English

Reading

The school’s overall objective is for each child to become a fluent and confident reader who reads widely and for pleasure.  Reading is taught as a specific skill and each child’s progress is carefully monitored.  Children are taught reading strategies in small groups during Guided Reading.  Once a week there is a Whole Class Reading session with the purpose of developing vocabulary, and retrieval and inference skills.  This session is based on the class read which is a high quality, age appropriate text.  Thorpe Acre Junior School has invested heavily in a wide variety of new books which provide a structured approach to the teaching of reading throughout the school.  Read,Write Inc intervention is provided for those pupils who need additional support to address any gaps in their phonic knowledge.  Accelerated Reader is provided for all pupils which encourages children to read a wide variety of texts whilst allowing their progress to be carefully monitored and tracked. There is a wide range of graded reading material within the school and this is supported by a well-stocked fiction and non-fiction library.  We frequently hold reading themed days in school which we hope will foster a sharing and love of books.

It is expected that parents will listen to their child read for 10-15 mins each night and record this and any new vocabulary in their reading record.

Writing

Children are given opportunities to write for many different purposes and audiences both within English and in other subjects.  A main focus is for children to edit and improve their own work, sometimes in collaboration with their peers, to produce a final piece of writing of which they are proud.  Children's work is celebrated by being displayed around school. 

The school has invested in the "Let’s Get Spelling" programme to teach children spelling rules in a fun and engaging way.  Speaking and listening skills are encouraged through class discussions and debates and through dramatic performances.