Phonics
At Gledhow the children from Nursery to Year 2 take part in regular Phonics sessions. We follow the structure of Bug Club and use interactive resources to support learning. During Phonics, the children revisit phonemes and graphemes they have previously been taught, as well as being introduced to new ones. They apply their skills through activities such as matching games and independent writing activities.
In Nursery, we have a focus on Phase 1 Phonics. This helps us develop our listening skills. We do lots of our learning through rhymes, songs, using instruments and listening games.
In Reception, we begin Phase 2 Phonics whilst continuing to revisit Phase 1 skills. During Phase 2, the children begin to learn the phonemes that correspond with the graphemes. We begin to read and write words and develop our independence with this. Through the Reception year and into Year 1 and 2 the children begin to progress through Phase 3, 4 and 5.
In Year 2, the children revise alternative phonemes and continue to have opportunities to apply their knowledge within their reading and writing.
Reading
From Year 1 to Year 6, children take part in Reciprocal Reading sessions to develop their comprehension skills. They have the opportunity to share their opinions of the text as a whole class (Year 1) or in a small group setting (Year 2 - Year 6). Their comprehension skills are checked through verbal conversations throughout the session.
In addition to Reciprocal Reading, children also develop their comprehension skills as part of the writing sequence, using our Writing Rainbow. At least once per week, children will complete a reading activity relating to their class text which focuses on the Reading Domains. These Reading Domains include VIPERS, which are:
V - Vocabulary
I - Inference
P - Predict
E - Explain
R - Retrieve
S - Summarise
Writing
English lessons at Gledhow follow our Writing Rainbow sequence, which breaks learning down into its different components - reading, analysing, practising, planning, writing, editing and publishing.
Class texts are carefully selected by class teachers to ensure that they are diverse and engaging for pupils, resulting in an increased motivation and desire to write. Published outcomes link with the text studied and encourage children to apply the grammatical concepts they have been taught.
Handwriting
We teach the Debbie Hepplewhite style of handwriting. Pupils develop fluent lines of correctly orientated letters throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.
Early development within Foundation Stage provides children with the opportunities to mark-make using a variety of materials. As the children progress through Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, they develop their fine-motor skills, resulting in a comfortable pencil grip and the ability to form letters using the correct sequence of movements.
By the end of Year 2, the children are expected to begin using joined handwriting. These skills are extended as the children move through Key Stage 2 and regular practise continues on a whole class or small group basis depending on class need.
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
Throughout the school, children are expected to learn spellings appropriate to their age group as part of their weekly homework and the rule is explicitly taught in school. In Year 1, weekly spellings are linked to phonics teaching and in KS2, spellings follow the EdShed Spelling Scheme.
Grammar and punctuation is taught during English lessons and sentence level work is linked to the class text where possible. Pupils are given opportunities to apply their spelling, punctuation and grammar skills in longer pieces of writing and these are celebrated through the editing and publishing processes.
Promoting a Love of Writing!
We love to celebrate the writing produced at Gledhow.
Please take a look below at a small selection of the masterpieces our children have created.