Norristhorpe Junior & Infant School

English is…

• Reading
• Writing
• Phonics
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Speaking and Listening
• Handwriting

English is such an important subject as you need this to be able to understand all the other subjects! Everyone needs a good command of the English language to be successful throughout your school career and as an adult. Skills in English allow children and adults to express themselves through language, both written and spoken. Developing grammar, punctuation and spelling enhances your creativity and skills as a writer which will be used throughout your life.

Writer Joseph Addison once said ‘Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body’. Reading allows us to grow, develop and learn. Reading takes us to places we may never visit and worlds we can only dream about! As Dr Seuss once said ‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.’ We want children at Norristhorpe to love reading just as much as our staff do! Every school year our children delve into wonderful books by some of the best children’s authors, some of which you can see on display!

We regularly add new books to our book corners and reading lessons so that our children can enjoy many different stories and adventures from a range of authors.

We use books to inspire us in our writing as we write about characters and the journeys they go on. The vocabulary used by authors helps children with their own writing. In our writing lessons we also use many short films to inspire us too. Often the films don’t have words so we write the words to tell the stories. Our children learn to write in many different genres and text types for different audiences. We want all our children to leave Norristhorpe being as successful as they can in English, because we know that success in this subject leads to success in all other subjects and in future careers too. Most of all we want Norristhorpe children to be lifetime readers who will always enjoy a good book!

DID YOU KNOW?!

• There are about a MILLION words in the English language, but the average adult only knows between 20 and 30 thousand of them!
• English is the third most spoken language in the world, and it is spoken by around 1.5 billion people.
• Every year several hundred new words are added to English dictionaries. The meanings of older words often change too. My favourite new word added this year – ‘hoglet’ -  a baby hedgehog!
• William Shakespeare added around 1000 words to the English Language, many of which we still use today.
• English is the official language of air travel.
• The longest word in English is a type of chemical which has 189,819 letters! The longest word in an English dictionary has 45 letters and is the name of a disease linked to erupting volcanoes, can you pronounce pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis!

At Norristhorpe J and I School, we believe that writing is strengthened by instilling a love for reading within our pupils. We ensure our children have the opportunities to read and understand a wide range of language rich texts that challenge and inspire. We also value storytime for all of our pupils across Reception, KS1 and KS2, giving children the chance to enjoy being read to and listening to stories for pleasure.

The cultural capital obtained through becoming an articulate user of a wide and rich range of vocabulary is one of the key drivers underpinning our curriculum. Interwoven through all areas of the curriculum is a determination to support pupils develop confidence and fluency in using a wide range of vocabulary in a wide range of contexts, including vocabulary as ‘multi-contextual’ (tier 2) and subject specific vocabulary such as accurate mathematical and scientific words (tier 3). This will expand the vocabulary choices that are available to pupils when they write, and

enable them to understand the meanings of words they meet in their reading across all subjects and develop an interest and enjoyment in language.

Reading lessons begin with vocabulary skills and this then enables children to access the other key reading skills of inference, retrieval, summary, explanation and prediction. To help children to understand these skills we refer to these as VIPERS (from the Literacy Shed). This supports children to identify the different question types within comprehension activities enabling them to answer appropriately and accurately. We have an excellent program of phonics  - Supersonic Phonic Friends which supports our younger children in their word reading – see the Phonics tab for more details on the success of phonics at Norristhorpe.

The teaching of writing across the school consists of two dimensions; transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing).
A Norristhorpe writer is taught & encouraged to;

• spell quickly and accurately through a knowledge and understanding of phonics, word structure, spelling patterns and word recognition
• develop the stamina, resilience and skills to write at length, with accurate spelling and punctuation using legible, correctly formed and (eventually) speedy handwriting. Children are taught to use ‘joined’ handwriting from Year 1 onwards.
• develop, articulate and communicate ideas, organising them coherently for a reader, with clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.
• use grammar correctly, building on what they have been taught each year to expand the range of their writing and the variety of the grammar they use.
• write fluently across a range of genre, mapped within our Reading and Writing Overviews, including narratives, explanations, descriptions, diaries, letters and reports.
• plan, revise, redraft and evaluate their writing.
• have the opportunity to publish their work and feel proud of their efforts.

English units are planned around appropriately levelled, high-quality hooks (books or films) of varying genre and context. Writing is taught using our own bespoke curriculum. We use units of work from The Literacy Company’s Pathways to Write alongside units chosen specifically by our teachers which build mastery for writing. This enables us to develop confident, enthusiastic writers who can express themselves in a variety of different styles and across a variety of contexts. Teachers plan closely with year group partners to ensure consistency of opportunity for all children.

Planning builds on prior knowledge and teachers plan sequences of progressive lessons, linked to their specific year group targets, giving the children chance to develop and increase their knowledge, building on prior experiences and making connections in their learning. Teachers respond in detail to children’s writing and ensure common misconceptions are addressed to ensure progress. Teachers work closely with the children to give clear feedback that they can act upon and common misconceptions are woven into future planning through to revisit and consolidate learning.

During English lessons and across the curriculum, children at Norristhorpe are given opportunities to develop skills in spoken language and oracy.

Throughout our curriculum, children at Norristhorpe are taught to;

• Listen carefully and attentively in a range of contexts
• speak clearly and convey ideas confidently using Standard English
• justify ideas with reasons
• ask questions to check understanding
• develop vocabulary and build knowledge
• negotiate; evaluate and build on the ideas of others
• speak in front of an audience
• debate and discuss
• select the appropriate register for effective communication.