In our Primary curriculum, English plays a crucial role in fostering communication and creativity among students. We aim to create a dynamic learning environment where children can confidently explore the language and express themselves. Our dedicated teachers employ a variety of innovative strategies to ensure that every child develops strong skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, enabling them to thrive in their language journey.
To enhance listening and speaking abilities, teachers engage students through interactive activities such as storytelling, debates, and group discussions. By incorporating games and role-playing, we foster a supportive environment where children feel confident expressing their thoughts and ideas, allowing them to develop their verbal communication skills effectively.
Guided reading sessions are also integral to our approach, focusing on various reading strategies that help students navigate and comprehend a diverse range of texts. We implement techniques such as predicting outcomes, generating questions, and summarising passages to enhance understanding. Our teachers tailor these sessions to meet the individual needs of each child, ensuring that all students can engage with texts at their level. This differentiated approach not only builds confidence but also encourages a love for reading.
Moreover, we emphasise the Talk for Writing framework, which allows students to articulate their thoughts and ideas before committing them to paper. Through collaborative storytelling and structured writing exercises, students learn to internalise the narrative structure and develop their own unique voices. This method has significantly improved our students' writing abilities; we have observed a marked increase in creativity, coherence, and overall quality of their compositions. See below for an overview of the incredible work in Primary to date.
Year 1
Our Year 1 students have engaged deeply with the story of The Gruffalo, using story mapping and innovative techniques inspired by the Talk for Writing system. They explored nouns and adjectives, enhancing their vocabulary and understanding of language.
Year 2
In Year 2, students focused on fables, particularly The Ant and the Grasshopper. Following the Talk for Writing approach, they created a story map and memorised the fable. By analysing the text with their "inspector glasses," they examined its grammar and structure, preparing them to write their own fables and innovate on the original.
Year 3
This term, Year 3 have explored traditional tales, enhancing their writing with expanded noun phrases. They practised dialogue through role play, accurately writing direct speech, and examined coordinating conjunctions while retelling "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Most recently, they created character profiles using subordinating conjunctions.
Year 4
Year 4 began with a descriptive writing unit about dragons, where students word banked and explored word choice to create excellent descriptions. They have now transitioned to playscripts, performing Goldilocks and the Three Bears using techniques from Michael Rosen, and are innovating their own playscripts.
Year 5
Year 5 have been busy completing their Mr. Men and Little Miss books, which are now at the printers for library distribution. They wrote recount emails about a fictional restaurant experience, focusing on recount features. Recently, they started drafting poetry, exploring personification, similes, hyperboles, and idioms.
