Downes Road, St Albans, Herts, AL4 9NT
English
In English we teach the skills of reading, speaking and listening and writing (encompassing spelling, punctuation, grammar, handwriting and different text types). Throughout the week the children are taught these skills in a number of different ways.
Reading
Children are taught reading at school through their daily English lessons, guided reading and specific interventions, where appropriate. The teaching of reading covers both word reading and comprehension skills but also aims to promote an appreciation of texts and lifelong love of reading in our children.
Year 3 Reading Curriculum Skills Map Year 4 Reading Curriculum Skills Map
Year 5 Reading Curriculum Skills Map Year 6 Reading Curriculum Skills Map
Year 3 Recommended Reading List Year 4 Recommended Reading List
Year 5 Recommended Reading List Year 6 Recommended Reading List
Banded Books
Our banded books can take the children right up to the level expected in Year 6. Most children will have a banded book, in addition to their library books. The use of finely graded (banded) books allows us to closely monitor children's progress and ensure they are both challenged and supported in their reading.
Guided Reading
Guided Reading is taught 3 times per week at school. Every week, each child will follow a sequence of learning activities: pre-reading, reading with an adult and post-reading. The specific focus of these activities and the text chosen will be determined by the class teacher to build on children's reading skills and understanding and support them with their next steps in learning.
Writing
In English lessons, and across the wider curriculum, children are given daily opportunities to write for specific purposes and develop their skills within the areas of composition, vocabulary and grammar and punctuation.
At Wheatfields, we believe in teaching children not just to write for a purpose but also for pleasure. Our writing is based around the ideas of ‘Real World Writers’ by Ross Young and we follow the 14 principles for effective practice for teaching writing
- Create a community of writers
- Treat every child as a writer
- Read, share, think and talk about writing
- Pursue purposeful writing projects
- Teach the writing processes
- Set writing goals
- Be reassuringly consistent
- Pursue personal writing projects
- Balance composition and transcription
- Teach daily mini lessons
- Be a writer-teacher
- Pupil conferencing
- Literacy for pleasure: connect reading and writing
- Interconnect the principles
These principles help children develop a sense of self , find meaning in the world and impose themselves upon it. It is important that the children have an emotional investment in their writing so that they: Feel confident and happy when engaging with the different processes of writing ;Talk about their writing with enthusiasm; Want to share their writing with others
We use high quality texts to teach ensuring the children cover a range of fiction (including sci-fi, adventure, horror and scripts), non-fiction (including persuasion, biography, explanation, information and public speaking) and poetry texts. Each writing project covers a different writing genre. The writing project then follows a cyclical format incorporating ideas generation, planning, drafting, revising editing, publishing, performing and sharing their work as well as the opportunity to write independently. Each project lasts between 3-5 weeks. Part of each lesson are mini- lessons used to teach either Grammar skills (which are about understanding how to use grammar and punctuation in powerful ways to suit the type of writing they are undertaking) or writing study skills(these show children how to generate ideas, plan, dabble, draft, revise, edit and publish effectively teaching them the writer's craft.)
Spelling
We have adopted “The Spelling Book” by Jane Constantine which is a structured, rigorous system built on the fundamentals of teaching spelling with strong phonic foundations. By breaking down the learning of spelling with repetitive contextual le
Learning Sequence
The Spelling Book is structured into weekly activities and investigations, functioning as a framework for lesson planning and resources for children and teachers to refer to. The books are referential and build on learning from earlier years to prepare pupils for later National Curriculum learning requirements.
The Spelling Book is based around a two-week cycle that may be adapted and moulded to fit into timetables and other curriculum commitments in a flexible way at the teacher's discretion. The outline below is how a typical two-week cycle may look:
Week 1:
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i) Children are introduced to 'spell it out' words for a whole two week cycle. This selection of 10 - 15 words are displayed on a board in the classroom throughout the whole two-week cycle with the focus phoneme highlighted or identified in some way. Children to take on the role of 'word detectives' identifying the tricky bit of the word. Over the course of the two weeks, children and teacher to keep an eye out for words in reading books or other words with same focus phoneme.
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ii) A 'Long Investigation' is carried out where the children investigate a particular area of spelling unrelated to the 10 – 15 focus words.
Week 2:
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i) A 'Go Grapheme Grafters' activity is carried out where children work as pattern finders, identifying other words with the same grapheme making the same sound.
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ii) At the end of the two weeks, the children are read each word in a sentence and attempt to spell the tricky parts correctly. This is a progress check, not a test.
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iii) Five 'Quick Spell' 10 minute activities are carried out over the course of the two week cycle.
Handwriting
Handwriting is taught through a whole class lesson once a week and 2 short practise sessions a week. Extra support is also given to those who require it through intervention groups.
Speaking and Listening
Through our English teaching and the wider curriculum, we develop our children's speaking and listening skills throughout Key Stage Two. This includes opportunities for debating and presenting to others, from year 3 onwards.
Library
The library is a strong feature of the school. It is maintained and organised by our staff and is fully computerised. The library houses a superb collection of books, currently in excess of 10,000.
