Aims of the module

1
Aims of the module

• Aims of the module
• To introduce TAs to an overview of the literacy
  curriculum and to support new TAs in learning
  about
• the Early Years Foundation Stage
• the English National Curriculum
• the Primary framework
• support for developing early reading
• other published resources that support literacy

2
Aims of the module (continued)

• To help TAs to understand the changes made with
  the introduction of the Early Years Foundation
  Stage and renewed Primary framework (literacy),
  in particular
• the 12 strands of learning and teaching
• the prime importance of high-quality phonics work
  in the reception class
• the simple view of reading
• the importance of actively promoting childrens
  speaking and listening skills
• the need for children to learn to read by year 2
• the development of early writing

3
Literacy catch-up packages

• Early Literacy Support (ELS) for pupils in year 1
  (revised version from January 2008)
• Year 3 literacy support Sir Kits Quest
• Further Literacy Support (FLS) for pupils in year
  5

4
Literacy in the Primary National Strategy

• A focus on learning key objectives
• Carefully planned, purposeful and well directed
  teaching and learning remain at the core of the
  Primary Framework.
• Emphasis on the teaching of the simple view of
  reading and daily discrete teaching of phonics
  for early reading
• Emphasis on sequences of teaching, focusing on
  learning outcomes
• A three-part lesson may still be suitable but
  teachers can now adapt and revise to aid pupils
  learning.
• Sustaining pupils interest and enjoyment are key
• Making links between subjects are central to this
  flexibility and support

5
The Primary Framework has a clear structure

• It is organised into 12 strands of learning

• Speaking and listening strand
• 1. Speaking
• 2. Listening and responding
• 3. Group discussion and interaction
• 4. Drama

6
Reading strands

• 5. Word recognition, decoding (reading) and
  encoding (spelling)
• 6. Word structure and spelling
• 7. Understanding and interpreting texts
• 8. Engaging with and responding to texts
• The Rose Review refers to the simple view of
  reading.
• Phonic teaching and learning will be central to
  learning.
• Rigorous phonic work begins in the reception
  class.

7
Writing strands

• 9. Creating and shaping texts
• 10. Text structure and organisation
• 11. Sentence structure and punctuation
• 12. Presentation

8
Supporting the reception teacher during
whole-class teaching

• Drawing in reticent pupils or looking out for
  those who demonstrate higher ability
• Dropping helpful pointers, eg. I can see
  something that starts with that sound
• Supporting pupils by nodding, smiling
  encouragement, etc.
• Joining in and making contributions (when
  appropriate)
• Demonstrating for the teacher, eg. how to find a
  word displayed on the wall
• Raising questions or problems so the teacher or
  children can
• explain something
• Echoing the teacher by quietly repeating or
  rewording phrases for children who need extra
  help
• Acting as a partner for a less-able pupil during
  talking time, using shared first languages
  where appropriate
• Using supportive props (eg. pictures, objects and
  flash cards)
• Observing childrens responses to the teacher and
  noting them down to contribute to assessment
  information.

9
Behaviour management

• Sitting alongside a child with challenging
  behaviour
• Focusing a childs attention
• Making eye contact
• Supporting children who need specific help to
  participate in and gain from the lesson
• Dealing with incidents or behaviour that affects
  the pace of the lesson or disrupts the learning
  of others

10
Resource management

• Preparing, distributing and collecting resources
• Helping children use resources
• Supporting the effective use of teaching props

11
An extra pair of eyes

• Observing individual children and noting their
  response or reticence
• Noting who can and who cant and checking any
  assessment information about the children
• Assessing progress to feed back to the teacher.
  TAs should familiarise themselves with the
  schools assessment procedures, especially in
  relation to the Early Years Foundation Stage
  profile.

