The Little Book of Literacy Essentials

8/14/2019 The Little Book of Literacy Essentials

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The LittleBook

ofLiteracy

EssentialsAn Introduction to

Literacy in PrimarySchools

Produced by the Lancashire Literacy Consultants


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ContentsIntroduction ................................ 2

The Teaching Sequence . 3-4Speaking, Listening and Drama ........................................ 5-6Reading ........................................ 7Shared Reading ....................................... 8Guided Reading .. 9Reading-Aloud 10The Reading Classroom, Book Boards and Reading Journals .... 11Writing ........................................ 12Shared Writing .. 13Guided Writing .. 14The Working Wall and Writers Journals . 15Phonics and Spelling 16Literacy in Reception Classes . 17-18Planning .. 19Assessment for Learning .. 20Useful Resources and Websites ... 21Notes . 22


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IntroductionBefore becoming swamped beneath the plethora of resources andguidelines for teaching literacy, take time to stand back and considerwhat it is for.

Literacy is the ability to read and writeChildren need to be able to read and write in order to communicateand access information and ideas. So reading and writing are essentiallife skills.

But writing is also an art form. As the essential skills are beingmastered they can be applied to create interesting, engaging andpowerful texts that communicate information, ideas, imagery andemotions to the reader. The teaching of literacy therefore, extends

beyond the teaching of reading and writing skills into the creativeapplication of these skills in writing for a range of purposes andaudiences. And in reading, it is about engaging and immersing thereader in a wide range of high quality texts to be informed,entertained, make sense of themselves and the world around them andappreciate the writers craft.

The trick in teaching literacy is to combine the teaching of reading andwriting skills within a context that is meaningful, purposeful and

creative. The primary curriculum is packed with content that couldprovide the context for a multitude of writing outcomes. The ability toread and write is not an end in itself. Phonics, grammar andvocabulary are the building blocks of literacy and it is the art ofcombining these blocks effectively which is the real skill.

The following pages in this booklet aim to introduce and summarisethe different aspects of literacy. They are organised under the NationalStrategy headings for the different elements of literacy lessons:

Speaking, Listening and Drama

Reading Shared, Guided, Read-aloud, Home Writing Shared, Guided, Outcomes Phonics and Spelling Assessment for Learning

This booklet does not cover detailed pedagogy of the teaching ofreading and writing but is intended to give an overview of theelements of literacy in a Primary School. Detailed guidance for each

aspect of literacy can be found in the relevant DCSF documents, theNational Strategy Literacy Framework site and from talking to andobserving experienced practitioners.


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The Teaching SequenceLiteracy skills are taught within themed units of work. The themes arebased upon text-types such as Non-Chronological Reports, TraditionalTales and Persuasion.

Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing skills are taught and developedin the context of the unit theme and practised and applied to the unitoutcome and across the curriculum.

The Text-Types taught in Primary Schools are:Narrative Traditional; Fables; Myths; Adventure; Mystery; ScienceFiction; Fantasy; Historical fiction; Contemporary fiction; Issues and

Dilemmas; Fairy Tales; Playscripts and Film Narrative.

Non-narrative Recount; Instruction; Persuasion; Discussion;Explanation; Non-Chronological Reports.

Poetry Free Verse; Structured Poetry; Visual Poetry.The Literacy Skills taught in Primary Schools are organised into twelvestrands:1. Speaking2. Listening3. Group discussion and interaction4. Drama5. Phonics6. Spelling7. Understanding and interpreting texts8. Engaging with and responding to texts9. Creating and shaping texts10.Text structure and organisation

11. Sentence structure and punctuation12.PresentationThe Teaching Sequence provides a coherent model for linking andcombining the literacy skills and text-types into effective teaching andlearning opportunities, leading to meaningful outcomes.

Each stage of the teaching sequence is called a Phase. Each phase informsand leads to the next.

