English
"No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world"
Robin Williams
Vision and Rationale
At Mendip Green Primary School our English curriculum promotes language development which enables pupils to communicate effectively and to appreciate the richness, magic and power of the written word. It enables children to see language as a source of pleasure and enjoyment and use it to develop powers of imagination, creativity and inventiveness.
Reading
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We recognise and value the importance of developing confident readers with a love of reading, in all its forms. We passionately believe in children hearing authors and illustrators talk about the craft of writing and illustrating and strive to provide as many opportunities as possible for this to happen, especially through visits to our school.
Staff enthusiasm for reading and knowledge of classic and current children’s literature is also a high priority. Beyond the English lesson, children are exposed to and immersed in a wide range of stories, poems and other texts through book events, library visits and story-time.
When teaching reading, we use a phonics-first approach, with texts matched to each child's individual reading stage. However, a child's joy of reading and books encompasses so much more than the ability to decode. 'Three ways to read a book' are modelled to our youngest children so that they are able to access and enjoy a wide range of beautiful picture books and immerse themselves in the magic of story-telling.
- Reading the pictures
- Reading the words (for phonetically decodable books only)
- Retelling a familiar story
Book corners celebrate our reading culture and offer a cosy book nook in each class. Our library is a special place, designed and developed by the children with librarians and Reading Champions actively involved in maintaining the space, developing its stock and creating a book buzz across the school community.
Writing
We believe in immersing our children in texts through reading and analysing the skills of an expert writer. This is important as through this emersion, children become aware of the language skills of a writer and use this as a model for their writing. Using this model, children develop greater competence in the conventions of spelling, punctuation, sentence structures and text organisation.
Through our curriculum, children will develop:
- a strong command of the written and spoken word
- the ability to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
- the confidence and competence to produce high quality writing
- a good understanding of grammar and punctuation and its use in effective written communication
Spelling
“My spelling is Wobbly. It’s good spelling but it wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”
Winnie the Pooh, A.A.Milne
We believe that spelling needs to be actively taught. Our approach is systematic, explicit and interactive encouraging children to investigate and understand how our spelling system works.
By building on children’s knowledge of phonics (how the 26 letters of the alphabet represent approximately 44 sounds in the English language in approximately 140 different ways) children will have the tools to spell 85% of root words. In Year 2 and Key Stage 2, we teach children the morphology of words (how words are grouped into families, related to each other by a combination of form, grammar and meaning). By mastering basic morphological principles, children will have a way of working out the spelling of over half a million words.
The remaining words are irregular. We use etymology (the stories behind the spelling of certain words) and graphic strategies to help children to learn these spellings
Our English Curriculum
Early Years Foundation Stage – Communication and Language
The educational programme for communication and language, set out in the EYFS Framework, is delivered in our reception classes in line with the Extend Reception curriculum.
Early Years Foundation Stage – Literacy
The educational programme for literacy, set out in the EYFS Framework, is delivered in our reception classes using Extend Letters and Sounds – a complete curriculum for phonics, early reading and writing. Extend Letters and Sounds is a DfE validated systematic, synthetic phonics programme.
Key Stage 1 and 2 – English
We follow the national curriculum.
In Year 1, we continue to use Extend Letters and Sounds – a complete curriculum for phonics, early reading and writing to deliver our English curriculum focusing on securing strong foundations in literacy.
In Year 2-6, we use Extend English which addresses reading, writing and spoken language alongside Extend Spelling and Extend Handwriting.
Overview
For further information about phonics and reading schemes visit Phonics and Reading Schemes.
For further information about spelling and handwriting, contact Victoria Walton via the school office: office@mendipgreen.extendlearning.org
