English
English Subject Leader
English has a prominent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently, so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others.
Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Reading also enables pupils to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society.
LMPS English Policy (Brief Introduction)
- English is the most important life-skill that we can teach the children at Lytchett Matravers Primary School and is often the ‘keystone’ for other areas of learning.
- English develops children’s ability to communicate in spoken and written form. Through developing their knowledge, skills and understanding in English, children learn to appreciate that communication in all forms contributes to their wider understanding of the world in which they live.
- The English curriculum provides breadth and balance, is relevant and engaging and is differentiated to match needs and abilities.
For the whole English policy, please see the attached document below.
READING
We all know that there is nothing better than a great book and nothing worse than a bad one! As teachers of young children it is our job to instil both a love of literature in various forms as well as the skills with which to read. Our English curriculum is often centred around core texts, from which we plan learning term by term. We have recently introduced Reading VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Summarise), where we focus on specific comprehension questions, to ensure children have a firm understanding of the texts they read.
Reading at School
At Lytchett Matravers, we want our children to become enthusiastic, engaged readers and to develop a life-long love of books. We introduce the children to a range of good quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry books through our whole-class guided reading, small group guided and shared reading sessions.
In the early stages of reading, we teach children to decode words using phonic skills as their main approach, alongside which we teach sight vocabulary. Once grasped, the focus for developing reading is on understanding and comprehension. Your child will read with their class teacher or teacher assistant once a week and also during the whole class guided reading session. This will sometimes be independently supported by teacher set activities during the rest of the week. Here at Lytchett Matravers-we follow the progressive phonics scheme, Read Write Inc (RWInc).
https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents
After the children complete the RWI scheme, they move onto the Collins Big Cats scheme, commencing on Gold levelled books. The scheme contains a range of fiction and non-fiction books that cover a range of themes. These texts can all be found online too for the children to enjoy at home.
Please see the school's reading schemes and level progression below.
Lytchett Matravers Primary School Reading Schemes
|
Book Colour |
Scheme |
Approximate Year group/age |
|
Blending booklets |
RWI |
Reception 4-5 |
|
Red- Ditty |
RWI |
Reception 4-5 |
|
Green |
RWI |
Reception 4-5 |
|
Purple |
RWI |
Reception 4-5 |
|
Pink |
RWI |
Reception 4-5 |
|
Orange |
RWI |
Year 1- 5-6 |
|
Yellow |
RWI |
Year 1- 5-6 |
|
Blue |
RWI |
Year 1- 5-6 |
|
Grey |
RWI |
Year 1- 5-6 |
|
Gold |
Collins Big Cat |
Year 2 6-7 (Move onto Gold when completed RWI scheme) They don’t have to stay long on this colour if fluent and have good comprehension. Year 2
|
|
White |
Collins Big Cat |
|
|
Lime |
Collins Big Cat |
|
|
Copper |
Collins Big Cat |
Year 3 7-8
Dandelion Scheme for catch up if needed
|
|
Topaz |
Collins Big Cat |
|
|
Ruby |
Collins Big Cat |
Year 4 8-9 Dandelion Scheme for catch up if needed
|
|
Emerald |
Collins Big Cat |
|
|
Sapphire |
Collins Big Cat |
Year 5/6 9-11 Fresh Start RWI phonic interventions |
|
Diamond |
Collins Big Cat |
|
|
Pearl |
Collins Big Cat |
|
|
Non Scheme
‘free reading’
|
Non Scheme |
Year 5 9-10 10-11 (advanced literature available from library- see LS if needed)
Year 6 10-11 (advanced literature available from library- see LS if needed)
Other texts suggested for year 6
Look at suggested list for Year 7 (some titles available in school/book corners- please ask LS if more needed)
|
|
|
(Updated March 2022)
|
Alternative Schemes of Books for Less Confident Readers |
||
|
Catch up readers Years 3/4 |
Dandelion Catch Up Readers |
Books to support children who have not completed the RWI at the end of KS1. Some children may benefit from continuing with RWI scheme and some may need to do this scheme. Discuss with LS if unsure |
|
Progress Readers Text Level/Age Level |
Collins Big Cats |
Books to support less confident readers with more advanced topics. Text coloured/ Age level |
|
Little Gem Dyslexia friendly texts (Gold level to Lime) |
Little Gems |
Books written to support children with Dyslexia |
Reading at Home
Developing readers will bring home, either a RWInc book or a levelled book (according to their stage of development) and a 'love of reading' book. Once children have completed RWInc, they will bring home a self-selected book levelled book from our supplementary books, along with a 'love to reading' book. Once the children are independent advanced reader, they will bring a text from our school or class library. Please encourage your child to change their book regularly, so they can read each evening; speak to your child's class teacher if you believe this is not happening.
We recommend that your child read at home for 15 minutes or more each day when possible, or at least three times a week. Your support is hugely important for developing their reading skills, confidence and understanding. Even if your child is an independent reader, it is still important for you to read with them, listen to them and discuss the books they are reading. Please fill in your child's reading log, so that the class teacher can see what your child is reading at home. Reading logs will be collected weekly, so please can you ensure that the children bring in their reading records daily.
How to support developing readers at home:
- Try to listen to and read with your child regularly, 15 minutes a day is better than a longer session once a week. It can help if a regular time is set aside so that it becomes part of a routine.
- Find a quiet place to share books where you can feel comfortable and relaxed – learning to read needs to be a positive experience - build their confidence by praising their efforts.
- Encourage your child to have a go at reading words, by using phonic skills to read any unfamiliar words, and by working on building up their sight vocabulary.
- Talk about the meanings of words to help to develop your child’s understanding and use of language.
