English

Our Vision Statement

Here at Lostock Gralam Church of England Primary School, we ensure our teaching and learning in English reflects our school vision “Children are at the heart of everything we do and Christ is the light that guides us.” John 8:12

Our children live out our Christian Values (Hope, Respect, Friendship, Love, Courage and Forgiveness) in their English lessons.They show friendship and love as they work collaboratively through our mastery approach to reading and writing; this approach nurtures and supports all of our children. The children encounter their spirituality as they read a wide range of texts whilst becoming immersed in the story and their own imagination. The children are also able to experience awe and wonder through our ‘Wow’ moments where we hook the children into their English lessons through a stimulus, a concrete experience, use of art, drama or role play to provide the why of learning. In responding to a poem, story or text, our children are exposed to 'I wonder..' questions or 'How would you feel...' questions and they are encouraged to appreciate the beauty of language and vocabulary that is all around us everyday. They also experience great pride when they become an author themselves or complete a book that they have enjoyed demonstrating their love of books and reading!

Reading

At Lostock Gralam, we believe passionately that all children should have a love of reading. Books stir the senses, inspire imagination and spark a love of reading that will last a lifetime. Reading has a high profile at Lostock and books will be seen around school. We have lots of books to choose from and we also subscribe to the Education Library Service which allows us to borrow a wealth of books at any time. Our aim is to have every child reading a high-quality text and we actively encourage 15-20 minutes of reading time each day – at home and in school. Each class has an inviting reading corner which is stocked with both fiction and non-fiction texts. Children are taught to read through well planned whole-class reading sessions – 1:1 reading is prioritised in EYFS and Year 1, with both whole-class shared reading and guided reading being taught in Years 2 and 3. In Years 4-6, whole-class shared reading is taught daily.

Phonics & Spellings

At Lostock, we use the Read Write Inc (RWI) programme to get children off to a flying start with their reading and writing. RWI is a method of learning centred around letter sounds and phonics, and we use it to aid children in their reading and writing.

Reading opens the door to learning. A child who reads a lot will become a good reader. A child who reads challenging material is a child who will learn.

Using RWI, the children learn to read effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read. It also allows them to spell effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into composing what they write.

We start by teaching phonics to the children in the Reception class. This means that they learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell well. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters; ask them to show you what some of these sounds are.

The children also practise reading (and spelling) what we call ‘tricky words’, such as ‘once,’ ‘have,’ ‘said’ and ‘where’.

The children practise their reading with books that match the phonics and the ‘tricky words’ they know. The children become more fluent readers as their sight vocabulary increases and this does wonders for their confidence.

WHEN USING RWI TO READ & WRITE THE CHILDREN WILL:

• learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple picture prompts
• learn to write the letters/letter groups which represent 44 sounds
• learn to read and write words using Fred Talk
• read lively stories featuring words they have learned to sound out
• show that they comprehend the stories by answering questions

Below is a link to the RWInc website that explains in more detail the resources used to deliver the programme and many video clips to demonstrate how RWInc is taught from Reception through to KS2.

Also, by navigating the website you will find useful activities to support your child at home.

http://www.ruthmiskintraining.com/teacher-support/tag-36/index.html

Writing

We believe that our children will develop a lifelong appreciation and desire for quality literature. We believe the study of English develops the children's abilities to listen, speak, read and write for a wide range of purposes. It enables them to express themselves creatively and imaginatively.

We strive for all our children to learn to communicate meaning through engaging writing activities where they can express their emotions, thoughts and opinions both imaginatively and factually for a variety of audiences. We follow a writing pathway to help with progression of skills throughout school. See the ‘Pathways to Writing’ section below for more information.

Children will be encouraged to develop as individual writers learning over time to use effective transcription and composition skills. They will be taught how to plan, revise, draft and review their writing, forming, articulating and communicating ideas and organising them coherently for the reader. We are proud of what our children can achieve and work is displayed around school for all the share.