Although there are some units which do not follow the teaching sequenceoutlined on the facing page, the usual pattern is as follows:


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The Teaching Sequence

Each Year Group has a selection of themed units providing a balanceof narrative, non-narrative and poetry. The units take from two tofour weeks to deliver but there is scope for flexibility in timings. Theunits build upon each other and are best taught in the order theyappear on the strategy site. The units of work and teaching sequences

are found in the National Strategy Literacy Framework at:

http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primary/primaryframework/literacyframework

Create

Interest

Phase 1Reading

Phase 2Gathering

content

Phase 3Writing

Phase 4Presentation

Grab the childrensinterest e.g. teacher-in-role, film-clips,

visits, visitors Immersion andresponding totexts. Analysisof key featuresto informwriting

Planning,skillsteaching andapplying tounit outcome

Presentingoutcomes invarious andcreative formats e.g. anthologies,leaflets, posters,booklets, topicbooks. ICT film,PPT, Photo story.

Performance.

Exploring ideas,information,themes, situations,issues, plots,characters, settingsto provide thecontent for writing


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Speaking, Listening and DramaSpeaking and Listening are skills. They need to be explicitly taughtand applied both socially and across the curriculum. Giving children

opportunities to speak and listen to each other is hugely important.These opportunities need to be planned and integrated into lessons sothat they make a significant contribution to learning.

Children need opportunities to:

Talk to others Talk with others Talk within role play and drama Talk about talkTalk within literacy lessons is fundamental to: Book Talk - understanding and responding to what children read or

have read to them;

Eliciting and extending responses and encouraging critique; Language development acquiring new words, ideas and

knowledge of the world is directly linked to readingcomprehension. (If you understand something that you hear youwill also understand it when it is written down;)

Storytelling retelling well-known and familiar stories toassimilate the rhythms and patterns of story language;

Story making - creating 'new' stories orally and/or as a preparationand rehearsal for writing;

Talk for Writing - exploring ideas and gathering the content forwriting - what to write about. Creating characters and settings,exploring characters feelings, sequencing and role-playing theorder of events knowing your story or organising informationbefore writing it down;

Rehearsing what is to be written composing sentences orally andrefining them until they are effective and reflect the purpose of thetext.


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Speaking, Listening and DramaUsing drama in the classroom is one of the most effective ways ofensuring that learning is lively and interactive. Most drama activities

take just a few minutes but can have a significant impact upon thechildrens learning.

Drama can be used to: explore characters and situations to develop interpretation,

response and comprehension in reading;

role-play stories to develop sequencing and story language; engage children through teacher-in-role teacher acting as a

character or special visitor who can give the children

information and answer their questions; explore issues and dilemmas; role-play events and then write about the event in role; re-enact events in history; develop vocabulary.

Drama techniques:

Freeze frames

Thought tracking Conscience alley Hot seating Forum Theatre Meetings Paired improvisation Flash backs and flash forwards

Details can be found at:

http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/64926

and in the Speaking, Listening, Learning box delivered to school in2003 (DfES 0623-2003 G)

The children need to be taught each technique to familiarisethemselves with the routines and protocols so that the organisation ofthe technique does not outweigh the aspect being explored.


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ReadingCreating a love of reading in pupils is potentially one of the most powerfulways of improving academic standards in school. Always remember thatreading should be a joy not a chore.

Reading involves two main elements word recognition and languagecomprehension. Beginner readers are taught to use their phonic knowledgeto recognise phonemes and blend them together to read words. As thisbecomes automatic, readers are then able to focus more uponcomprehension. Beginner readers are taught how to decode by blendingphonemes together to sound out words. A systematic and structuredphonics programme is key to this skill. Letters and Sounds, The NationalStrategy programme, is a well structured, effective programme and lots offun!

When reading becomes automatic, the emphasis shifts to understanding,interpreting and responding. Reading analysis, in order to inform writing,is also part of the reading curriculum, but it should not replace or dominatereading for readings sake.

Reading Objectives are organised under two strands:Strand 7 Understanding and interpreting texts;Strand 8 Engaging with and responding to texts.There are seven Assessment Focuses (AFs) for reading which are taughtand assessed in school.

Children have to be taught how to decode, retrieve information and ideas

and make inferences from clues in the text. They need to be taught how toidentify and comment upon the ways in which authors organise theirwriting and the language that they use.

AF1 Use a range ofstrategies, includingaccurate decoding of text,to read for meaning

AF7 Relate textsto their culturaland historicalcontexts andliterary traditions.

