English
Phonics
At St. Andrew’s Primary School, to support early reading and writing, we are currently revising the way in which we teach phonics and looking at a revised programme called “Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Progression” as the foundation of our phonics approach.
This document is available to view here.
Download: Little Wandle Programme Overview
Grammar
At St, Andrew’s, grammar is an integral part of our English curriculum. The National Curriculum that children follow in English schools puts a great deal of emphasis on children understanding English grammar. At the end of each key stage (Year 2 and 6), children sit a Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test.
Here is a grammar glossary that tells you all of the different grammar terms used and their meanings for each year group.
Download: Grammar Glossary
Reading
Within Reading children use a number of skills to develop their reading skills across the school. The criteria for Reading for each year group can be downloaded below.
Download: Reading Criteria
Writing
The criteria for Reading for each year group can be downloaded below.
Download:Writing Criteria
Spellings
Key Spellings for Years 3,4,5 and 6 can be downloaded below.
Download:
Going for Gold!
To be Gold in Writing:
- Use all the writing criteria for the year group in every piece of writing.
- Write different types of texts which interest the reader.
- A wide variety of sentence styles are used.
- Year group words are spelt accurately.
- A wider variety of punctuation is used, correctly.
- The grammar used is accurate.
- Vocabulary is more adventurous and creates an effect.
- Handwriting is well-developed for the year group standard.
To be Gold in Reading:
- Read a wide variety of books with fluency and intonation.
- Use a wide range of reading skills to gain a thorough understanding.
- Make inferences when reading which can be fully explained.
- Develop fuller comprehension answers using evidence from reading.
- Make links or comparisons within and across books.
- Explain and discuss their understanding of books to a high standard.
Problem Solving
Reading
- Inference: jigsaw puzzle-what you can see or have read + what you know=inference.
- Predictions: considering what might happen next/why.
- Selecting relevant evidence to support ideas.
- Summarising: deciding which parts of the text are most relevant and recording in a given number of words.
- Questions: considering questions which are relevant to the text and then what the answers would be.
- Clarifying language choices using the text-reading within context.
- Identifying problems/solutions in stories.
- Finding out what is implied and not just stated.
- Comprehension: finding the right answers using the text.
- Retelling a story/details of a text in your own words.
- Forming opinions when reading.
- Reflecting on the text.
- Forming pictures in your head of what has been read.
- Identifying the most important information.
- How to read, being aware of certain types of punctuation/being able to read unknown words successfully. Ordering events.
- Using strategies to read unfamiliar words/gain meaning.
- Considering the thoughts of characters.
- Using a dictionary/thesaurus-when looking up new words, understanding you may need to use the root word, or use the second/third letter to locate words.
- Discussion will also be used in reading activities which is part of the problem-solving process.
Writing
- Forming a plan for written tasks.
- Considering how to structure written tasks.
- Précising information.
- Narratives: creating problems and solutions.
- Ensuring all elements have been included for the text type or that the year group criteria has been included.
- Considering the most effective language to include.
- Deciding on the punctuation to include/how to use it.
- Establishing the best way to present written tasks.
- Deciding whether writing makes sense and if not, how to correct it.
- Considering whether spelling is correct, then establishing how to correct it.
- Discussion writing: deciding on viewpoints.
- Instructions: ordering the instructions.
- Explanation: deciding how something works.
- Letters: deciding who to write to and why.
- Persuasive writing: deciding the best way to persuade, which techniques to use.
- Recounts: establishing the order of events, the chronology.
- Establishing the audience for written tasks and what the purpose is.
- Translating written information into pictorial form or diagrams.
- Writing word problems.
- Understanding how to use vocabulary in context.
- Using the correct grammar when writing.
- Discussion will also be used in writing activities which is part of the problem-solving process.
Here are examples of super Reading, Writing and Handwriting from across the school.