English
English Curriculum Overview
At Throckley Primary School, we believe that literacy and communication are key life skills and that it is our role, through our broad and rich curriculum, to help children develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate effectively and creatively with the world at large, through spoken and written language. Through a love of reading that is shared across our school, we strive to ensure all children enjoy and appreciate literature and its rich variety as well as seeing books as portable magic that can transport their imagination wherever it chooses.
Our curriculum drivers are the foundations for learning at Throckley Primary School. We are driven by the shared belief that, in order to achieve success, children need to understand their place in the world, broaden their horizons and aspire to achieve. Through carefully-selected shared books across school that match our Thrive At Throckley focuses, children are able to reflect on their: wellbeing, contribution, culture, community, world and future. We believe that books help shape our pupils personally and help them to develop their views and ideas on the world around them. Please see the wonderful selection of books, for the whole school, that will be enjoyed this year:
Every year group follows a strategically-planned English curriculum that provides pupils with rich reading diets and exciting written outcomes; it encourages them to 'Think Like an Author' and 'Think Like a Reader' by using essential skills needed within English.
Thinking Like a Reader- Key Stage One:
Thinking Like an Author- Key Stage One:
With this all combined, we aim to ensure our children leave Throckley Primary School with a solid foundation in the spoken and written word, having had the opportunity to master these essential life skills.
As a school, we aim to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping children 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 aspire to achieve and are therefore able to:
read easily, fluently and with speed
develop strong comprehensions skills so that children can draw on mental models to make sense of what they have read
develop a love of reading and the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
- are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
Curriculum:
At each Key Stage, a detailed programme of study sets out what pupils should be taught. Lesson content is based on the National Curriculum for England (2014).
The programmes of study for reading at key stages 1 and 2 consist of two dimensions:
- Word reading
- Comprehension (both listening and reading)
The programmes of study for writing at key stages 1 and 2 are constructed similarly to those for reading:
- Transcription (spelling and handwriting)
- Composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing)
Spelling, vocabulary and grammar are embedded within our programmes of study. Opportunities for teachers to enhance pupils’ vocabulary arise naturally from their reading and writing and, as a school, we provide rich learning experiences where children’s reading, writing, spelling and grammar flourish.
The National Curriculum for English reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically. Spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing and, as a school, we promote these key skills both within English teaching and across the curriculum.
Read, Read and Tweet All About It!
Books are the building blocks of everything we do here at Throckley. Our pupils love to explore a vast range of books, which are from different authors, to help underpin their learning across the curriculum. Every year group has well-chosen texts that link to other areas of the curriculum. Within English lessons, classes have a book 'In the Spotlight' that they are reading. As they relish the text, they explore the vocabulary, setting, characters and plot which is regularly revisited through the use of working walls. Alongside a studied text in English, pupils will also enjoyed a different book as part of their reading lessons in Key Stage Two. Our aim is to present pupils with a vast array of books to encourage them to develop their own reading preferences so that they can find the books that are perfect for them!
We love to share all of their amazing work with the authors using X. Check out some of the authors replies below!
We love English!
Oracy- 'My voice is my power!'