AF5 Explain and commenton the writers use of language,including grammatical and

literary features at word andsentence level

AF2 Understand,describe, select or retrieveinformation, events orideas from texts and use

quotation and referenceto text

AF4 Identify and commenton the structure andorganisation of texts,including grammatical andpresentational features attext level

AF3 Deduce, infer orinterpret information,events or ideas from texts

AF6 Identify andcomment on the writerspurposes and viewpoints,and the overall effect


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Shared ReadingThis is the opportunity to share texts with children that they would notnormally access or be able to interpret on their own. The reading skillstaught in the shared reading session are usually appropriate to the age ofthe children rather than their reading ability. However, a skilled teacher

will ensure that children of all reading abilities will be able to engagewith the text.

Reading activities during the shared session:Immersion: Book Talk reading for enjoyment; understanding the text; questioning characters, facts, the author; retrieving information and ideas; interpreting what the author is saying; responding personal responses, art,

drama, journal work; writing in role.The teachers role in the immersion stage is to elicit response, extend thechildrens responses and encourage critique. Comprehension is developedthrough lots of talk and the exchange of ideas not through text bookcomprehension exercises!

Analysis: identifying and commenting on: the authors style; the authors use of language; the authors view point; the structure and organisation of the text; the purpose and audience of the text; links to other texts, times and cultures; how the authors techniques can inform the childrens writing.

The teachers role in the analysis stage is to teach children how toidentify authors techniques and the intended effect upon the text and the

reader. This knowledge is used to inform the childrens own writing.

Basic principles:

all children must be able to see the text; the teacher models and then the class or groups read aloud,

together;

the text is explored with a particular focus informed by theobjective;

all children are included through good, differentiated questioning. children are supported in learning how to articulate theirresponses, interpretation and analysis of what they read.


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Guided ReadingWhereas Shared Reading focuses upon teaching children how to read andrespond at a level appropriate to their age, Guided Reading focuses uponteaching children how to progress from their current reading level to thenext, whether this be below, at, or above a level appropriate to their age.

A group of about six children, who are reading at about the same level,are grouped together.

The teacher chooses a book or text that the children are able to readwithout too much difficulty, (95% accuracy).

There is a clear teaching focus for the session based upon the AFs andthe childrens next steps.

This focus is shared with the children so that they know what theyare learning.

The children read independently and individually not in turn. Beginner readers may read in a quiet voice and the teacher tunes in to

listen for reading behaviours and areas for development.

Confident readers may read in silence with a focus set by the teacher.They might read in advance of the session which is then devoted to afocused discussion about aspects of the text.

There is a balance of teacher and child talk with the teacherprompting rather than dominating.

The guided reading sequence:

Book introduction, recap or overview of text; Phonics and reading strategies if appropriate; Independent reading with a focus; Returning to the text as a group for further exploration; Response personal; journals; drama; art; writing in role to inform

assessment of understanding.

The greatest challenge during a guided reading session is ensuring that allof the other children in the class are occupied in meaningful and engaging

tasks so that interruptions are kept to a minimum. If guided reading takesplace within the literacy lesson, the other children will be engaged inindependent activities linked to the lesson objective. If the guided readingsession is outside of the literacy lesson, a reading workshop model couldbe adopted. One example is that there are five reading focuses over theweek, e.g.:

Group A: Preparing for Guided ReadingGroup B: Guided ReadingGroup C: Responding to Guided Reading

Group D: Free Choice ReadingGroup E: Library; story tapes; reading circle;journals; writing in role . . . .


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Read-AloudReading aloud to children is one of the most painless, powerful and

pleasurable ways to develop a love of reading. It enriches theirlanguage, develops their comprehension and provides a model for their

own writing.Why should you read to your children every day?

Because, listening to stories will: create enthusiastic readers; increase your childrens vocabulary; enhance and accelerate language development and comprehension; give the children virtual experiences of situations and events that

they have not experienced for themselves;

introduce them to many different characters and settings; familiarise them with the flow, rhythm and patterns of the English

language;

develop their sense of the world and their place within it; help them to populate and structure their own stories.

Did you know that the skills we use to understand what we hear arethe same as those we use to understand what we read?

The more stories that children hear, the better their comprehensionwill become.

