This year, the children at Stuart Road are experiencing an exciting and stimulating approach to their English lessons. Using the Talk 4 Writing methodology, the children are immersed in a high-quality model text, which they learn to imitate as a class. This approach allows the children to become fully immersed and familiar with a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry genres so that they are able to independently apply all of the features learned by the end of a 3-week block. Under our new approach, knowledge, skills and understanding are widened and deepened over children’s primary school experience; their central learning remains the same, but their radius widens. Through this structured and sequenced design, children are well equipped with the tools they need to succeed.
Our English curriculum enables progress and depth of understanding in a number of ways: it is carefully designed in a sequential way, ensuring that objectives are revisited and embedded not only within a term or year, but also over a key stage; purposeful inter- and intra- curricular links are used to best effect to encourage connected learning; and children are provided with an ambitious context for all learning which both inspires and challenges.
Across key stages 1 and 2, objectives are standardised per year group. This ensures that learning is correctly sequenced, pitch is appropriate, and objectives are revisited and embedded a number of times both within and across key stages.
To ensure cross-curricular learning, English will be linked to our Knowledge Rich Projects which provide the context for foundation subjects learning. English is at the heart of the model and writing is woven through every theme. Each Knowledge Rich Project lasts one term to ensure coverage is broad and balanced across the year and to offer a rich variety of opportunities for writing.
All English objectives are revisited multiple times within and across key stages, ensuring that the learning sequence is correct and that children are always building on and embedding previous knowledge and understanding. Pupils are given frequent opportunities to revisit previous learning in different and new contexts thereby allowing for greater depth of understanding.
Knowledge Organisers are used to provide direction around what children should know, remember and understand by the end of each Knowledge Rich Project. In addition, key vocabulary is provided to ensure that children are exposed to a language-rich environment and that they develop a strong grasp of subject-specific vocabulary.
High Frequency Words
Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 children learn to read, write and spell a considerable number of High Frequency Words. The teaching of the high frequency words is linked to the teaching of phonics. It is expected that pupils in KS2 consistently spell HFW correctly, therefore, we would greatly appreciate parental support with the learning of these words.
If you would like any help or advice about how to develop your child's or your own knowledge of the English curriculum please see me or your child's teacher.
Mrs Hannon
English Lead