Primary Literacy Curriculum Overview In the Primary Department pupils are ability grouped for all Literacy lessons, daily phonic sessions and daily guided reading sessions. The teaching of speaking, listening, reading and writing is based on the levels and needs of the individual pupil, multi-sensory resources, symbols and signs may be used when appropriate. Access strategies such as on screen keyboards are put in place for individual pupils.
P1 – 3(ii) Developing pupils’ responses to activities and experiences. This may range from: pupils encountering activities and experiences and showing simple reflex responses,P1(i) showing emerging awareness eg getting excited in an activity P1(ii) responding consistently to familiar people and focusing their attention on sensory aspects of stories or rhymes when prompted. P2(i) pupils beginning to be proactive in their interactions eg communicating consistent preferences and recognising familiar people,P2(ii) pupils beginning to communicate intentionally and remembering learned responses over more extended periods for example, following the sequence of a familiar daily routine and responding appropriately.P3(i) pupils using emerging conventional communication. They greet known people and may initiate interactions and activities, for example, prompting another person to join in with an interactive sequence. P3(ii)
P4-6 Speaking P4 Pupils repeat, copy and imitate between 10 and 50 single words, signs or phrases or use a repertoire of objects of reference or symbols, for familiar objects, eg cup, biscuit, and to communicate about events and feelings, eg likes and dislikes. P5 Pupils combine two key ideas or concepts. They combine single words, signs or symbols to communicate meaning to a range of listeners, for example, ‘Mummy gone’ or ‘more drink’. They make attempts to repair misunderstandings without changing the words used, for example, by repeating a word with a different intonation or facial expression. Pupils use a vocabulary of over 50 words. P6 Pupils initiate and maintain short conversations using their preferred medium of communication. They ask simple questions to obtain information, for example, ‘Where’s cat?’. They can use prepositions, such as ‘in’ or ‘on’, and pronouns, such as ‘my’ or ‘it’, correctly.
Listening P4 Pupils demonstrate an understanding of at least 50 words, including the names of familiar objects. Pupils respond appropriately to simple requests which contain one key word, sign or symbol in familiar situations, for example, ’Get your coat’, ‘Stand up’ or ‘Clap your hands’. P5 Pupils respond appropriately to questions about familiar or immediate events or experiences for example, ‘Where is the ball?’, ‘What are you doing?’, ‘Is it yellow?’. They follow requests and instructions containing at least two key words, signs or symbols, for example, ‘Put the spoon in the dish’, ‘Give the book to Johnny’.
P6 Pupils respond to others in group situations, for example, taking turns appropriately in a game such as ‘Pass the parcel’. They follow requests and instructions with three key words, signs or symbols, for example, ‘Give me the little red book’.
Reading P4 Pupils listen and respond to familiar rhymes and stories. They show some understanding of how books work, for example, turning pages and holding the book the right way up. P5 Pupils select a few words, symbols or pictures with which they are particularly familiar and derive some meaning from text, symbols or pictures presented in a way familiar to them. They match objects to pictures and symbols, for example, choosing between two symbols to select a drink or seeing a photograph of a child and eye-pointing at the child. They show curiosity about content at a simple level, for example, they may answer basic two key-word questions about a story. P6 Pupils select and recognise or read a small number of words or symbols linked to a familiar vocabulary, for example, name, people, objects or actions. They match letters and short words.
Writing P4 Pupils show they understand that marks and symbols convey meaning, for example, placing photographs or symbols on a timetable or in a sequence. They make marks or symbols in their preferred mode of communication. P5 Pupils produce meaningful marks or symbols associated with their own name or familiar spoken words, actions, images or events, for example, contributing to records of their own achievements or to books about themselves, their families and interests. They trace, overwrite or copy shapes and straight line patterns.
P6 Pupils produce or write their name in letters or symbols. They copy letter forms, for example, labels and/or captions for pictures or for displays.
