Literacy Targets

Improving your literacy skills

• You use reading, writing, speaking and/or listening skills in every single lesson so it’s important to continue improving these skills at all times, not just in English.

• To help you improve your literacy skills across all your subjects, you should to identify one or two areas that you know you need to develop further

Literacy Targets

• On the following slides there are lots of suggestions for targets you may want to work on in particular this term

• You are welcome to set yourself a target that is not on this list if you already know what you need to develop further, but there are lots of ideas here to choose from if you need some help in making the right decisions

Writing Targets Spelling, punctuation and grammar • I must ensure that I use full stops and capital letters

accurately at all times. • I should attempt to use a wider variety of punctuation

in my writing. • If I make a spelling error, I need to write it out correctly

three times and make sure I spell the word accurately in all future work.

• I need to ensure that I check and spell accurately the key words shared in all my lessons.

• I should proofread my work after every piece of extended writing I do, checking in particular my spelling/punctuation/grammar.

Writing Targets Text Organisation

• I must make sure that I divide my work up into paragraphs every time I compose a piece of extended writing.

• I need to use connectives more frequently in my writing to link my ideas together more clearly.

• I must try to use a range of simple, compound and complex sentences in all extended writing tasks.

Writing Targets

Composition and writing for effect • I should vary my sentence structures to create effects

in my writing.

• When writing non-fiction texts, I should identify the form, audience and purpose first and make sure that the language I use is appropriate for the piece I will then write.

• I need to develop my vocabulary and should try to use the best words I can in my writing at all times.

• I should try to add more detail to my writing, using adjectives and adverbs to enhance my descriptions.

Reading targets Developing my reading and understanding what I have read • I should read my book for at least thirty minutes,

three times per week. • I need to develop my skimming and scanning

skills by highlighting/annotating a text I am reading with key words that sum up what the writing says.

• Each week, I should use a dictionary to look up at least one word I have read that I do not recognise and attempt to use the word in a piece of my own writing later that week.

Reading Targets

Reading for meaning and analysing texts • I need to practise my use of PEE/PEAL paragraphs to

ensure that I explain my ideas in lots of detail in every essay I write.

• I must always use evidence from the reading I have done to support each point I make.

• I should use key phrases for analysis (e.g. ‘this suggests’, ‘this highlights’, ‘this illustrates’...etc) when explaining my understanding of a text I am analysing/I have read.

• I should use comparison connectives when I need to compare two sources/texts.

Reading Targets

Reading for information

• When doing research, I must make sure that I read the information I find about the topic and write three/five/ten sentences that sum up what the information says to show that I have understood it.

• I should attempt to research one topic I am studying each week to find out more about it.

Speaking and Listening Targets

• I should try to answer at least one question every lesson during group/class discussions.

• I should try to make at least one contribution to every class discussion we have.

• I must listen carefully during group tasks and take other people’s ideas into consideration when making my own contributions.

• I need to make sure that the language I use during discussions is always appropriate for the situation.

Use your target!

• Once you have chosen your target and written it in your planner, make sure you check it regularly and try to incorporate it into your work whenever you can, in any lesson where it is relevant

• Share your target with all your teachers and they will be able to check that you are meeting it and improving your work when they assess your work