I can do all things through him who strengthens me,
Philippians 4:13
The teaching of English at North Cave C.E. Primary School is designed to give pupils the key skills in literacy and communication. Our curriculum helps children develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate effectively and creatively through spoken and written language. This enables our children to access material in all curriculum areas, and provide a foundation for their learning throughout their school career and beyond.
We support the children to read, write and speak fluently and communicate their ideas with each other. In our school, we are focused on making English interesting, exciting and purposeful by engaging the pupils with the joy and wonder of books and capturing their imagination both inside and outside of school.
Through a love of reading that is embedded within our school, we strive to help children to enjoy and appreciate literature and its rich variety. English at North Cave C.E. Primary School is viewed as a fundamental part of the holistic development of the child for inspiring minds through literature, fostering positive behaviours and attitudes towards learning.
Aims and Objectives:
At North Cave C.E. Primary School we aim to promote high standards of language and literacy by nurturing our children and equipping them with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading both across the curriculum and at home.
As a school, we aim to ensure that all pupils:
- acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
- develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
- appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
- read easily, fluently and with good understanding
- write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
- are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
- use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
- understand spelling patterns and rules and creating opportunities for writing for real purposes
- compose, edit and improve their writing successfully.
Curriculum mapping English
Please click on the link below to view our curriculum map for English.
EYFS
Within our EYFS, our children are taught Literacy (prime area) and focus on Reading and Writing which are essential for their development and future learning. We teach Phonics daily to support our children’s development in Literacy which involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters to help them begin to read and write. Additionally, we focus on their Physical Development to support their fine motor skills for their mark making and letter formation development.
Handwriting
At North Cave C.E. Primary School we use the Achieving Excellence in Handwriting resources from Martin Harvey to teach handwriting. We believe it is important for our children to develop a neat, legible handwriting style as this impacts the wider curriculum. Adults in school model our handwriting style and use the appropriate teaching language for handwriting.
- When children can write autonomously they can concentrate on what to write rather than how to write so their ideas and writing content will improve
- A significant impact on children’s self-esteem, when they see beautiful writing which they have created with their own hand
- The huge effect of good handwriting on children’s motivation and enjoyment for writing
- Develops a strong sense of pride which cannot be measured by attainment level or standardised testing
- Where children have good handwriting, and are proud of how their work looks, they become far more meticulous about spelling, punctuation, grammar and their use of language.
- When children take care to produce beautiful work they are more likely to take care in other areas of their life – e.g care for resources, care for each other.
Our Handwriting style
Our handwriting is based on a semi-cursive style. It is simplistic, but very clear, and it does not have the ‘loops’ or ‘led ins’ which are features of more complex handwriting styles.
Techniques of a writer
We encourage the children to use the following techniques whilst writing
- Good tripod pencil grip
- Six legs on the floor
- TNT – tummy near the table
- BBC – bottom and back on the chair
We use the suggested language , this includes:
Please click on the link to view the Excellence in Handwriting resources, including our letter formation , capital letters and letter joins.
Handwriting families
We teach our handwriting in families.
- The straight line family- letters based on a single vertical line.
2. The Coathanger family- letters based on a c shape.
3. The Bride family- letters that have a vertical down stroke followed by a diagonal movement to the right.
4. The Zig zag family- v and w are placed together as a pair.
5. The Smile family- u and y are placed together as a pair.
6. The Misfits family- letters that are unique and individual and do not fit any other groups.
Capital letters
7. These are tall in size and do not join any other letters.
Joining
Once the children are familiar with lower case letters they will be taught to join through our structured handwriting program.
Up, over , stop , reverse
Joining on the top line.
Number formation
We teach the children clear number formation.
Line guides
Here you will find the line guides we use in class.
We use the guides underneath plain paper to keep our writing the same size.
Speaking and Listening
North Cave C.E. Primary School we provide our pupils with a wide range of opportunities to hear and use good quality and adventurous vocabulary, focusing also on variety.
Correct, standard English is always modelled by the adults in school as the spoken language is vital for pupils’ development across all aspects of the school curriculum and underpins the development of reading and writing.
Our children are encouraged to use their spoken language. They ask questions, discuss in pairs and groups and use conventions for discussion as well as debate.
Drama is used as a means to develop our children’s spoken language and also opportunities to perform during Class assemblies to an audience and Nativity (Reception and KS1) and our end of year production (KS2).
We regularly use drama and speaking & listening to support our curriculum as we value opportunities to talk and share ideas. Additionally, our children relish the opportunity to perform to parents and an audience throughout the year.
- Church services
- Class assemblies
- Nativity – EYFS and KS1
- End of year production – KS2
Progression Through Writing Genres- vocabulary
Please click on the link for further information about the progression in vocabulary linked to our range of writing genres.
Oracy and Vocabulary
We use sentence starters across school. For further information. please click on the link for our oracy and vocabulary progression
Listed below are our favourite English websites:
Spellingframe is an interactive resources to help children learn these spellings
This is a delightful Web site for pre-school and Primary 1 children.
The activities can take a few minutes to load but are worth the wait.
BBC – Newsround
Fun On-line news for children
Lots of revision activities covering reading, writing, spelling and grammar.
Younger children may need guidance with some of the activities.
Having trouble writing stories? This Web site helps get children off to a flying start.
A fun site for all Roald Dahl fans with activities and information.
If you like books and stories then this site is for you.
You can read stories, write reviews and even write your own stories.
This is a superb site for encouraging dictionary work.
This website contains many resources to help with the teaching of literacy.