English - Teaching & Learning

Curriculum Intent - Reading

At Dundonald we inspire a love of Reading from Nursery through to Year 6. We provide our children with a wealth of reading experiences from the moment they pick up a book. We read to them, with them and they read to each other so that they become confident, fluent and motivated readers.

As early readers we give children the foundations to build a secure understanding and knowledge of phonics. They develop and use different strategies to decode unknown words.

Our primary purpose is to develop a lifelong love of reading. We develop each individual's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through the reading and sharing of quality literature.

Children experience a full range of genres and acquire a rich vocabulary so that they learn to read easily and fluently with increased confidence and understanding. Reading is an integral part of learning throughout the curriculum, whether to gain knowledge, find information or simply for pleasure.

Curriculum Intent - Writing

At Dundonald we aim to create a new generation of writers from the moment the children first put pen or pencil to paper. From Nursery to Year 6 children learn to write creatively for meaning, with imagination and for many different purposes and audiences.

Children are immersed in a carefully selected range of high quality literature through role play, drama and discussion. They study authors' techniques, build a rich and varied vocabulary and equip themselves with the technical expertise to write in different styles. This inspires them to think of themselves as writers and to express their creative ideas in many forms including poetry.

On their writing journeys they plan, draft, discuss, edit and reflect on their work. Developing handwriting, using a variety of grammar and punctuation and developing their knowledge and understanding of spelling patterns helps them to achieve.

Curriculum Implementation - Phonics and Spelling

At Dundonald we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised as our systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme to teach early reading and spelling. We teach children that the letters of the alphabet represent different sounds, that these can be used in a variety of combinations and are put together to make words. The children learn to recognise all of the different sounds and combinations that they might see when they are reading or writing. Children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 have a systematic, discrete phonics lesson each day. Children are also given daily opportunities to practise and apply these skills in their reading and writing across the curriculum. Our phonics programme teaches through the following six stages:

Foundations for Phonics (Taught in Nursery)
Phase 2 (Begin teaching in Reception Autumn 1)
Phase 3 (Begin teaching in Reception Spring 1)
Phase 4 (Begin teaching in Reception Summer 1)
Phase 5 (Taught throughout Year 1)

Programme overview

for Reception and Year 1.Further guidance for parents/carers can be found on the

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds website.

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar are taught thoughout the school and weekly spellings are sent home each week from Year 2.

For parent/carer workshops please visit our workshop page here.

Curriculum Implementation - Reading

At Dundonald we enrich the reading curriculum through an annual book week, library visits, Wimbledon BookFest and visiting authors (including remote visits). Reading widely for pleasure and information is promoted throughout the whole curriculum. We encourage children to:

Develop a love and enjoyment of reading
Read for purpose and information
Use reading as an integral part of learning throughout the curriculum
Develop and use different strategies to decode unknown words
Have a secure understanding and knowledge of phonics
Read easily and fluently with increased confidence and undertsanding
Acquire a rich vocabulary
Experience a range of genres
Develop individual's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through the reading and sharing of quality literature

Reading practice sessions

Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 apply their phonics knowledge by using fully matched decodable Collins Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised books. Once the children have a secure understanding and are ready to progress from these fully decodable books, they will begin reading Collins Big Cat books. These sessions are taught by a fully trained adult to small groups of approximately six children, are 15/20 minutes long and happen either twice (in Recption and Year 2) or three times (in Year 1) a week.

Each reading practice session has a clear focus, so that the demands pf the session do not overload the children's working memory. The reading practice sessions have been designed to focus on three key reading skills:

decoding
prosody: teaching children to read with understanding and expression
comprehension: teaching children to understand the text

The children then take the same book home the following week to ensure success is shared with their families.

In Reception these sessions start in week 4. Children who are not yet decoding have daily additional blending practice in small groups, so that they quickly learn to blend and can begin to read books.

Home Reading

The decodable reading practice books are taken home to ensure success is shared with the family. Reading for pleasure books also go home for parents/carers to share and read to their children.

Whole Class Guided Reading

From Year 3 onwards, children take part in Whole Class Guided Reading (WCGR). This is based on the VIPERS acronym, standing for Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Summarise or Sequence - representing the key reading skills contained in the National Curriculum.