Do: time-table a 15 minute read-aloud session every day and stick to it! choose a book that both you and the children will enjoy. Look at the

book lists in Guiding Reading and on websites such aswww.clpe.co.uk, www.writeaway.org.uk andwww.lovereading4schools.co.uk and for recommended titles foreach year group. Also, the termly Lancashire Literacy newsletterHave you Read? articles

wear a hat or a shawl to become . . . . . . . The Storyteller! use dramatic techniques and voices to engage your audience; sow a light sprinkling of question seeds to make the children think

and to listen for clues.

create a reading board on which the children canrespond to the story in pictures; thoughts; feelings;questions; character relationship webs; likes;dislikes; puzzles; predictions; surprises; links to life

and other stories; notes about the author . . . . . . have lots of Book Talk! have Fun!


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The Reading ClassroomIs where:

reading for pleasure is the main driving force; there is a rich reading environment; the teachers are committed to extending their knowledge of childrens

literature; the teachers are excited about books, authors and reading; the children are involved in a range of reading activities; the children are involved in decision making about the selection of

texts;

the library and information gathering skills are central to planning,teaching and learning activities;

the reading corner is inviting and motivating; the classroom book collection contains a wide range of genres and

formats which are updated as often as possible; the children feel good about themselves as readers.

Book Boards and Reading JournalsA book board or a reading journal is a space where children can respondto the books that they read and the class novel. These responses can beinitiated by the teacher or can be spontaneous contributions by thechildren.

What kind of things could go into a Reading Journal or onto a ReadingBoard?

initial responses to a book; Question Hand responses Who? Where? When? What? about the author; relating events to own experiences; predictions; character profiles or annotated portraits of characters; character relationship webs who is linked to whom and

why; pictures of settings annotated with figurative and descriptive

language;

likes, dislikes, patterns and puzzles; story mountain of the storys structure; writing in role as a character from the text; response stems speech bubbles with prompts for responding to text

questions see website.

why you didnt finish/like a particular book; notes from characters to the reader: new blurbs and cover designs; alternative endings.


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WritingIn writing, children are taught how to apply grammar, punctuationand spelling skills in ways which are interesting and to create differenteffects for the different purposes and audiences identified during the

analysis part of the reading phase.The two main aspects of writing taught are:WHAT to write the content;HOW to write the grammar, language, structure and the intendedeffect.The WHAT to write can arise from any area of the curriculum, schoollife or issues concerning the children. The HOW to write isdetermined by:

the objectives listed for the year group;

the ability of the children; the genre of the text; the purpose of the text; the audience for the text.

The HOW to write skills are best taught in the context of the WHATto write rather than as unconnected formal exercises. In this way theapplication and intended effects of grammar and vocabulary choicescan be seen in a purposeful outcome.

Writing Objectives are organised under the headings:Strand 9 Creating and shaping texts; Strand 10 Text Structure andOrganisation; Strand 11 Sentence Structure and Punctuation; Strand12 Presentation.There are eight assessment focuses (AFs) for writing which are taughtand assessed in school.

AF1 writeimaginative,interesting andthoughtful texts

AF2 produce texts whichare appropriate to task,

reader and purposeAF3 organise and presentwhole texts effectively,

sequencing and structuringinformation, ideas andevents

AF4 constructparagraphs and usecohesion within andbetween paragraphs

AF5 vary sentencesfor clarity, purpose andeffect

AF6 write withtechnical accuracy ofsyntax andpunctuation in

AF7 select appropriateand effective vocabulary

AF8 use correct spellingAlso, handwritingand presentation


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Shared WritingThis is the most powerful and influential aspect of the teaching of writing.It is an opportunity to show the children exactly what grammar,punctuation, structural or vocabulary skills they are to learn and then apply

to their own writing. Like any other situation in which a skill is beinglearned, the learner observes an expert and then attempts to imitate andapply the skills being demonstrated. The teacher is saying, Watch me, thenyou have a go. The teacher guides and intervenes as the skills are beingpractised and applied. Assessment is made of how well the skills have beenacquired and applied and then next steps identified and taught.

In Shared Writing, the teacher decides on the age-related skill to betaught.

