English
At Monks Coppenhall Academy, our overarching aim for teaching English is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping children with a strong command of the spoken and written language, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Read easily, fluently and with good understanding
- Develop the habit of reading widely and often, both for pleasure and information
- Acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
- Appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
- Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
- Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
- Are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate
We believe that learning to speak and listen, to read and to write helps to give our children a sense of themselves and of their place in the world. Specifically, English unlocks learning across the curriculum.
We also believe that we have a special responsibility to those whose literacy is marginal for personal, social or cultural reasons and we are committed to offering the opportunity to become literate in the broadest sense to all of our children. This involves reading and writing at a basic level, and extends to the development of a critical literacy which includes understanding that reading and writing are more than merely useful.
In this way, becoming literate is a “gift for life”.
Speaking and Listening:
Speaking and listening are fundamental to communication and are essential to the ability to function effectively within society. Speaking and listening are basic to literacy and we reflect this in our practice by giving discussion and conversation a high profile. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are vital for developing their vocabulary, grammar and their understanding of reading and writing. The academy also uses the ‘Word Aware’ approach to help support vocabulary development. This structured whole school approach promotes both the spoken and written vocabulary development of all children and is used across all curriculum areas.
Writing:
The writing curriculum consists of two main areas in the National Curriculum:
- Transcription (spelling and handwriting)
- Composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing)
Writing down ideas fluently depends on effective transcription: that is, on spelling quickly and accurately through knowing the relationship between sounds and letters (phonics) and understanding the morphology (word structure) and orthography (spelling structure) of words. Effective composition involves articulating and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a reader.
The process of making sense of marks on a page and beginning to make marks that can be read by others starts early and talk is the most important factor. Talk supports the development of literacy skills and provides the raw materials for written communication. In Early Years we share picture books and sing songs and rhymes. We also develop fine and gross motor skills through different activities such as manipulating playdough, threading and construction. This aids mark making and pencil control.
From Reception, the ‘Read to Write’ scheme is used to teach pupils how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Writing also depends on fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting. Writing across the curriculum is a focus at Monks Coppenhall Academy as we want our children to be able to write for a range of real-life purposes.
The teaching of spelling is threaded through all subject areas but is also taught as lessons in our ‘Read Write Spelling’ programme. These spellings are taken from the National Curriculum and include a focus on letter blends.
Reading:
Reading consists of two main areas:
- Word reading
- Comprehension (both listening and reading)
Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics should be emphasised in the early teaching of reading to beginners (i.e. unskilled readers) when they start school.
Good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and grammar) and on knowledge of the world. Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction.
All pupils are encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world they live in, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. Reading widely and often increases pupils’ vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure house of wonder and joy for curious young minds.
Early reading sparks curiosity, ignites creativity and stimulates imagination. In Early Years we share picture books, sing songs and rhymes and ensure children are being read to out loud to support this.
The teaching of reading in Reception and KS1, initially uses the RWI scheme (please see our RWI Phonics section). Once children successfully complete the ‘Read Write Inc’ scheme, they transition to ‘Steps to Read’.
‘Steps to Read’ is a whole class shared reading, using a range of carefully crafted units of work. These units of work are also cross curricular and provide children with curriculum knowledge for foundation subjects. During these sessions, teachers teach all aspects of word reading and comprehension through high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts. These sessions are sequenced and progressive and they have a clear focus on the skills and strategies needed to be a proficient and confident reader.
To further support children who have completed the RWI scheme, Monks Coppenhall Academy have recently implemented the ‘Accelerated Reader’ programme. This is used to motivate students to both improve their reading comprehension and to foster a love of reading. After completing an online assessment, the children then can choose an Accelerated Reader book based on their individual interests and specific reading level.