The children learn the key skills needed to answer different types of questions through the regular practice and discussion. Children who are not working at Age-Related Expectation have additional 1:1 or small group reading sessions with class teachers and Teaching and Learning Assistants and, if necessary, continue their phonics learning. The books and extracts we read in WCGR lessons are carefully chosen quality texts, often on a theme or connected to a topic that we are studying in class. We have integrated Literary Leaves resources into our planning for the whole class guided reading. The lessons begin with the text being read by the class teacher while children follow their own copies of the text. Any unfamiliar or technical vocabulary is then explained and discussed before the children answer a range of VIPERS questions about the text.

Reading for Pleasure

We believe reading is not only an essentil part of a child's education - and vital to their future achievement in all subjects, not just English - but that it promotes well-being, empathy and understanding of the world around them.

At Dundonald, we promote reading for pleasure in many ways:

Dundonald 100 Books to Read

The '100 Books to Read when you leave year 2,4 & 6' are a kind of self-service mini library for KS1, lower and upper KS2. We have recently refreshed the list, buying dozens of new titles to provide a more up to date and diverse choice reflecting our multicultural and inclusive school.

The lists offer a selection of texts - classic and modern, fiction and non-fiction - designed to appeal to children at different ages. They are not a 'best 100 list' and nor are they exhaustive (there are plenty of other great books available!) but there is something there for everyone.

100 Books to Read Years 1 & 2

100 Books to Read Years 3 & 4

100 Books to Read Years 5 & 6

I Love Reading Weeks

In previous years we have held whole school weeks featuring visits from authors - among them Joseph Coelho and SF Said - and a single text accessible to all year groups. These have included Flotsam by David Weisner, The Journey by Aaron Becker, Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers and The Story Machine by Tom McLaughlin. The books inspire a week's worth of reading, writing, art and other activities.

World Book Day

A day of assemblies, activities and workshops featuring Gabby Dawnay (author of the If I Had... series) in EYFS and KS1. In KS2 Poonam Mistry (How the Stars Came to Be), Natalia O'Hara (Frindleswylde) and Berlie Doherty (Treason) all of whom writie texts studied by the children earlier in the year, adding to their engagement and interest.

Story Sheds and Reading Chairs

The Story Sheds in the playground, which are opened and organised by year 6 pupils, give children access to books at play amd lunchtimes. Children can use the Reading Chairs in the playground to read to each other and clases will also have storytelling sessions when the weather is fine.

Wimbledon Bookfest

Children attend events at the Bookfest every year where they meet authors and illustrators. We publicise, and encourage children to enter, the annual Bookfest writing competition and have had many prize winners over the years.

Reading Buddies

Classes and individual children are paired with each other across the school and meet up at least once every half term to read out things they have written, enjoy favourite books together and share a love of reading.

Royal Society Science Book of the Year judging panel

We recruit a panel of keen readers to judge the six shortlisted titles for this annual prize, who meet on a weekly basis to discuss, review and vote for their favourite books.

Class Books

In Early Years and KS1, children have a daily book vote, whereby they choose from two options which they would like to hear read to them at the end of the day. In KS2, teachers read to their class very day from a novel, often one chosen by the children in a Book World Cup - a contest to whittle down from 16 or 32 titles by sampling the blurb and opening page and books 'play off' against each other to choose a winner.

Curriculum Implementation - Writing

We encourage children to think of themselves as writiers, to express themselves confidently through the written word and develop their voices as writers. Children have the opportunity to write across the curriculum and for a range of audiences and purposes. Children are encouraged to see writing as a life skill that can equip them with the means to put their thoughts into words and can help them to intepret the world around them as well as increasing their life chances and enjoyment.

We teach writing skills through a carefully selected range of high quality, diverse children’s literature to stimulate children’s imaginations. Through being immersed in these texts, for example through role play, drama, 'Book Talk', story mapping and book making, children experience and become familiar with all kinds of genres and styles of writing.

By identifying and practising the features, grammar and vocabulary, as well as the style and intent of the author, children then adapt and invent their own writing based on the source text.

We have tailored schemes of work (based on the Literacy Tree and CLPE Power of Reading) to ensure that children build upon writing skills learnt from their starting points in EYFS and then master the craft for the specific National Curriculum objectives for their year group.