12
Assisting during group and independent work

• Small group phonics activity
• Guided reading and guided writing
• Supporting group discussion
• Introducing and reinforcing specific vocabulary
• Phonics games and using Letters and Sounds
  materials or those resources which the school has
  purchased
• Helping children with activities, eg. supporting
  role-play or retelling a story with puppets
• Assessing progress to feed back to the teacher
  and recording this in a way that best fits the
  schools assessment systems

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Whats special about reception? (1)

• Type of activities often with a particular
  focus on speaking and listening during play
  activities
• Use of TA time in communication, language and
  literacy sessions either leading an activity
  with a group of children or intervening during
  child-chosen activities for a particular purpose,
  eg. extending vocabulary, encouraging
  conversation
• Indoor and outdoor learning facilities to
  promote all areas of learning are often provided
  both outside and inside.

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Whats special about reception? (2)

• Some possible answers
• More learning through play, talk and role-play
• Emphasis on development of speaking and listening
  skills
• Multisensory activities to capture their interest
  and sustain motivation
• Some group and independent activities are
  child-initiated, rather than adult-led
• Some communication, language and literacy
  activities take place outside
• Communication, language and literacy may be
  taught throughout the day as well as in specific
  sessions
• Many key communication, language and literacy
  objectives are taught throughout the day through
  singing, storytelling, role-play and so on
• Communication, language and literacy skills are
  observed and assessed during child-initiated
  play, as well as during adult-led activities.

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Developing communication, language and literacy

• Sessions may include elements of
• whole-class shared reading and writing
• whole-class discrete phonic work
• adult-led group and independent work reading
  and writing
• adult intervention to promote communication,
  language and literacy in freely chosen activities
• review of learning with children
• All work underpinned by opportunities for
  speaking and listening
• Communication, language and literacy can be
  taught in all areas of learning
• All progress should be monitored and assessed.

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Contents of Curriculum Guidance for the
Foundation Stage
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Elements of the communication, language and
literacy area of learning and early learning goals

• Language for communication
• Language for thinking
• Linking sounds and letters
• Reading
• Writing
• Handwriting

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Foundation Stage Profile booklet
19
Foundation Stage Profile Handbook
20

• John H Farniscan

21
Phonics is...

• Phonics

skills of segmentation and blending
knowledge of the alphabetic code
22
The alphabetic code
23
Pronouncing phonemes
Presentation slide 4.4
24
Phonics is...

• Phonics

skills of segmentation and blending
knowledge of the alphabetic code
25
Letters and Sounds phase descriptors (1)
26
Letters and Sounds phase descriptors (2)
27
Letters and Sounds phase descriptors (3)
28
Phoneme count

• Phases 1 and 2
• h-a-t

Phases 3 and 4
29
Phoneme count

• Phases 1 and 2
• h-a-t

Phases 3 and 4 b-l-a-n-k
30
Phoneme count

• Phases 1 and 2
• h-a-t
• d-o-ll

Phases 3 and 4 b-l-a-n-k
31
Phoneme count

• Phases 1 and 2
• h-a-t
• d-o-ll

Phases 3 and 4 b-l-a-n-k ch-i-p
32
Phoneme count

• Phases 1 and 2
• h-a-t
• d-o-ll
• c-u-ff

Phases 3 and 4 b-l-a-n-k ch-i-p
33
Phoneme count

• Phases 1 and 2
• h-a-t
• d-o-ll
• c-u-ff

Phases 3 and 4 b-l-a-n-k ch-i-p r-u-sh
34
Phoneme count

• Phases 1 and 2
• h-a-t
• d-o-ll
• c-u-ff
• l-i-ck

Phases 3 and 4 b-l-a-n-k ch-i-p r-u-sh
35
Phoneme count

• Phases 1 and 2
• h-a-t
• d-o-ll
• c-u-ff
• l-i-ck

Phases 3 and 4 b-l-a-n-k ch-i-p r-u-sh s-p-oo-n
36
Phonics is...

