English

Implementation - Reading

In Reading, after they finish our Phonics programme (see Early Reading & Phonics for more details), our pupils continue to focus on both decoding and comprehension of texts.  

Across KS1 and KS2, children are explicitly taught the skills of reading through narrative and non-fiction texts.  Some of the key reading domains that we focus upon include:

Inference 

Predicting

The meaning of words

Retrieving

Sequencing (KS1) or Summarising (KS2).

Lesson Structure

• Comprehension lessons form the beginning of the one/two week text type.  

• The comprehension text type matches the text type that the pupils will study over this period.

• The lesson will focus on the understanding of a high-quality, year-group appropriate text from a range of genres which enables systematic teaching of the reading domains as specified in the National Curriculum.

• Each lesson objective focuses upon a particular reading domain, and use the school’s reading progress drives to ensure progression.

• Questions follow a format of ‘I do, We do, You do’, ensuring consistency with teaching strategies in other subjects across the school.

• Pupil tasks are divided into three sections, Yellow, Green and Blue, mirroring the school intent of Instil, Inspire, Innovate.

Please click here to view an example of an English comprehension lesson.

Lesson Structure - Guided Reading

• Guided Reading focusses on the analysis of a high-quality, year-group appropriate text from a range of genres which enables systematic teaching of the reading domains as specified in the National Curriculum.

• Children will first undertake a ‘cold’ assessment of the text, replicating test arrangements where a text is witnessed for the first time.

• In subsequent lessons, children will develop and deepen their fluency and comprehension of the text through a range of reading strategies practised in class, for example choral or echo reading.

• Tasks are presented in a variety of ways, including comprehension style questions as well more interactive and collaborative tasks.

• Questions in each lesson are focussed upon a particular reading domain, and use the school’s reading progress drives to ensure progression.

• Questions follow a format of ‘I do, We do, You do’, ensuring consistency with teaching strategies in other subjects across the school.

Please click here to view an example of an English Guided Reading lesson.

For our reading curriculum, we choose texts that are diverse in order to help our pupils to become tolerant, respectful, well-informed and empathetic young people. It is important to us that our selected titles not only reflect our shared British heritage but also cultures across the world. In order to fully prepare our young readers for the next stage in their education, we have selected books that are complex in the language they use and which demand more from our students as readers. As such, our reading spine is a launchpad for our pupils’ own journey as lifelong readers.

Implementation - Writing

Our Writing lessons move from reading to writing over a one or two week block.  An inspiring context for writing is shared with the pupils - this context threads through all the writing lessons in the block. Key punctuation and grammar skills are taught and instilled before pupils use these skills when constructing a paragraph.  Pupils are then moved onto independently composing a whole text, ranging from narratives, information texts to persuasive texts amongst others.

• Learning objectives are taken from the English MTP and the end of year expectations from the appropriate term.

• Planning is completed backwards for a text type – the key skills which will be required for the final piece of writing are used as the learning objectives in the Instil lessons.

• Instil lessons focus on a specific skill which will improve the pupils’ writing.  

• The modelled writing lesson will focus upon how to draw the skills together into one cohesive paragraph/text.

• Pupils are moved onto their final writing task – independently or guided by the teacher, depending upon teacher assessment over the text type.

• Within the final composition, pupils are given opportunities to edit their work: to check their spellings, grammar and punctuation and ensure they have included their success criteria.

• Reception and Year 1 will follow the Read, Write Inc programme –see RWI programme of study for further details.

• Year 2/3/4 will follow a one-week text type.  It will be repeated the following week in a different context.

• Spelling is taught through the Read Write Inc and Read Write Inc Spelling programmes.

Please click here to view an example English writing lesson.

Please click on the documents below to see end of year expectations for each year group in Reading and Writing.

Y1 Reading EoYEY1 Writing EoYEY2 Reading EoYEY2 Writing EoYEY3 Reading EoYEY3 Writing EoYEY4 Reading EoYEY4 Writing EoYEY5 Reading EoYEY5 Writing EoYEY5 Reading EoYEY6 Reading EoYEY6 Writing EoYE