P7-8 Speaking P7 Pupils use phrases with up to three key words, signs or symbols to communicate simple ideas, events or stories to others, for example, ‘I want big chocolate muffin’. They use regular plurals correctly. They communicate ideas about present, past and future events and experiences, using simple phrases and statements, for example, ‘We going cinema on Friday’. They contribute appropriately one-to-one and in small group discussions and role play. They use the conjunction and to link ideas or add new information beyond what is asked. P8 They link up to four key words, signs or symbols in communicating about their own experiences or in telling familiar stories, both in groups and one-to-one, for example, ‘The hairy giant shouted at Finn’. They use an extensive vocabulary to convey meaning to the listener. They can use possessives, for example, ‘Johnny’s coat’. They take part in role play with confidence. They use conjunctions that suggest cause for example, ‘cos,’ to link ideas.
Listening P7 Pupils listen, attend to and follow stories for short stretches of time. They follow requests and instructions with four key words, signs or symbols, for example, ‘Get the big book about dinosaurs from the library’. They attend to, and respond to, questions from adults and their peers about experiences, events and stories, for example, ‘Where has the boy gone?’.
P8 Pupils take part in role play with confidence. Pupils listen attentively. They respond appropriately to questions about why or how, for example ‘Why does a bird make a nest?’, ‘How do we copy this picture?’.
Reading P7 Pupils show an interest in the activity of reading. They predict elements of a narrative, for example, when the adult stops reading, pupils fill in the missing word. They distinguish between print or symbols and pictures in texts. They understand the conventions of reading, for example, following text left to right, top to bottom and page following page. They know that their name is made up of letters. P8 Pupils understand that words, symbols and pictures convey meaning. They recognise or read a growing repertoire of familiar words or symbols, including their own names. They recognise at least half the letters of the alphabet by shape, name or sound. They associate sounds with patterns in rhymes, with syllables, and with words or symbols.
Writing P7 Pupils group letters and leave spaces between them as though they are writing separate words. They are aware of the sequence of letters, symbols and words, for example, selecting and linking symbols together, writing their names and one or two other simple words correctly from memory. P8 Pupils show awareness that writing can have a range of purposes, for example, in relation to letters, lists or stories. They show understanding of how text is arranged on the page, for example, by writing or producing letter sequences going from left to right. They write or use their preferred mode of communication to set down
their names with appropriate use of upper- and lower-case letters or appropriate symbols.
NC levels 1-3 Pupils are ability grouped for all Literacy lessons, daily phonic sessions and daily guided reading sessions.
Reading Word reading Reading and writing are taught using the Read Write Inc phonics scheme. This provides a clear, systematic and consistent approach to learning. This is supported by interactive software, phonic games and both paper-based and interactive fiction and non-fiction books. Signs and symbols eg Makaton and Communicate-in-print are used to support reading where appropriate. Pupils learn the Read Write Inc speed sounds sets 1, 2 and 3. Pupils start by learning the 44 common sounds in the English language and are taught to respond with the correct sound to grapheme (letters or groups of letters) read by blending sounds in familiar and unfamiliar words using the grapheme phoneme (letters to sound) correspondences (GPCs) that have been taught read words of 2 or more syllables and common exception words re-read books to build up fluency and confidence in word reading pupils progress to: reading accurately new words of 2 or more syllables
reading further exception words and noting unusual correspondences between spelling and sound
Individual reading Reading books from the Read Write Inc ditty books and sets 1 -7 are read in class and form part of the home / school reading programme. More fluent readers continue with reading books from OUP ‘Literacy and Language’. They also choose books from the library.
Guided reading Pupils are ability groups into daily guided reading sessions which develop comprehension skills such as inference and deduction as well as fluency.
