English Leader - Miss E. Hunter Reading Leader - Miss R. Jones
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English
Following the National Curriculum ensures coverage of knowledge and skills so that children at Ashurst achieve highly in English. We pride ourselves on a broad and balanced curriculum and believe that knowledge and skills within English should be applied to other areas of the curriculum; we consistently seek opportunities to do so through disciplinary literacy. Our curriculum is well sequenced and organised in a way to meet the needs and to provide high quality experiences for all pupils. Our curriculum offers children the opportunity to build the essential knowledge needed to become well-rounded citizens to succeed in later life. Children are encouraged to see the links between what we teach in English to future jobs and citizenship. We share high levels of academic ambition with the intention of giving children the knowledge needed for a successful and happy future.
Reading At Ashurst
'Reading at the heart of the curriculum'
Whole class reading
Whole class reading takes place from Year 2 - Year 6. Engaging high quality texts with appropriate challenge are chosen for reading lessons. A variety of short texts and chapter books are used covering a wide range of genres. We have considered our choice and have a diverse range of authors, characters and themes. During these lessons ,children have the opportunity to listen to reading being modelled by the teacher through the modelled fluency approach. Children have the opportunity to echo the reading back (Modelled Fluency Echo Reading) and repeat reading of texts. Teachers plan and model activities covering the different reading skills. There are lots of opportunities to discuss new vocabulary and for children to discuss their opinions about what they have read.
Independent Reading
From Year 3 onwards children access books from our school library. Children are assessed and read books from the Oxford Reading Tree level which is appropriate for them. We want all children to feel confident and successful when reading so we assess children to find the right level. Children progress through the Oxford levels and love the variety, depth and breadth which we offer. We have invested much into these books and really do have something for every reader. Children have led decisions on stock in the library and have the chance to tell us what they want to read. Children write book reviews through our 'post it note review' system which keeps book talk alive at Ashurst.
Reading Plus for Key Stage 2 children
Reading Plus is a program for children in our Key Stage 2. It teaches them to become stronger readers by developing silent fluency, reading speed and comprehension. Reading Plus provides stories which increase in difficulty. Children read a short text and answer 10 questions. Children have access to 800+ high quality texts that are constantly updated and adapted to meet every child's needs. Reading Plus does not replace reading books. The program is designed to teach each child to become a more efficient reader, thus helping to support a lifelong love of reading.
Children at Ashurst work so well through this program and tell us they love it! Go to our pupil voice, in the 'Impact' section of this page, to find out what KS2 children say about it. Keep up the brilliant work children!
Reading for pleasure
We want to encourage a genuine love of reading and believe that this will extend and stretch our children’s ability to learn across the whole curriculum. A love of books, words and reading for the simple pleasure of it, we believe, is vital for children to become life-long learners. As such, every class places a high emphasis on ‘Reading for Pleasure’ each day where books are read together, discussed and enjoyed as a group.
Writing At Ashurst
In the Early Years, writing is taught using Mighty Writer. Mighty Writer is an exciting, visual teaching resource which simplifies the process of learning to write. It breaks the process down into manageable chunks, enabling the development of key literacy skills, so children of all abilities can begin to write with confidence. It engages the whole class in a unique, story-writing process using tools that are both tactile and visual. This helps to shape their understanding of punctuation and grammar, making the story simple to transcribe. It does this through the following steps:
Create
Scaffold
Absorb
Write
Writing is taught using the Talk4Writing programme from Year 1 to Year 6. The three stages of the process imitate, innovate and independent application are followed through in each unit of work. Fiction and non-fiction units are taught every half term in every class. The core texts, as detailed in the long-term map, have been planned to ensure there is progression and challenge across each year, with a balance of genres and skills, building on what has gone before.
In EYFS they also follow the same Talk4Writing programme with a clearer focus on children ‘imitating’ and internalising the text, slowly building up to more independent writing. In both Nursery and Reception non-fiction and fiction text types are covered. Traditional tales provide the starting point for much of the literacy content.
Imitation Phase - In this phase children learn each core text using actions and maps to help them internalise the language structure.
Innovation Phase - Once children have internalised the core text they are then able to change aspects of it in order to create their own story using the structures of the original.
Independent Application - In this phase children use what they have learnt to create their own story.
What is Talk for Writing? Pie Corbett explains.
Talk for Writing founder and Literacy expert, Pie Corbett, gives a brief overview of the Talk for Writing approach to teaching Literacy, and why it works.
Pie Corbett- Talk for Writing video
Spag.com
In years 1 -6 we use Spag.com as part of our weekly homework. SPaG.com provides KS1 and KS2 practice punctuation & grammar tests. Plus 80 additional tests covering grammar objectives for every year group. It is new & updated for 2021. Completing weekly punctuation and grammar tasks helps learning stick. Children recap on previously taught skills and practice new learning. These short weekly tasks are used in Year 1 (from Spring Term) to Year 6.
To access Spag.com website please follow this link:
https://www.spag.com/Public/Home
Spelling Shed
Spelling Shed is a whole-school spelling curriculum. For each class there are 36 weekly objectives and spelling lists that give a steady progression through the curriculum as well as review and challenge lists to extend vocabulary. For each week's spelling list we provide a traditional printable practice sheet that follows the look-cover-write-check format. We compliment this with spelling games and different spelling strategies to support children in remembering the rules and spelling patterns. We look for spelling application in independent writing to assess spelling standards and progress.
Handwriting
It is important children learn the letter correct formation early on. We use the Read, Write, Inc. handwriting phrases. Take a look at the document below and use these phrases at home so children get consistency. Consistency is key, so we would encourage parents and carers to use the same phrases at home.
Curriculum Documents
