English

Writing, Reading and SPaG at Goosewell:

Writing

From September, the children at Goosewell have been experiencing an exciting and stimulating approach to their English lessons. Using the Pie Corbett methodology, the children are being immersed in a high-quality model text, which they are then imitating as a class.   This approach allows the children to become fully immersed and familiar a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry genres so that they are able to independently apply all of the features learned by the end of a 3-week block.

Reading

Reception

In Reception, our approach to teaching reading begins with the goal of establishing a love of books within each and every child. English is flooded throughout our provision with carefully selected, relevant texts displayed and accessible in every learning zone. Alongside this, our book corners are purposefully organised so that children can select and have ownership over their reading choices and learn how to look after and treasure books. The books which are available very much reflect the personalities and interests of the cohort. Children bring home a levelled ORT book with phonetically decodable words to build on skills developed in Read Write Inc sessions and increase their independence and confidence. Alongside this, they will bring home a book selected from the class book corner which can be shared and enjoyed with a family member. Through this text, skills such as fluency and expression can be modelled and developed alongside a realisation of the joy that reading for pleasure can bring.

Key Stage 1

Reading has always been very much at the forefront of English teaching at Goosewell. This year, in Year 2, we have introduced a new two-week reading block based upon a vibrant and stimulating book. These carefully selected texts form the basis of a word and vocabulary rich learning experience that allows pupils to become fluent and accurate readers who have strong comprehension skills. During each block, the children are taught reading skills through the class VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explain, Retrieval and Summarise). In each session, new vocabulary is defined and discussed, story plots and events are predicted, facts explained, and character’s actions and feelings inferred. In addition to this, there is a daily read at 3pm when pupils enjoy a text as a class as part of our recognition of the importance of reading purely for pleasure. KS1 children will continue to read their home book daily and choose two texts, one at their reading level the other a ‘free choice’ which could be at a level beyond their reading ability or a picture book that they wish to share with their family. In Year 1 and for some Year 2 children, this will be an ORT book relevant to their reading level. For the majority of Year 2, they will be selecting an AR (Accelerated Reader) book from the level given to them following an initial assessment quiz. They are expected to read their AR book at least twice in order for them to complete the comprehension quiz on that book successfully. In Year 1, we have introduced Read Write Inc (RWI) a reading programme to teach phonics. Since September, the children have been participating in daily phonics sessions, in groups, teaching sounds with corresponding ditty and actions with the help of Fred the Frog! The most important thing you can do, as a parent, to support your child’s learning, is to listen to them read. The link below from RWI will help you, as a parent, to know how to sound out letters just like your child is learning in class.

Read Write Inc. Phonics - information for parents

Key Stage 2

• All children in Key Stage 2 are taught the skills of reading (see the VIPERS on page 1) using a high-quality picture book. Reading is taught every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and each session lasts for 1 hour. The same picture book is used over a two-week block.
• Comprehension is taught every third week. Each class reads a text that is either fiction, non-fiction or poetry and the children answer questions about what they have read. On the first day, the questions are answered as a class. The next day, the children work in pairs to answer the questions and on the third day, the children answer a different set of questions independently.
• A model text is used in English lessons as part of the ‘Talk for Writing’ approach. Your child may read the complete novel, or an abridged version, in order to support them in writing their own story in the same genre / style.
• All children read books which are linked to the Accelerated Reader (AR) scheme. AR is a computer program which helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child picks a book at his / her own level and reads it at his / her own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer. Passing the quiz is an indication that your child has understood what they have read. The children can read a book from home but please check if the book has an Accelerated Reader quiz using the following link:

Accelerated Reader Bookfinder

• Each child is heard to read individually by their Class Teacher at least once per term so that feedback can be given about expression, volume, reading punctuation etc.
• At 3pm, each class is read a story by their teacher, which is purely for pleasure!
• Every child has a Reading Record. The children are entered in a termly prize draw to win a book token if they make at least four entries on a weekly basis.

Spelling

Weekly spellings will be sent home to be tested the following week in Year 2. In Year 1, the focus phoneme of the week will be sent home weekly to recognise and read, plus 5 Common Exception Words spellings, which will be tested the following week.

In Key Stage 2, discrete spelling sessions are taught on a Monday so that the focus rule/pattern can be applied in writing throughout the week and examples of the rule/pattern can be found in reading sessions.  Spellings to learn at home are set on a Monday and all spelling tests take place on Friday.   

P&G

In Year 2, children will have a weekly discrete SPaG lesson taught (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) skills of which they will then apply within their 3 week writing block.

In Key Stage 2, the grammar and punctuation which forms the success criteria for a final written outcome is taught within a 3 week teaching sequence.  In addition to this, discrete P&G (Punctuation and Grammar) sessions are taught on a Friday.