Pathways to Write

Pathways to Write is a proven methodology designed to equip pupils with key skills to move them through the writing process towards their final outcome. It is built around units of work that follow a mastery approach to the teaching of writing.

To support this approach, clear detailed lesson plans and resources are linked to a high-quality text. Pathways to Write ensures engaging and purposeful English lessons. The units can be used thematically to encourage a whole school approach to writing with the opportunity for topics to link across all year groups.

Each unit covers a range of areas in the national curriculum:

• Mastery of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills
• Writing a range of genres across a year
• Vocabulary development
• Using a wider range of reading comprehension strategies as a whole class
• Spoken language activities including drama and presentations
• Opportunities for practising previously taught genres
• An extended, independent piece of writing

This process follows three stages:

The Gateway (1-2 lessons)

• Begin at the Gateway with a ‘hook’ session to intrigue and enthuse young writers
• Use objects, people, images or role-play to stimulate questions about the chosen text
• Give pupils the opportunity to predict the text
• Establish the purpose and audience of the writing
• Revisit previous mastery skills and ongoing skills

The Pathway (10 lessons)

• Introduce pupils to three new writing skills from their year group curriculum
• Provide opportunities to practise and apply the skill they have learnt through short and extended writing tasks including character descriptions, poetry, dialogue between characters, fact files or diary entries in role
• Provide opportunities to re-cap and apply previously taught skills
• Challenge greater depth writers through a wider range of tasks e.g. changes to form, viewpoint and audience

Writeaway (4 lessons)

• Section and sequence texts independently or collaboratively
• Create extended pieces of writing over time
• Opportunity to apply mastery skills
• Time for planning, writing, checking, editing, redrafting and publishing
• A fiction or non-fiction outcome will be written (covering a wide range of genres and themes over the year)

To find out more information about Pathways to Write follow this link:

https://www.theliteracycompany.co.uk/product/pathways-to-write/

Pathways to Read

Pathways to Read is a programme designed to equip pupils from Year 2 onwards with key skills to move them through the reading process towards becoming competent and fluent readers. To support this approach, clear detailed lesson plans and resources are linked to high-quality texts. Pathways to Read ensures engaging and purposeful reading lessons.The units can be used thematically alongside Pathways to Write to encourage a whole school curriculum approach with the opportunity for topics to link across all year groups.

Pathways to Read follows a mastery approach to learning with three categories of skills developed each half term:

• Ongoing skills - linked to text choices and achieved through selection of teaching activities
• Core skills - prediction, vocabulary development and retrieval
• Mastery skills - 2-3 objectives are focused on for pupils to master over the course of the half-term

To find out more information about Pathways to Read follow this link:

https://www.theliteracycompany.co.uk/introducing-pathways-to-read/

Pathways to Spell

Pathways to Spell is a programme designed for whole-class teaching of the primary national curriculum objectives for spelling from year 1 to year 6. It is a comprehensive and progressive with a clear, research based teaching sequence. The programme provides clear progression in the teaching of spelling from year 1 to year 6. It develops pupils’ confidence with spelling across the curriculum and enables teachers to identify and address common spelling issues. At Lostock, we create a school of spellers who are equipped with a series of strategies to draw upon both in lessons and in their independent writing. There is a cycle of review objectives covering the whole curriculum to ensure gaps in learning are constantly revisited. 

To find out more information about Pathways to Read follow this link:

https://www.theliteracycompany.co.uk/pathways-literacy/pathways-to-spell/

Pupil Voice

I really enjoy our reading lessons. We get to read lots of really good books!

I love reading!

Writing is fun! I really like starting new class texts and discovering new authors.

I love to read because it makes my brain bigger and I learn new things!

Reading makes me feel calm and relaxed.

Additional Resources

National Curriculum Objectives for English Click here to access each year group's objectives.

First 100 high frequency words Click here to access the first 100 high frequency words.

Next 200 high frequency words Click here to access the next 200 high frequency words,

See file below for the common exception words for year 1 and 2, 3 and 4 and 5 and 6

Files to Download