- Encourage your child to read a range of texts such as stories, newspapers, comics, labels, poetry, non-fiction, tickets, signs, leaflets etc.
- Read books to your child as well; if they see you enjoying a book it will encourage and motivate them to want to learn to read.
- Ask them questions about the text to develop their understanding.
Children also have access to the Colins Big Cats book online library, that they can enjoy with you at home. Please use their login to access this online library. Please notify the class teacher, if you require further books to be set online for your child.
Please use the VIPERS style questioned that have been sent home, to assist you in questioning the children whilst reading, to ensure they are comprehending what they are reading. If you need another copy of this, please ensure you speak to your class teacher.
Please look at the KS1 and KS2 VIPERS style questions below to help you when reading with your children.
Phonics & Read Write Inc (RWInc)
Here at Lytchett Matravers Primary school, we follow the Read Write Inc phonics programme in KS1 and some pupils in KS2. For further information about this scheme, please click here and also visit our Early Reading page.
https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents
Handwriting
Principles
Our school handwriting style has been developed to help children to learn to write with fluency and accuracy, and is taught and modelled consistently throughout the school. It is available as a model to children in every classroom.
Children in the EYFS begin to write, first forming the letter shapes while making the phonetic connections to the letter sounds through the RWInc scheme. They then gradually progress through the journey of writing to joining the cursive script into fully joined words in Year 2. The cursive script formation we use is taken from the Letter-join Scheme. Please see our cursive and capital letter formation sheets below.
As a school our aims in teaching handwriting are that the pupils will:
- Learn the conventional ways of forming letter shapes, both lower case and capitals.
- Understand the importance of clear presentation in order to communicate meaning.
- Take pride in the presentation of work, developing handwriting with a sense of enjoyment and achievement.
- Be able to write quickly to aid expressing themselves creatively and imaginatively across the curriculum and for a range of purposes.
- Develop a fluent, comfortable, legible, joined handwriting style.
SPELLINGS
At Lytchett Matravers, we aim to develop spelling and writing skills throughout every child's time at school, preparing them for their journey to Secondary education. From Year 2, we follow the Spelling-Shed programme (online resource available to use at home). This scheme covers the spelling patterns covered across every year group, alongside the statutory spelling lists provided in the English Spelling Curriculum (see sheets below). This is a new programme this September 2022, and we are in the process of setting it up ready for you to use.
As well as the phonic strategies of decoding, segmenting and blending, many words still have to be learned as rote, sometimes referred to as common exception words (please see list of words below). As a part of every child's homework, spelling lists are sent home weekly, and we encourage parents and carers, to help your children to work on these daily (little and often).
Writing
Here at Lytchett Matravers, we provide the children with a range of writing opportunities- from guided and shared writing, to independent extended writing opportunities. The children experience writing for a range of purposes - both fiction and non-fiction. Writing tasks are often linked to the whole class reading texts, films or topics, enabling children to write for a range of audiences. This reading into writing journey encourages the children to experience a whole text, and fully immerse themselves in the text to demonstrate concrete understanding. From Year 1, the children are encouraged to be independent when writing an extended piece of writing. Children are encouraged to self edit and up-level their writing. Each classroom has an interactive working wall display related to each text/film used.
Year 2- Woking wall for The Dark by Lemony Snicket
We have an exciting 'Wanderful (Wonderful) Wall of Writing' (Magically inspired as a play on words from Harry Potter), where children who produce an inspiring piece of writing can share and celebrate their writing master-piece with the school!
National Curriculum Objectives
To access the National Curriculum for English across KS1 and KS2, please click below.
Grammar Punctuation and Spelling (GPS)
Each year group covers the GPS objectives documented in the National Curriculum. We are developing a systematic teaching approach, where the children are taught the specific GPS objective through a text, then are given the opportunity to practice it, then encouraged to apply it during their writing tasks. At times the children will experience discrete GPS skills for revision and consolidation. We feel that providing the children with these different learning approaches, will not only widens their GPS knowledge, but also equips them with the confidence to apply these skills in their writing.
Children with SEND
Children with additional learning needs will be differentiated accordingly by the class teacher to allow them to progress with their English learning and to achieve their specific learning targets. If the class texts are not suitable for the children, they will be provided with a more appropriate text, to allow them to access all areas of the English curriculum.
We have alterative books for those children who require this, to enable them to also have a love of reading (Little Gems and Moon series).
If children are requiring alternative writing tools or resources to assist them in their English learning, these will be provided for the children to use in class.
If you have any concerns about your child's English learning or progress, please ensure you see your child's class teacher to discuss this further.
If you would like further information on our whole school universal support examples, on how we support children with addition learning needs, then please look at the SEND information report on the Inclusion page.
https://www.lmpsdorset.org/page/?title=Inclusion&pid=42
Any Questions?
I hope that you will find the information on this page and documents below helpful, as they will give you an insight to our English Curriculum here at Lytchett Matravers Primary School. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me via the school office or email me via the office on office@lmpsdorset.co.uk (FAO: Mrs Shotliff)
English Celebrations 2021/2022
World Book Day 2022
On the 3rd of March 2020, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of World Book Day – with the message for all children ‘you are a reader‘! It was filled with lots of exciting, celebratory ways to promote reading for pleasure on World Book Day, and all-year round. The children watched the opening of our new amazing library, opened by Susan Thomas. The children were also able to choose a book from our surplus of library books to take home.
Our New School Library
All the staff dressed up as a Mr Men or a Little Miss character. The children found this hilarious. Throughout the day the children created their own Little Miss/Mr characters and some children even wrote their own book.
Here are our some winners from the day. Can you guess what character they have dressed up as?
