Yew Tree Primary School

English

Subject Leader: Miss Nolan

English consists of the spoken word, reading and writing. Children should have a balance of skills in all areas according to their individual needs and attainments and stress should not be placed on one area at the expense of others.

Children who are used to conversation, listening to stories, and share their experiences are likely to have already acquired the early skills of listening. These skills will be extended, so that ultimately the children will be able to evaluate what is heard and become constructively critical listeners.

Talking is also important. Learning to talk is not simply copying adults. Children need the opportunity to share and explore their ideas with others. We encourage children to speak clearly  using Standard English and aim to prepare them to converse confidently, put forward their point of view in discussion, and equip them with the necessary communication skills for later life. 

 

Children in Key stage 1 follow the Read, Write Inc scheme. Some children in Key Stage 2 also access Read, Write Inc sessions to support them in developing their phonic development.

Please click here to find out more information about this scheme

Reading is at the heart of everything we do at Yew Tree.  We believe for children to fall in love with books, we must show them that we love books.   

At Yew Tree, we use a mastery approach to the teaching and learning of Reading, using quality texts to support and raise the standards of attainment and achievement of the children in our school.  Guided Reading lessons have a structured approach and lots of discussion is encouraged to develop our children’s ability to read with fluency, introduce new vocabulary, scaffold the understanding of literal, deduction and inference skills and utilise a diverse range of genres.  Lessons are taught daily, with catch up interventions taking place the same day when possible or the next day before the start of the lesson.  

Further interventions take place as part of a proven intervention scheme for children who may require an accelerated and supportive approach to help to bridge any gaps, helping them to progress to age related expectations. 

We read our class novel daily and have Reading for Pleasure challenges, with new and exciting texts and rewards, to foster a love of reading, creating children who love to read and do so independently. 

At Yew Tree we use pupil voice and questionnaires to parents in order to actively seek the children’s opinions on favourite texts and authors, class novels are read on a daily basis and a team of Reading Ambassadors write child-friendly book reviews, sharing their love of reading with others.  All of this is designed to encourage readers to talk about what they are reading and develop a love for books and the art of storytelling.

 

We use English working walls and vocabulary lists to scaffold and support the children’s understanding and application in lessons.  These include details on text structure and format, key punctuation and examples of sentences and vocabulary.

Writing

In daily English lessons we follow the National Curriculum. We use quality texts to deliver engaging and progressive units of work. Within each unit there are  Reading, Word, Sentence and Text level objectives covered. We use modelled, guided and shared writing working towards the children producing an independent piece of writing 

At Yew Tree Primary we teach a range of Alan Peat sentences in English lessons.  These exciting sentences support the technical elements of writing such as structure and punctuation use whilst also helping with the more creative elements such as helping to develop the children’s vocabulary base. All these elements help the children create writing which is imaginative and thoughtful.  Writing is celebrated in all classrooms.

 

English LTP Overview Years 1-6

 

 

 

All children have login details for Spelling Shed to help them improve their Spelling and Grammar knowledge at home through games and fun activities.          

Reading

Reading is a skill we continue to develop throughout our lives, but starting this process as early as possible has significant benefits for our continued success as readers.  Parents and carers play a vital role in supporting your child in becoming a fluent reader who is confidently able to apply their reading skills across all areas of their lives.  Below is a copy of a letter sent out to parents detailing the imperative role they play in promoting and developing a love of the written word which can help create inquisitive, creative thinkers and open a world of possibilities.

Letter to parents - The importance of reading

Click here for the best books for 0-5

Click here for the best books for 6-8 year olds

Click here for the best books for 9-11 year olds

Reading Ambassadors

In each class we have a group of children who are the 'Reading Ambassadors.'  Their role is to read and review exciting new books and authors then share this information with their peers.  The book then becomes part of the classes 'Reading for Pleasure' class library for all children to enjoy.  This has been a huge success in KS2 and we can now proudly announce that KS1 are also now on board.  Our wonderful KS1 Reading Ambassadors are:
Key Stage 1 Reading Ambassadors:
Reception - Emily & Sienna
Year One - Amelia, Oscar & Rhiannon
Year Two - Alice, Crystal & Ayaan
 
KS 2 Reading Ambassadors:
Year 3 -   Lucy, Lucy, Thomas, Maddison, Lucas & Holly
Year Four - Michael, Sophia, Freya, Freddie & Adelajda
Year Five - Danielle, Matthew, Noah & Alissa
Year Six - Leo, Alex, Emily, Jimmi-Lee, Zoe, Ruby, Joseph, Sam & Morgan Elise 

Books to read before you leave

At Yew Tree we love reading, to celebrate this we have launched a new incentive challenging our pupils to 'Read 10 Books Before You Leave...' There are challenges for all groups from Nursery to Year 6 and each class has been resourced with copies of each book.  The books include a variety of classics and exciting new authors, books have the ability to take you to a myriad of places, the possibilities are endless.  Get on board, the journey starts here....

Yew Tree Lane, Dukinfield, Tameside SK16 5BJ

0161 338 3452

admin@yewtree.tameside.sch.uk