We encourage children to:

Write for pleasure and express creative ideas in many forms including poetry.
Write for a variety of audiences including real audiences.
Write a range of genres and for different purposes, in meaningful contexts.
Plan, draft, discuss and reflect on their writing.
Develop handwriting which supports correct letter formation and spelling (age and stage appropriate).
Use grammar and punctuation effectively and accurately, to enhance meaning.
Use phonic awareness to help spell unknown words.
Develop a good knowledge and understanding of spelling patterns and irregularities in English spelling.

Planning and Teaching of English

Units of work are prepared over a two to three week period and follow a structure of immersion in a text - identifying its features, stle, grammar and vocabulary - followed by opportunities to practise these features. The next stage is to plan a price of writing inspired by and adapted from the source text and, through shared and guided writing sessions, to model the process of turning planning into a coherent, complete, fully realised piece of work. The final stage is for chidlren to re-read, edit to correct and improve their writing. Plannig includes teaching points, questionning and challenges to ensure pupils gain the knowledge they need as writers, have opportunities for discussion and are ambitious in their writing.

Throughout this process, garmmar content, punctuation and vocabulary are embedded in English lessons using examples from the texts being studied. Regular use of verbal and whole class feedback, sharing work under the visualiser, and next steps in marking, enables children to take a critical and constructive view of their writing and develop their skills as editors.

Vocabulary is also explicitly taught through elements such as 'Word of the Week', regular use of dictionaries and thesauruses and instruction in how to use them, magpie-ing from texts we have read and studied. The vocabulary encountered in guided reading sessions is often designed to feed into writing lessons.

Curriculum Implementation - Handwriting

Handwriting is an important life skill that influences the quality of work throughout the curriculum. At the end of Key Stage 2, all pupils should have the ability to produce fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy joined-up handwriting, and to understand the different forms of handwriting used for different purposes.

Formal teaching of handwriting is carried out regularly and systematically to ensure Key Stage targets are met. For example, by the time they reach the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2), pupils should be able to sit correctly at a table, holding a pencil comfortably and correctly; form lower-case letters of the correct size relative to one another, as well as capital letters and the digits 0-9.

By the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6), pupils should write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed. In line with the Department for Education guidance, children in EYFS and KS1 are taught how to print their letters using the Little Wandle formation phrases, which make a link between the mnemonic and the letter.Children in KS2 who have developed their handwriting style are taught cursive joined handwriting using the Letterjoin programme

https://www.letterjoin.co.uk/

Letterjoin is a cursive handwriting scheme which develops children’s handwriting from pre-cursive line and pattern making exercises, through simple letter shapes and joins to fully cursive writing. It is a highly interactive programme, with animated videos of letter formation, iPad compatible, and also supports the children’s understanding and development of grammar, punctuation and spelling through practical tasks and exercises. We aim to make handwriting an automatic process that does not interfere with creative and mental thinking. As a catalyst to speedy handwriting we encourage parents and carers to use the Letter-join resources at home.

Spelling

In EYFS and KS1

At Dundonald we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Souns Revised as our systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme to teach early reading and spelling. We teach children that the letters of the alphabet represent different sounds, that these can be sued in a variety of combinations and are put together to make words. The children learn to recognise all of the different sounds and combinations that they might see when they are reading or writing. Children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 have a systematic, discrete phonics lesson each day. Children are also given daily opportunities to practise and apply these skills in their reading and writing across the curriculum. Our phonics programme teaches through the following six stages.

Foundations for Phonics (taught in Nursery)
Phase 2 (Begin teaching in Reception Autumn 1)
Phase 3 (Begin teaching in Reception Spring 1)
Phase 4 (Begin teaching in Reception Summer 1)
Phase 5 (Taught throughout Year 1)

Year 3- Year 6

We use Spelling Shed to support the planning and teaching od spelling from Years 3-6. Each lesson has a main objective from the National Curriculum appendix for spelling which is split up across lessons. Carefully selected word lists and engaging activities provide opportunities to incorporate phonics and meaning to strengthen spelling skills and build vocabulary acquisition.

Based on phonics, morphing and etymology, the scheme includes main teaching inputs, which are followed up with additional activities that consolidate the learning futher.

Weekly spellings are sent home each week from Year 2 to Year 6.