English
"The English language is a work in progress. Have fun with it." Jonathan Culver
ENGLISH AT ST. WULSTAN’S
The overriding aim for English at St. Wulstan’s is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. At St. Wulstan’s, English skills are enhanced through the whole curriculum. Children also have a daily English lesson of at least one hour.
Purpose of study
English has a pre-eminent 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 and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both 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; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.
Aims
The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
- read easily, fluently and with good understanding
- develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
- acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
- appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
- write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
- use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
- are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
Spoken Language
The national curriculum for English reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically. Spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding for reading and writing. Teachers should therefore ensure the continual development of pupils’ confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills. Pupils should develop a capacity to explain their understanding of books and other reading, and to prepare their ideas before they write. They must be assisted in making their thinking clear to themselves as well as to others and teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions. Pupils should also be taught to understand and use the conventions for discussion and debate.
All pupils should be enabled to participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with the artistic practice of drama. Pupils should be able to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role. They should have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances. (National Curriculum 2014)
The delivery of our English lesson is planned and delivered using the Lancashire Planning documents for English and children are exposed to a wide range of genres throughout their school journey. Lessons are planned and delivered so children develop a love for books, write for a wide range of purposes and audiences and are inspired to become the next generation of writers. Children will explore a variety of text types as they progress through St. Wulstan's, developing and applying skills they have learnt.
The Lancashire Planning documents ensure the coverage of the National Curriculum specific to each year group and skills are taught in a progressive sequence. Teachers use Learning and Progression Documents to ensure the planning and delivery of these skills is sequential.
The teaching sequence:
Phase 1: creating interest and shared outcome.
Phase 1: Reading: responding and anaylsing.
Phase 2: Gathering Content.
Phase 3: Writing. Phase 3/4: Presentation.
The amount of time spent in any one phase needs to be tailored to each unit and each cohort’s needs. skills are taught in a progressive sequence. Children are exposed to a range of genres. Lessons are planned and delivered so that children develop a love of books, write for a range of purposes and audiences and are inspired to become writers of the future.