The skill is demonstrated by the teacher who writes example sentences,usually in the context of the theme of the current literacy unit.

The demonstration writing is accompanied by a commentary explainingthe grammar, punctuation and vocabulary techniques being applied andthe intended effect of the choices made.

The demonstration writing exemplifies an age-related objective or anaspect of the objective.

There are three stages of demonstration writing:

Teacher demonstration the teacher demonstrates a skill withoutinput from the children:

Teacher Scribing the teacher involves the children in word choicesand composition:

Supported composition the children have a go at composing theirown sentences on white boards, applying the skills demonstrated bythe teacher.

The skills taught in the Shared Writing session are applied to theindependent writing tasks, the main unit outcome, across the curriculumand in incidental writing opportunities arising throughout a unit of work.

A really useful resource to support the teaching of writing is available on theNational Strategy Literacy Framework site. It is called Support for WritingThere are three aspects to this resource:

Text-types generic structures, language features and writersknowledge for all of the narrative, non-narrative and poetry units taughtin Literacy;

Steps in Learning objectives broken intothree steps which can be taught in differentunits over the year;

Pupil Writing Targets the incrementalsteps within each sub-level leading to thenext.


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Guided WritingGuided Writing provides an opportunity for intervention. It is afocused teaching session, with a clear learning objective and outcome.

Whereas Shared Writing focuses upon the teaching of age-relatedskills, Guided Writing focuses upon teaching children how to makeprogress from their current level, whether this is below, at, or aboveage-related expectations. It is also an opportunity to trouble-shootindividual difficulties.

As part of day to day assessment, the teacher identifies strengths andareas for development in a childs writing. Groups of children withsimilar needs are grouped together and given the support needed to

move them on. As childrens areas for development in writing tend tobe more varied than their needs in reading, the groupings may be morefluid and respond to need rather than be a fixed group.

The session involves explicit teaching of the skills needed to move thechildren on or address their specific problems.

The Guided Writing focus can be on any stage of the writing process:

at the planning stage; at the writing stage; at the editing stage; writing conferences.

Some Guided Writing sessions may not involve any writing at all!

Guided Writing can be used for:

moving able children on; addressing the needs of children with similar needs; reinforcing the shared objective; teaching children how to plan and draft; teaching children how to improve structure and style; teaching children to make their writing appropriate to purpose

and audience;

varying sentence types; improving punctuation; making effective vocabulary choices; introducing more sophisticated

connectives; editing and improving.


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The Working Wall and Writers JournalsThe purpose of the working wall and/or the writers journal is tosupport childrens independent writing. They evolve as a unit of workunfolds, and are not intended to be a polished display of finished work.

They should exemplify the writing process from the reading as awriter stage to the nearly finished stage. Final, best presentationscan be displayed in public areas of the school or in anthologies,portfolios or folders.

The wall and journal represent a workshop approach to writing where the tools of the trade are accessible, and added to, as theprocess develops. It is a good idea to allow children to makecontributions to the wall; post-it notes are an ideal resource for this.

Not all classrooms have a large, spare wall on which to create aworking wall. However, the writing process, and appropriate prompts,should be evident or accessible within the classroom.

Aspects of the writing process for inclusion on a working wall or in awriters journal:

the key features of the text type language and structure; gathering content information, notes, ideas about the subject of

the writing;

examples of skills practice in the context of the unit greatsentences, punctuation reminders, paragraph prompts;

vocabulary descriptive, figurative and technical; connectives text-type appropriate; planning different techniques story-maps, bullet points,

spidergrams, story mountain, non-fiction skeletons;

drafting step by step, following the teachers model; editing and revising proofreading symbols, examples of edited

writing

WAGOLLS What AGood One Looks Like!


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Phonics and SpellingPhonics is the term used to describe the letters of the alphabet and thesounds each letter, and combinations of letters make.Children are taught to:

blend these sounds together to say and read words segment the sounds to spell words for writingThere have been many ways of teaching children to read in the past butextensive research has shown that a structured and systematic phonicsprogramme is the most effective. It is also clear that young children are ableto learn their sounds quickly and are at their most receptive in Receptionand Key Stage One. It is therefore recommended that these children takepart in daily phonics sessions which are structured, lively and great fun.

