English
Please find below more information regarding Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening at Bishops Hull Primary School
READING
"Reading is like breathing in, and writing is like breathing out."
Pam Ally
At Bishop's Hull Primary School, we believe that reading is an essential life skill. We do our best to ensure pupils are given opportunities to develop their reading skills so that they will become life-long readers who read confidently and fluently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. We understand how a strong grounding in reading will impact the future learning and development of a pupil in all subjects and prepare them for life in modern society.
Early reading is taught in our EYFS and Year 1 classes through phonics. At Bishop's Hull, we follow the Phonics scheme Little Wandle. Children take part in daily phonics lessons, then read books matched to their phonics learning stage. We make sure that children read books that are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and the common exception words. This is so that early on they experience success and gain confidence as readers. Pupils are also given opportunities to apply their phonic learning independently throughout the day.
As well as their phonetically matched reading book, children select a book from their classroom reading area to share and enjoy with a grown-up. We depend on parents to support children with their home reading and make daily reading with their child feel like a treat. The more enjoyable the experience, the more children want to read.
As children move through Year 2 and are confidently decoding words, reading sessions focus more on key reading skills. Each child is given a reading book that is levelled at their own reading ability. At Bishop's Hull we follow a colour banded book bands and children are encouraged to enjoy both fiction and non-fiction books. We encourage children to read for pleasure and to enjoy what they are reading and books are selected carefully to help children select books they enjoy.
In every class, the children enjoy whole class reading sessions where all pupils share the same book and have access to a copy of the book for them to enjoy with a partner. Pupils are introduced to reading at length a wide range of authors and different genres, we ensure that each year group has the opportunity to read fiction, non-fiction and poetry throughout the year. There is an increasing focus on the young reader's ability to interpret what is happening in the text through discussion and follow-on tasks. Pupils develop the ability to express their opinions and find evidence for their viewpoint in the text. Comprehension skills are taught using a system called VIPERS. This is a series of question types that focus on different aspects of comprehension.
Whole Class Reading Spine Reading VIPERS
Reading for pleasure is seen as an essential part of learning to read. Adults regularly read a variety of carefully selected books to their classes in order to inspire and promote a love of reading through texts that are connected to a set topic or books that engage the reader's imagination through class stories at the end of a day.
Inviting and engaging book areas can be found in every classroom. Children are free to select from from a range of books and teachers are on hand to offer recommendations. As well as classroom book areas, children can access our library which is made up of fiction, poetry and non-fiction books.
When we have the benefit of the better weather we have our Book Nook open which allows children to enjoy a range of books outside. We also have a range of dressing up clothes for the children to wear and play with to spark their imaginations!
Top Reading Picks for each Year Group
WRITING
"I always have two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in."
Robert Louis Stevenson
At Bishop's Hull Primary School, we aim for our children to become independent and creative writers. We encourage them to write with stamina and confidence over a range of genres, for specific audiences and purposes. Throughout their writing, we value the importance of accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling as well as the development of correct letter formation and neatly presented handwriting. We encourage the children to develop perseverance with writing and view mistakes as another part of the learning process. Through our English curriculum, we aim to nurture in the children a love of literature and language, and the confidence to continue writing throughout their lives.
Within our school, writing is taught daily in English lessons as well as being consolidated throughout the wider curriculum (such as history, geography and science).
Our writing curriculum is organised into three key areas: transcription, composition and punctuation and grammar.
Transcription: This area of learning covers both spelling and handwriting.
In EYFS and Year 1, spelling is taught through Little Wandle Phonics. The 44 sounds and corresponding letters are introduced and taught systematically. When reading a word, children recognise the letters (phonemes) and blend together the respective sounds; when writing a word, they identify the sounds and write down the corresponding letters (graphemes).
From Year 2 onwards, we use Spelling Shed and follow their scheme of spellings to provide weekly lessons and home learning. This works on the spelling rules and patterns they had learnt previously in Key Stage 1 as well as new rules on suffixes, prefixes and word families.
It is vital pupils can write quickly, comfortably and legibly as this skill is needed in many curriculum areas. Pupils' self- esteem is heightened when they can take pride in their handwriting.
We use the Nelson Handwriting Scheme. handwriting is taught by demonstration, explanation and practice. Children are encouraged to use a cursive script from Year 2. we encourage high standards of presentation in their writing.
Composition: Throughout each term, children will be exposed to fiction and non-fiction texts and learn to create writing in both styles. They will also explore poetry and write their own poems. Each year group has a literacy overview for the year which ensures that writing for a variety of purposes are covered through a range of text types throughout the school.
Each writing unit will incorporate a range of teaching and learning strategies. A variety of resources are used as a stimuli for writing. The 'hook' might include a real-life experience, film clips, drama, photographs, an object or a rich engaging text. The aim is to use resources which inspire enthusiasm for writing, linking with cross-curricular topics whenever possible. Exemplar text are used to identify key features of the text and consider the writing style. The children and teacher work together to create a 'Writer's Toolkit'(success criteria). There is explicit teaching of specific skills. Teachers model writing objectives during whole class teaching . Guided writing sessions are used to meet specific objectives for individuals or groups. Children independently apply their taught skills and plan, draft, edit proof read their work and share it..
Grammar and Punctuation: Correct grammar and punctuation are building blocks for children learning to speak, write and listen. Within English lessons, children are taught the grammar and punctuation appropriate to their age and should have a growing bank of terminology and understanding which they are then able to apply accurately into their written work. Some grammar lessons are standalone lessons where a skill is taught discretely and then the children are given a chance to apply the skills to their writing independently. Some standalone grammar lessons are taught to consolidate previous learning
Assessment: Bishop's Hull Primary School assesses children against age related expectations in writing. These expectations have been organised into bands which reflect the year group, for example Band 1 is the end of year expectation for children in Year 1.
Writing Bands
Speaking and Listening
"Real conversation catches fire ... you emerge from a good conversation, or a series of conversations a slightly different person."
Theodore Zeldon
"He understands badly who listens badly."
Welsh Proverb
At Bishop's Hull Primary School, we want to give our children the ability to communicate effectively and confidence in the art of speaking and listening. We want our children to apply their skills and knowledge across the curriculum to debate, discuss, take on roles, ask and answer questions, listen and enjoy conversing. We believe that by teaching children to become effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them.
We teach speaking and listening explicitly as well as finding opportunities to reinforce and extend children's developing skills. We embed this teaching in all subjects. Different subjects offer opportunities for different kinds of talk. Speaking and listening opportunities are both planned and incidental.
Pupils have access to a wide range of speaking and listening taught opportunities which include:
Talking about their own experiences, recounting events
Participating in discussion and debate across the curriculum
Talk for Writing within planned writing units
Retelling and reciting stories and poems
Expressing opinions and justifying ideas
Listening to stories read aloud
Whole class reading
Responding to different kinds of texts
Taking part in school performances
Role play and other drama activities across the curriculum
Listening to ideas and opinions of adults and peers
Talking to visitors in school
Educational trips
Teachers understand that being a good role model for oracy is crucial. Feedback about oracy is also important. If a child says something incorrectly, rather than focus on their mistake, teachers repeat back what is said to them using the correct phrasing. Where possible, teachers praise and give feedback on speech specifically, even when oracy is not the objective or main focus. For example, "I think you explained that clearly."