Examples of literacy work across the school Autumn Term 1
Year 2
First we read silently to ourselves (L) Questions : Questions we can quote from the text. Then we have a go at answering some questions on our own! Next Mrs Mobin role models how to answer different types of question using the book (A) Questions : we have to read between the lines to find a plausible answer. (M) Questions : we can find clues to the answer in the text.
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Year 3
Year 3 Literacy Autumn 1 Non Fiction Text Michael Morpurgo Black History Month Focus Texts Roald Dahl
Reciprocal Reading I like that we read together as a class and discuss the meaning of words that we find tricky I like that some of the questions that the teacher gives us are challenging What is Reciprocal Reading? It s great to read different books and discuss them Reciprocal reading involves a dialogue between the teacher and children for the purpose of jointly constructing the meaning of a text. It is a group activity where the leader first models a number of effective reading strategies which the children learn to use for themselves independently.
Miss Winser s Group Reading Comprehension For each question type, we use a range of question styles e.g: Match it, Table completion, Multiple choice During Reading Comprehension lessons, we read one or two chapters and then answer a range of question types: L - Literal (you can find the answer written in the text) M Meaning (you need to find clues in the text and make your mind up) A- Appreciation (you need to analyse the way that the author has written the text)
Miss Bulley s Group Reading Comprehension
Grammar and Punctuation In each of our grammar and punctuation lessons, we learn the skill and rehearse it first. Then we do a short piece of writing to show that we can apply this skill ourselves. Miss Winser s Group
Grammar and Punctuation Miss Bulley s Group INSERT SCANNED EXAMPLE
Writing Tasks Miss Winser s Group For this writing task, we had to write imaginative instructions for making a marvellous medicine in the style of George from George s Marvellous Medicine!
Writing Tasks Miss Bulley s Group INSERT SCANNED EXAMPLE Miss Malaponti s Group
Redrafting Every writing lesson now includes time for redrafting a section of work which has been highlighted by the teacher. We follow this code so we know how to improve our writing. Miss Winser s Group Miss Winser s Group
Redrafting Miss Bulley s Group INSERT SCANNED EXAMPLE Miss Malaponti s Group
Reading for Performance We always begin our reading for performance lessons with warm-ups. Have a look at some of the activities we did this half term!
Year 4
Non Fiction Text Michael Morpurgo Black History Month Focus Texts Year 4 Literacy
What is Reciprocal Reading? Reciprocal reading involves a dialogue between the teacher and children for the purpose of jointly constructing the meaning of a text. It is a group activity where the leader first models a number of effective reading strategies which the children learn to use for themselves independently. LUTIA I think that reciprocal reading is really good. It helped me pay more attention to the cover and illustrations and using them to predict what happens next. CHIMELA Reciprocal reading has helped me to get better at summarising. REBECCA I like clarifying. It helps me to understand vocabulary better. AYA I like reciprocal reading. It has helped me to slow down to understand the book. ALEYNA What I like about reciprocal reading is when you ask questions. What I learnt from reciprocal reading is to understand the text better. LIAM Reciprocal reading has helped me with doing reading comprehension the next day because I remember the book more clearly, so it s easier. Reciprocal Reading
Miss Pendino s Group For each question type, we use a range of question styles e.g: Match it, Table completion, Multiple choice During Reading Comprehension lessons, we read one or two chapters and then answer a range of question types: L - Literal (you can find the answer written in the text) M Meaning (you need to find clues in the text and make your mind up) A- Appreciation (you need to analyse the way that the author has written the text) Reading Comprehension
Miss Daley s Group Ms Simons Group Reading Comprehension
In each of our grammar and punctuation lessons, we learn the skill and rehearse it first. Then we do a short piece of writing to show that we can apply this skill ourselves. Miss Pendino s Group Grammar and Punctuation
Grammar and Punctuation Miss Daley s Group INSERT SCANNED EXAMPLE Ms Simons Group
Miss Pendino s Group For this writing task, we had to write a diary entry based on the time when Cendrillion fell in love with Paul. Writing Tasks
Miss Daley s Group INSERT SCANNED EXAMPLE Writing Tasks Ms Simons Group
We follow this code so we know how to improve our writing. Every writing lesson now includes time for redrafting a section of work which has been highlighted by the teacher. Miss Pendino s Group Redrafting
Miss Daley s Group Redrafting
We always begin our reading for performance lessons with warm-ups. Have a look at some of the activities we did this half term! Reading for Performance
Year 5
We read this focus text as part of our work on Black History Month.
Grammar in reading and writing We used the ipads to explore the impact of using more precise verbs in a sentence about how Connie walked into the diner. We applied what we had learnt by writing a short description of the teachers racing during sports day!
Performing and Presenting In this presenting and performing lesson we read a poem inspired by the Greensboro sit ins. We had to think carefully about the meaning of important phrases and how they should be performed. We annotated our copies of the poem, rehearsed and performed it to the rest of the group.
Reciprocal Reading In order to get the most out of Freedom on the Menu we dedicated one entire lesson to immerse ourselves in the wonderful illustrations and language of the story. First, we predict what we think will happen over the next couple of pages of the story. This isn t just a guess though! This is based on what we already know about the story, and what we can deduce from the pages. Finally, we summarise what it is that we have read. This helps us to have a clear idea of what has happened in the story so far, and reminds us of our discussions. It also helps us to predict what will happen next! Then, we clarify tricky words. There are some words and phrases that don t always make sense at first glance, so it is useful for us to discuss these words together to decide on the meaning. We then discuss some of the questions that have come up while reading the text. There are often clues in the story itself, but it isn t always as clear as you might think!