The National Strategys Letters and Sounds is a well-organised andeffective programme and freely available to all schools. (See reference onback page). It is organised into six phases, each building upon the previousphase by introducing new sounds and alternative spellings of sounds untilPhase 6 where knowledge is consolidated and children start to learnindependent spelling strategies.

A good spelling programme gradually builds pupils spelling vocabulary byintroducing patterns or conventions and continually practising those alreadyintroduced. Experience has confirmed that frequent, short, lively, focusedsessions are more enjoyable and effective than occasional whole spellinglessons.

Learning spellings by rote is rarely effective and often results in greatspelling test results but poor application in writing. The best spellingsessions are investigative. If children have explored the patterns, tricky-bits and history of words, they are far more likely to make informeddecisions about how to spell a word.

Children are taught the rules and conventions of the

spelling system and also spelling strategies tosupport independent writing. Spelling strategiesneed to be taught explicitly and applied to highfrequency words, cross-curricular words andindividual pupils words. Proofreading should betaught during shared and guided writing session andlinks should be made to the teaching of handwriting.

The National Strategys Support for Spellingfollows on from Letters and Sounds and is alsofreely available to schools. (See reference on backpage).


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Literacy in Reception ClassesCommunication, Language and Literacy Development (CLLD)Communication, Language and Literacy Development (CLLD) in the FoundationStage and in KS1 is now receiving a much higher profile in schools nationally.The recommendations of Sir Jim Rose's independent review of the teaching ofearly reading (the Rose Review) has raised greater awareness of the importance ofworking systematically with our young children to develop speaking and listening,phonics and early reading and writing.

In Reception Classes the reading and writing curriculum should include:

daily discrete phonics session; daily shared reading and/or writing; daily opportunities to hear stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction read

aloud; guided reading 2 x 10 minute session per week at Book Band Level 1 and 2; guided reading 1 x 20 minute session per week at Book Bands 3 +; guided writing at least once a week.

Developing learning across a weekEvery dayProvide children with:

opportunities, inside and out, to engage independently in speaking,listening, reading and writing activities across the curriculum that allowthem to explore and practise their growing phonics knowledge andblending and segmenting skills;

an interactive multi-sensory phonics session; shared reading and or shared writing so that reading and writing strategies,

including the use of phonics, can be demonstrated in a purposeful context;

opportunities to hear a variety of stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction aspart of a regular read-aloud programme.

Twice a weekChildren should take part in:

guided reading in small groups to promote the development of readingstrategies.

Once a week minimumChildren should take part in:

guided writing where, as part of a group, theyhave the opportunity to develop their writingskills (including oral rehearsal) with support.The context of the writing could be derived fromany area of the curriculum.


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Literacy in Reception ClassesPlanning for a week: Discrete teaching of phonics and further application acrossthe curriculum.Discrete teaching (daily)

Based on your assessments, decide which phase of phonic progression youwill need to be working at, and which letter groups you will be using.

Plan each days discrete teaching session, ensuring from Phase 2 onwardsthat you are teaching a balance of blending and segmenting.

Application in shared reading and writing (daily) Plan your shared sessions to include demonstrating to children how to

apply their new and existing phonics skills and knowledge so they can seehow to blend phonemes when reading and segment phonemes whenwriting.

Application across the curriculum (daily) When planning your learning environment and continuous provision,

ensure that children have opportunities throughout the day, both inside andout, to engage independently in speaking, listening, reading and writingactivities that allow them to explore and practise their growing skills.

Application in guided reading (twice a week) When planning your guided reading sessions, ensure that children are

prompted to use the phonics skills and knowledge you have been working

on. Children at the very early stages of independent reading may need focused

small group sessions to develop their experience, vocabulary and skills.Application in guided writing (once a week)

Plan for all children to participate as frequently as possible in guidedwriting sessions, where they can develop their independent writing skills.The context can arise from any area of the curriculum.

Remember to provide lots of opportunities to develop childrens vocabulary, and todevelop fun and creative ways of incorporating the application of phonics skills

into your continuous provision.

