Literacy

At Giles Brook we encourage the enjoyment of language and support children to become confident and independent communicators, both in their spoken and written language. Our school uses the National Literacy Strategy as a basis for the teaching of literacy. Children complete at least an hour a day on literacy skills working either as a whole class group, small group, in pairs or individually.

In both Key Stages, literacy lessons take the structure of:

•  Whole class text level teaching and sentence/ word level work.

•  Group or individual work developing specific skills

•  A plenary session expanding upon or consolidating the concepts that have been taught.

All aspects of speaking and listening, reading and writing will be focused upon within this time, with particular aspects being taken as a focus for teaching.

 

Speaking and Listening

A wide spoken vocabulary is an essential prerequisite to the formal language skills of reading and writing. Children will be encouraged to speak fluently and will be given opportunities to:

 

• Talk in front of different audiences
• Listen with confidence in a range of situations
• Make comments, put forward ideas and express opinions
• Ask and respond appropriately to questions
• Take on different roles/characters through drama, storytelling and role play.
• Engage the interest of the listener when speaking, through variation in vocabulary and use of expression

 

Reading

Throughout the time children attend our school a variety of approaches to the teaching of reading will be employed, including phonics, look and say and the use of grammatical/syntactical and contextual cues. Interestingly, research has shown that the spoken vocabulary that a child has developed by the age of 3 has the most significant impact on a child's ability to learn to read.

 

In Key Stage 1 we aim to:

 

•  Teach knowledge of letters and sound symbol relationships

• Teach children to use a variety of word attack strategies
• Enable children to read appropriate texts fluently, with understanding and enjoyment.
• Encourage children to talk about the books they read
• Encourage children to make predictions, and suggest possible links to other stories
• Provide children with the tools to discuss the meaning of words in a text and identify alternative vocabulary choices.

•  Use a variety of strategies to help them make sense of a text.

 

In Key Stage 2 we aim to build upon the above and encourage children to:

 

• Extend their range of independent reading
• Demonstrate understanding of the main points in a text
• Show awareness of plot, character traits and setting
• Express preferences regarding author and content

 

All children will use the library and will be taught the necessary skills to locate books and find information.

Many reading schemes will be used in school alongside a wide variety of children's literature. Reading skills will be developed through whole class, group and individual activity and children will be encouraged to take their reading books home daily. Reading books will be matched to the reading ability of the child and all children will have a home school reading diary.

We encourage parents to spend a little time on a regular basis, preferably daily, helping their child with reading. Children's reading development can be significantly increased through this support.

 

Writing

In Key Stage 1, children will be taught to structure their sentences accurately and use capital letters and full stops consistently in their work. They will be given opportunities to write for a variety of audiences and will be taught to present their work neatly. Children will be taught correct letter formation and encouraged to use a joined script as and when they are ready. Spelling strategies will be reinforced daily. Children will be expected to act as "writers" and make their best possible attempts independently.

In Key Stage 2, children will be expected to organise their writing with greater independence. They will be encouraged to demonstrate logical sequencing and a varied use of vocabulary, chosen for interest. Greater accuracy in spelling and punctuation will be expected. The development of a fluent joined handwriting style will be reinforced.