Writing and Redrafting ARTICLE WRITING The events of the Greensboro Sit-ins were quite dramatic, so we spent a lesson acting as reporters by writing a newspaper article. We had to make sure that we were writing using the appropriate tone and included some of the key features of newspaper articles such as headlines and quotes from witnesses. After our first attempt, we redrafted our writing to make sure it would be worthy of a newspaper in the 1960 s!
Reading Comprehension From our reciprocal reading lessons, we follow on with a Reading Comprehension task. First we read a part of the text that we haven t seen yet, practise some questions as a class and then independently answer a range of different questions. These questions focus on either literal answers, using the meaning of the text or appreciation of the author.
Grammar in writing: Adjectives We visit an explicit area of grammar every two weeks. This week we discussed how to use hard-working adjectives appropriately using our focus text. We discussed Benjamin s character in great detail and share our ideas about the appropriate, interesting and adventurous vocabulary we could use. We then introduced superlative adjectives and learnt how we could apply them to our literacy skill set.
We began reading this focus text as part of our work on Michael Morpurgo.
Writing and Redrafting PERSUASIVE WRITING In these lessons we had to think carefully about what it means to persuade somebody. We thought about what would change Bertie s father s mind about keeping Bertie cooped up in the compound. We were also careful to make sure we included lots of emotive language to tug on father s heart strings! We used the next lesson to redraft some of Mr Lawson s writing so it made more sense, using the redrafting code. We then continued with our own writing task.
Writing and Redrafting EXAMPLE OF WORK
Some of Year 5 started reading Waiting for Anya by Michael Morpurgo, a story about a young boy with a dramatic secret in Southern France during the Second World War.
Reciprocal Reading Compared to the books we were reading in Black History Month, these novels require us to focus on the text without the aid of illustrations. Waiting for Anya in particular has a lot of unfamiliar terms and language that required real discussion in our sessions. First, we predict what we think will happen over the next couple of pages of the story. This isn t just a guess though! This is based on what we already know about the story, and what we can deduce from the pages. Finally, we summarise what it is that we have read. This helps us to have a clear idea of what has happened in the story so far, and reminds us of our discussions. It also helps us to predict what will happen next! Then, we clarify tricky words. There are some words and phrases that don t always make sense at first glance, so it is useful for us to discuss these words together to decide on the meaning. We then discuss some of the questions that have come up while reading the text. There are often clues in the story itself, but it isn t always as clear as you might think!
Writing and Redrafting Character Descriptions There are a lot of colourful characters in Waiting for Anya, and as we spend a lot of time in Year 5 penning our own narratives, it is always good to practice writing interesting character descriptions. In these lessons, we focussed on two of the main characters of the story and used a mix of amazing adjectives and spectacular similes to bring the characters we have read about to life.
Punctuation Apostrophes It isn t easy to just pick up your pen and write, there are lots of rules that we have to learn to make sure our writing makes perfect sense. One of the areas we have focussed on this term is our punctuation, and one of these lessons has explored the use of apostrophes in our writing. We now know that we can use apostrophes when signifying possession, or when writing the shortened form of a word or phrase.
Year 6
Performing and Presenting We were thinking about how characters from the story would interact with each other if the story was written as a script. We would need to be mindful of how our voices and expressions reflected the feelings of each character. We had a look at a script including some stage directions for speech. We edited our script according to how we wanted to portray our characters. At the end, we were able to come up and perform our version of the text, as well as listen to some handy pointers about how to improve our reading performances next time!
To celebrate Black History Month, Year 6 started the year off reading March On, a book all about Martin Luther King s speech. Miss Meakin s class wrote a speech in the style of Martin Luther King; this was to help them explore the use of short sentences in our writing. Students in Miss Meakin s class have been working hard on their imaginative description. They have been looking at using similes, metaphors, personification and impressive adjectives in their writing. Look at some of Eniola s wonderful imagery: The trees stood tall like soldiers protecting it and The ripples were like an old man s face. Another key focus for this term has been redrafting. Year 6 have been using a re-drafting code which helps us to improve our writing.
Year 6 have been reading a book which links with their topic of World War 2, called Rose Blanche Every week there is a reading comprehension task; we make sure we answer the questions in as much detail as we possibly can. We know how important it is to use a range of punctuation in our writing. Students in Miss Meakin s class have been learning about semi-colons and where to use them in their writing. Tayub showed understanding of semi-colons when he wrote these sentences about Rose Blanche.
Writing Miss Daley s group have looked at three texts this term A Long Walk to Freedom, Pebble in my Pocket and The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas. We have been using the texts to inspire writing. We have also been improving our work through re-drafting days which allow us to edit our own and each others writing to make it even better!
We are always working on our reading comprehension skills and answering tricky questions like the ones opposite. We are looking at new vocabulary words and putting them into sentences that prove we understand the meaning. With quite a few theatrical students, we have also been able to act out parts of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Some of the pairs even re-made it into a modern day setting!