A booklet you may find usefulTeaching effective vocabularyDCSF Orderline - Tel: 0845 60 222 60 / Fax: 0845 60 55560

Reference: 00376-2008BKT-ENISBN: 978-1-84775-105-8

Order or download on line atwww.teachernet.gov.uk./publications


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PlanningA literacy plan should reflect the learning journey through a unit ofwork. Like all journeys, the plan should have a specific destination andjourney time. There may be detours, hold-ups or opportunities foracceleration which arise from Assessment for Learning, but theacquisition and application of skills provide the driving force.

Different schools have different planning formats and expectations forteachers plans. Whatever format you are expected or prefer to usethere are basic principles for effective planning.

The Teaching Sequence outlined on page 3 provides the structure for aLiteracy plan. Each day leads on from, and builds upon, the previousdays learning. The plan is usually based upon the sequence of

Creating Interest Immersion in text Analysis of text Gatheringcontent Writing. Opportunities are also planned for incidentalwriting* and the teaching of phonics and spelling.

An effective plan is skills driven not activity or resources driven.It shows:

the unit outcome/s; the teaching sequence; focused speaking and listening opportunities; the skills to be taught and applied in each lesson, translated from

the learning objective;

the success criteria for those skills; differentiated independent activities (start at more able ability

and differentiate down);

references to teacher demonstration; the guided group focus annotations and evaluation notes and modifications arising from

AfL.

The amount of detail given about lesson activities and resources is upto individual teachers. It is useful to write the lesson skill first andthen the activities through which it will be taught and applied so thatlearning not doing leads the lesson. However, the more engaging

and interactive the activities are, the more effective thelearning.

*Short writing opportunities throughout a unit linked tothe theme of the unit or class novel, e.g. letters, notes,posters, diary entries, lists, poems . . . . .


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Assessment for LearningDay to Day assessmentThe basic principle of Assessment for Learning (AfL) is that whatever day

to day judgements are made by the teacher about a childs attainment, go onto inform planning, teaching and learning. These judgements are madethrough talking and listening to the children, marking, observations, andoccasional tests. This is known as formative assessment.The children are central to AfL and should be involved in their ownprogress. They should have a good awareness of themselves as learners andwhat their next steps are. In this way, AfL is not about being right orwrong, but about being at a certain stage of learning with identified areas fordevelopment.

Children should know and understand their next steps through discussionwith the teacher, marking and learning targets.

Key Elements of AfLLesson Format The Big Picture Clear objective Success criteria

Differentiated activities Plenary to review learningInvolving children Quality questioning Interactive learning Talk for thinking/writing Self/peer evaluations Learning environment Support learning

Motivate children Celebrate learningFeedback and Marking Links to objective and success criteria Specific Balance of oral and written Support next steps learningPeriodic assessment

The National Guidelines for Assessment are called Assessing PupilsProgress. Guidance can be found athttp://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/158443


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Useful Resources and WebsitesYOU!

You are the most powerful and influential resource in the classroom.

Your expectations, attitudes and enthusiasm will set the tone andstandard of work produced by the children. No book or scheme canshow children how to read and write better than you.

Butjust in case you need a little help:

http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primary/http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/

http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/nationalstrategy/literacy/

www.teachernet.gov.ukwww.lovereading4schools.co.ukwww.clpe.co.uk

www.sparklebox.co.uk/Grammar for Teachers:

http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/164564

The following resources can be accessed on the National StrategyLiteracy Framework site or ordered as hard copies from 0845 60 222 60:

Primary Framework for literacy and maths 02011-2006BOK-ENLetters and Sounds DCSF Ref: 00281-2007FLR-EN

Support for Spelling DCSF Ref: 00171-2009 FLR-ENTalk for Writing DCSF Ref: 00467-2008BKT-EN

Excellence and Enjoyment: Learning and teaching for bilingualchildren in the primary years DCSF 00068-2007FLR-EN (Excellent

resource for any classroom whether EAL or not. Also really useful forupdating teacher subject knowledge of grammar)

Grammar for Writing DfEE Ref: 0107/2000Developing Early Writing DfEE Ref: 0055/2001

Any questions? [email protected]


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Notes


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This booklet can be downloaded from our website atwww.lancsngfl.ac.uk/nationalstrategy/literacy

Documents

The Little Book of Literacy Essentials