Reading
At Heaton St. Barnabas CE Primary, we teach reading through a whole class reading approach. We encourage children to dive in and pick the text apart. We predict, ask questions, discuss vocabulary and summarise what has been read. By providing the children with a lot of time to understand the text, it allows them to be able to complete tasks related to the task with more detail.
As well as learning to read, developing a love of reading is vital. We encourage the children to explore new books and authors through peer recommendation and teacher recommendation. Each class also has a class novel which they get to enjoy being read to and Friday Book time bag with a text they read together.
To help develop this love of reading, parents play an important role. The easiest way to help your child with reading is to read with them each day. Children should be encouraged to read aloud and read on their own, but being read to is really important too, so don’t overlook the bedtime story! Encourage your child to use their strategies learnt in school to decode any unknown words, but also discuss what new and interesting words mean that they discover whilst reading.You can find extra ways on helping your child by visiting: http://www.fortheteachers.org/Printables/Parent_Help_Early_Reading_.pdf
Vocabulary
At Heaton St. Barnabas Primary we teach vocabulary to children using ‘It’s Only Words’. The importance of children’s understanding of vocabulary is crucial to their learning and progress across the whole curriculum. When teaching vocabulary it is essential that it is taught actively, building on pupils’ current knowledge. Links should be made between words children already know and the new vocabulary they are learning. This leads to children using a wider range of vocabulary choices when speaking and writing. A good understanding of vocabulary also aids children’s reading comprehension and they will have a deeper understanding of what they have read. When choosing the vocabulary we teach, words are chosen from a variety of different places: a book being read in class, a guided reading text, the text being used in English or from somewhere that the children will hear the words often and be able to use them in context. It is also important introduce children to subject specific vocabulary such as during maths or science sessions, but this is in addition to the vocabulary words chosen to teach. When introducing a lesson there is always an opportunity for a vocabulary starter to support what the pupils will be learning.
Teaching of Phonics
At Heaton St.Barnabas CE Primary, we use a synthetic phonics approach to teach reading. This is based on the ‘Read/Write Inc’ programme. It is based on children learning that individual letters or letter strings make different sounds which, when blended, create complete words. Phonics is taught daily in Reception,Year 1 and Year 2. In Year 2, phonics is also supported by the teaching of spellings and their rules. When children move into KS2, their phonics knowledge is secure enough for them to move onto focusing on more complex spelling rules and patterns.
Phonics sessions are fun, active, have a lot of activities involved and ensure children can learn, practise and apply their knowledge when both reading and writing. Teachers use a variety of interactive games on the computer, the iPads and practical resources in the classroom.
There are 6 phases in the phonics programme. Each phase builds upon skills and knowledge already learned. This includes sounds that individual letters make (s, p, t), sounds that letter strings make (ai, ee, ch), alternative sounds (a, ai, ay all make the same sound) and tricky words. Tricky words are spellings that cannot be sounds out such as said, to, he and the. Children need to learn to recognise these by sight in order to read them.
When reading, children should be using their phonics knowledge to sound out unknown words. As children become more confident with phonics, they will start to blend words quickly and in their head. This leads to children becoming more fluent readers and then spellers.
High Frequency Words
Reception and Key Stage 1 children have to learn to read, write and spell a considerable number of High Frequency Words. The teaching of the high frequency words is linked to the teaching of phonics. We would greatly appreciate parental support with the learning of these words.
Writing
At Heaton St.Barnabas CE Primary, we strive to develop our children into creative, confident and accurate authors. We use the ‘Talk for Writing’ to teach writing that progressively builds confidence, knowledge and creativity. In every year group, a writing unit of work is focused around a high quality text that is usually linked to the class topic and the children’s interests. However in Key Stage Two we have developed our own teaching of writing adopting the strategy of Talk For Writing in support of effective teaching skills. Through a range of techniques, such as talk for writing, drama and vocabulary lessons, the children become very familiar with the text and genre. They then move onto learning the rules of writing such as grammar and spelling specific to the genre they are learning. We also challenge the children to deepen their understanding of the structure of writing through reasoning and explaining tasks, such as creating tutorials for other children (and some adults!) and open ended questioning. Finally, the children move on to planning, redrafting, rehearsing, composing and editing!
The use of ICT to enhance children’s understanding and give purpose to their writing. Handwriting and good gross and motor skills are important as they enable children to become fluent, legible writers. We use Penpals handwriting schemes, handwriting is taught daily in EYFS, KS1 and lower KS2 and as an intervention in years 5 and 6.
Spelling
Spelling is a vital part of the curriculum. Spelling is taught within phonics during Reception and Year 1. Year 2 then begin to have separate spelling sessions and as children move into Key Stage 2, spelling is still underpinned by phonics but children are not explicitly taught phonics. In each year group form year 1 to 6, there are spelling rules that need to be taught and a statutory word list (called Common Exception Words in KS1). Statutory words lists are words that the government have said children must know by the end of their year group. They are a mixture of words frequently use and words that are often misspelt. During spelling sessions, children are taught spelling strategies to help them with unfamiliar words, spelling rules and conventions, investigation to spot rules and time to practise and apply new rules, recap previously learnt rules and practise the statutory words in a variety of ways.
Each half term, children are sent a list of words from their year group that they need to know by the end of the year. Your child’s spelling homework for that half term will be linked to these words. This is to ensure they get a deeper understanding and the word is embedded in their writing. Children will be assessed on their knowledge of rules and statutory words from their own year group and previous year groups.