ENGLISH
Possessing a skilful grasp of language is crucial in order to succeed in education as well as participate in society in general – we aim to equip pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word so that they can confidently communicate and express themselves in wide variety of situations and for a wide range of purposes.
English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for accessing the whole curriculum – we provide a range of stimulating and meaningful contexts for children to develop their English subject knowledge and skills.
A copy of our English Policy can be found here:
For an overview of the end-of-year expectations that your child will be working on, please select the appropriate link below:
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Reading |
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Curriculum Our reading curriculum consists of two main dimensions: · Word reading (phonics/sight recognition/decoding strategies) · Comprehension (understanding of words/texts and themes/reading for a variety of purposes) In each classroom children have access to and enjoy sharing books, taking part in story times and small-group reading sessions with their peers.
“Reading is a window to the world.” Through reading, pupils have a chance to develop, culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Throughout their school journey, children experience a range of stories, poetry and non-fiction texts. Reading is important in being able to access other areas of the curriculum, such as reading word-problems in maths.
Reading to our teddy bears. Reading at Home We urge parents and carers to share books with their children as often as possible – we believe that enjoying quality time with your child while reading and talking about books is the most important thing you can do to support your child in their primary education. Please take the time to read our parents’ information booklet: The Importance of Reading
Reading Scheme From Reception onwards, until they become fluent, the children follow the Oxford Reading Tree scheme. This is enhanced with phased phonic books, such as Dandelion Readers, and other reading books to allow them a wide and varied reading experience. Once fluent, we encourage children to choose their own book from an age-appropriate selection and to visit the library, in order to develop their own personal preferences for genres and authors.
Reading For Enjoyment At Lancaster Lane we celebrate our love of reading in a number of ways, including our annual Book Week. Last year, our school transformed into Hogwarts....every pupil received Owls informing them they had received a place and were sorted by the sorting hat in assembly. For the whole week, we dressed as witches/wizards and took part in all sorts of magical reading activities. To finish the week, families enjoyed attending a special exhibition, showcasing the children's fantastic work and the children attended a banquet in the main hall - complete with floating candles and Butterbeer! This year, we flew to Neverland and enjoyed all sorts of reading and writing activities based on the story of Peter Pan. Below are a few photos of our wonderful week:
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Phonics and Spellings |
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Curriculum We deliver phonics in line with Letters and Sounds and follow Lancashire’s Scheme of Work for teaching and learning in spellings. Children enjoy taking part in rigorous, well-paced and multi-sensory sessions, which aim to equip children with an increasing repertoire of strategies to tackle unknown words.
An outdoor spelling game.
Supporting Your Child at Home Suggestions on how to support your child with
their phonics and spelling development can be found in the following booklet: Spelling Strategies
On each class page, there are links to age-appropriate phonics/spelling homework activities, which links to what each class will be learning that during the current half-term.
Each year, parents are invited to a phonics workshop which offers practical ideas about how to support children in their early reading and spelling development. For further information from the recent workshop, please click below Phonics Guide For Parents
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Writing |
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Curriculum Our writing curriculum consists of three dimensions: - Transcription (spelling & handwriting); - Punctuation and Grammar; - Composition (articulating ideas and structuring them into speech and writing.
Our pupils develop their skills and understanding in the above areas through regular and carefully planned and pitched learning activities. Key skills are transferable and so are taught across a range of genres. Writing opportunities are creative and meaningful for the pupils, linking with current and seasonal events, other subjects in the curriculum and the interests of the pupils.
Learning how to catch a dinosaur before we write our instructions. Supporting Your Child at Home Early in school, parents and carers are strongly urged to engage their children in activities to strengthen their motor skills. Without good gross and fine motor control, pupils find it very difficult to make progress in their written skills, which can be demotivating and damaging for their self-esteem. There are lots of enjoyable, motor-skill building activities which can be found in this booklet: Developing Motor Skills
Practising letter formation in the infants, moving onto cursive script in the juniors, is helpful reinforcement for your child, so they can develop fluent and efficient handwriting. Our policy and a guide to letter formation can be found below:
Handwriting Policy
The following links show the correct letter formation we use before children begin to join up. Each letter has a catchy rhyme with it to help the children easily remember the correct direction to move their pencil/pen.
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