• Phonics

skills of segmentation and blending
knowledge of the alphabetic code
37
Letters and Sounds phase descriptors (1)
38
Letters and Sounds phase descriptors (2)
39
Letters and Sounds phase descriptors (3)
40
Vowel digraphs
41
Recognising vowel sounds activity answers
42
The simple view of reading (1)

• Key priorities for beginner readers
• Language comprehension skills understanding,
  interpreting, engaging with and responding to
  texts through talking about and engaging with
  different texts
• Word recognition knowledge and skills through
  high-quality phonic work, as defined in the
  Rose Review and which is not a strategy so much
  as a body of knowledge, skills and understanding
  that has to be learnt

43
The simple view of reading (2)
44
The beginner reader (1)

• Promoting enjoyment and language comprehension
• For beginner readers, it is important to
• handle books
• enjoy stories and rhymes
• be able to re-tell stories and ask questions
• be encouraged to talk about books
• Use shared, guided and individual reading
  sessions to enhance
• learning by
• helping children to develop their abilities to
  talk about the story/text
• explaining why things happen
• asking questions and so helping them gain
  language and reading comprehension

45
The beginner reader (2)

• Daily discrete phonics teaching sessions will be
  central to word recognition teaching from
  reception
• It is time-limited most children should be
  reading accurately and with confidence by the end
  of year 2
• TAs will work with teachers to aid childrens
  successful learning by helping children to
• know one grapheme for each of the 43 phonemes
• learn how to write each letter, forming it
  correctly
• produce the sounds as purely as possible
• frequently revise and practise so that responses
  are automatic
• link graphemes to phonemes

46
The beginner reader (3)

• TAs will work with teachers to aid childrens
  successful learning by helping pupils to
• know vowels and consonants these should be
  taught from the start
• blend phonemes into words blending and
  segmenting need to be taught explicitly so that
  pupils can decode and encode words. Segmenting
  words into phoneme aids understanding of
  spelling.
• understand that segmenting for spelling is the
  reverse of blending
• learn one grapheme for each of the 43 spoken
  sounds in English (see the phonics training part
  of this training).
• establish a store of familiar words

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Making learning to read successful and fun

• Ensure that reading is well planned so language
  comprehension and word skills build up
  systematically and in a meaningful way
• Reinforce and build on previous learning to
  secure childrens progress, making good use of
  regular assessments
• Link this work to the development of speaking and
  listening skills
• Make sure it is multisensory use visual,
  auditory and kinaesthetic activities to enliven
  learning
• Provide an exciting and rich curriculum that
  engages pupils and makes learning meaningful to
  them
• Reinforce and apply phonic/reading and spelling
  knowledge and skills across the curriculum and in
  activities such as shared and guided reading
• Assess, monitor and modify teaching so children
  understand new knowledge and skills
• Follow the guidance in the Early Years Foundation
  Stage and Primary Framework (literacy).

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Understanding, interpreting, engaging and
responding to texts

• The ability of understand and appreciate written
  texts continues to develop throughout life
• Consider how TAs and teachers might help children
  to
• retrieve and describe events and ideas from text
• deduce, infer and interpret information
• use their understanding of words to develop an
  understanding of word meanings
• explain how writers use language to extend their
  knowledge and ideas
• read independently for purpose, pleasure and
  meaning
• respond imaginatively to texts using different
  ways to engage with it
• evaluate writers purposes and viewpoints to
  appreciate the effect.
• TAs and teachers will encourage many reading
  activities, including shared, guided and
  independent reading, sometimes using ICT.

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Teaching writing

• Writing strands in the Primary Framework
• Creating and shaping texts
• Text structure and organisation
• Sentence structure and punctuation
• Presentation
• Writing should be taught through all areas of
  learning and underpinned by opportunities for
  speaking and listening.
• Writing is taught through a mixture of
  whole-class shared work, adult-led group and
  independent work and freely chosen activities.

50
Developing handwriting skills

• 1. Activities to develop hand control
• jigsaws, glueing, threading, painting
• using pens or pencils for drawing, tracing,
  colouring
• 2. Learning to form letter-shapes (large-scale)
• skywriting the letters in the air
• using a large brush and bucket of water to
  paint a wall
• writing with a stick or finger in a sand tray
• writing big letters with chalk on the playground
• writing with big pens at an easel
• 3. Learning to write letter-shapes on paper
• holding the pencil correctly
• spacing letters and words
• getting correct sizes tall letters, short
  letters, etc.