Comprehension Pupils are taught to understand books they have read or had read to them by:
drawing on new vocabulary discussion inferring what characters might be like making predictions
and develop pleasure in reading by: listening to and discussing a range of poems and stories becoming familiar with key stories, fairy stories and traditional tales reading and saying aloud poems and rhymes Pupils progress to: Discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and reference books or text books Becoming familiar with a wide range of genres eg myths and legends Identifying different themes in stories and poems
Saying aloud and remembering poems and rhymes Preparing poems and plays to read aloud Recognising different forms of poetry And
Drawing inferences Making predictions Recalling and summarising Discussing words and phrases Using titles, headings, sub-headings and indexes to locate information Discussing what they have learnt from their reading
Writing Spelling Pupils follow the new National Curriculum guidance for spelling and are taught to: spell: words containing each of the 44 phonemes adding prefixes and suffixes eg -s -ing -ed by segmenting words into phonemes and representing these by graphemes eg shout sh/ou/t write from memory simple sentences eg ‘hold a sentence activities’ common exception words and progress to: using further prefixes and suffixes eg re- super- and –ly spelling words that sound the same but have different spellings eg there, their common misspelt word
Handwriting Pupils are taught to:
form lower-case letters in the correct direction, starting and finishing in the right place write capital letters and numbers become familiar with a keyboard layout particularly when fine motor problems make handwriting difficult use a variety of access methods that enable disabled pupils to write eg nose mouse, joysticks and onscreen keyboards
Composition Pupils are taught to: Write sentences by: composing a sentence orally before writing it sequencing words and sentences to form sentences and short narratives re-reading own work to check it makes sense discussing what they have written with staff and other pupils writing for different purposes eg letters, invitations, instructions planning by saying out loud and writing down ideas / new vocabulary Pupils who cannot handwrite due to fine motor difficulties may use a laptop, ipad, computer, on screen keyboard and joystick, nose mouse, eyegaze or access arrangements tailored to their particular need. Signs and symbols are used to support writing where appropriate.
Grammar and punctuation Sentence structure Writing simple and compound sentences, joining them with and.
Joining sentences with different conjunctions eg when, if, because, but Types of sentence – statement, question, exclamation, command Including adjectives in sentences Using verbs correctly Expressing time and cause: conjunctions (e.g. when, before, after, while, because), adverbs (e.g. then, next, soon, so) prepositions (e.g. before, after, during, in,). Using pronouns correctly Text structure Sequencing sentences to form short narratives Present tense, past tense Headings, sub headings and paragraphs Punctuation
Capital letters, full stops, question marks, exclamation marks Commas in a list Speech marks Commas in sentences
Speaking Pupils learn to speak competently and creatively for different purposes and audiences through:
telling stories from their own experiences retelling stories using story language learning by heart and reciting poems explaining ideas and processes offering evidence for their views and responding to the views of others
Group discussion and interaction children take turns to speak, ask and answer questions and make relevant contributions use talk to organise roles and action identify the main points of each speaker and compare arguments
Drama
children explore characters and themes through role-play use drama strategies to explore stories or issues comment constructively on plays and performances
Listening Children learn to: listen with concentration to stories and instructions listen to a talk and remember specific points identify how talk varies according to purpose
NC levels 4 and above Pupils continue to be placed in ability groups for all Literacy lessons, daily guided reading and daily phonics/spelling/individual reading sessions
Reading Word reading Pupils continue to: develop knowledge of prefixes and suffixes read and spell further exception words
Comprehension Pupils continue to: read and discuss a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, nonfiction and reference books
read books written for a range of purposes identify and discuss themes and conventions in and across a wide range of writing make comparisons within and across books discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader distinguish between statements of fact and opinion provide reasoned justifications for their views. recognise different forms of poetry
Writing Spelling Pupils are taught to: use further prefixes and suffixes spell some words with ‘silent’ letters [for example, knight, psalm, solemn] continue to distinguish between homophones use dictionaries to check the spelling and meaning of words use a thesaurus.
Handwriting pupils are taught to: increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting
Composition pupils are taught to:
plan draft and write evaluate proof read and read aloud
Grammar, punctuation and vocabulary Pupils continue to develop their knowledge of grammar and punctuation: eg using a variety of verb tenses, identifying types of clause in complex sentences the use of commas to clarify meaning.
Speaking and Listening Pupils have opportunities to: listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers justify their answers, arguments and opinions give well structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas speak audibly and fluently