Aims
At Ark Castledown, English sits at the heart of the curriculum. It is through talking, reading, writing and vocabulary acquisition that children learn to communicate ideas, express themselves deeply and to understand the world in which they live. Children leaving KS2 will be able to read fluently at their chronological age and write effectively for a range of purposes, being adventurous with vocabulary and draw from their reading. In order to do this we provide high quality texts to ignite and enthuse our pupils.
Reading
Ark Castledown is committed to putting reading at the centre of our curriculum and ensuring that every child is a reader. We have a two pronged approach to reading; we want to instil our pupils with a deep and lifelong love of books and language, whilst also providing them with the skills to read, developing both decoding and comprehension in partnership. All pupils should leave our school with the ability to read, write and speak in the academic language that they will need to be successful in secondary school and beyond
We place a huge importance on learning the skills of reading, developing both decoding and comprehension in partnership. We want all children to become confident and skilled readers with a lifelong love of books.
Writing
Our writing Curriculum enables our children to become creative, confident writers who write clearly and accurately and can adapt their language and style for a range of purposes and audiences. All children are provided with many opportunities to develop and apply their writing, and to plan, revise and evaluate their work. They will also develop an awareness of the audience and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. We aim for all pupils to leave school being able to use fluent, legible and speedy handwriting.
Early Reading
To ensure a strong start in Early Reading, we use the Read Write Inc synthetic phonics programme, which is proven to develop fluent, enthusiastic readers, deep comprehension of texts, confident speakers and keen writers. Our team of RWI Practitioners are relentless in their dedication to ensuring each and every child learns to read as quickly as possible.
Children from Reception to Year 2 receive a daily RWI lessons, with opportunities throughout the school day to practise and apply the taught skills. Year 1 and Year 2 pupils also benefit from having an additional speed sound lesson in the afternoon to further embed the skills taught in the morning RWI lesson.
Young readers develop at different rates and the ability of readers in a class can vary. To accommodate this, we group our pupils by ability for these sessions. We track our pupil’s progress with termly assessments, and use this assessment data to review and update our groupings.
Read to Succeed
Children in Year 2 upwards participate in Read to Succeed sessions, teaching them to develop their fluency, vocabulary understanding and comprehension skills. Within the Read to Succeed sessions, children are taught the skills to analyse the text with an emphasis on the understanding of vocabulary and authorial intent. Children will also learn how to make links and connections between texts and be able to discuss themes, make deductions and discuss their feelings and preferences towards the text studied. Year groups have a spine text for each term to work from to extend the children’s understanding of authors and genres. As a result of this, these books play an integral part in supporting the development children’s writing skills. In addition, supplementary texts from a range of genres including poetry and non-fiction are interwoven through the reading programme to ensure pupils are exposed to a wealth of quality texts.
Reading for pleasure
At Ark Castledown we we strive to become a reading school where all children and adults read for pleasure and can share in the joy of books. All our children have access to a shared library, well stocked with a wide variety of quality texts which are continuously updated and reviewed. These books are discussed and recommended as a class, during the Reading for Pleasure sessions. Children make informed choices about their own reading preferences based on the discussions in class. In order to promote reading for pleasure, we designate specific weekly timetabled slots. We ensure that during these times children can read books of their choice, have social interactions about books and share their views and feelings about authors, illustrators and genres.
Reading at home
The most effective thing any parent can do to help their child succeed at school is to read with them regularly. Children in all year groups are expected to complete home reading, and to log this in their reading records. Communication with parents takes place throughout the year, with regular reading updates, workshops and more.
Writing
At Ark Castledown, writing begins from a very early age - as soon as a child can mark make. Gross and fine motor skills are developed through our provision within EYFS, ensuring all children are developmentally prepared to form letters correctly (taught in Read Write Inc) along with the correct pencil grip.
In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, children are taught the skills of writing through storytelling and discussion which supports their ability to structure the text and independently write in the chosen genre. A two-week unit is planned for English writing lessons, which begins with children analysing the model text and unpicking the grammatical features and organisation. As the unit progresses, teachers model and scaffold writing tasks, giving children the chance to practise the transcriptional and compositional skills needed to write independently. Throughout the two weeks, teachers will also plan in opportunities for “check-point activities” to assess learning and address misconceptions which may arise before a quality piece of independent writing is achieved. Intentional monitoring is used throughout the lessons to provide the children with timely and constructive feedback, which has an immediate impact on their writing progress.
The English writing curriculum is built upon the use of engaging and challenging texts each term. Children are introduced to a range of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry in order to guarantee their exposure to a rich tapestry of English literature, as well as providing them with imaginative writing opportunities. This range of texts ensures the children not only understand the structural and technical knowledge of language but are also inspired to become successful writers who can communicate effectively and write for a variety of purposes.
Spelling
Our spelling curriculum begins with the Read Write Inc Phonics Programme taught in Early Years and Year 1 and follows onto our Castledown spelling programme. This programme develops children’s understanding of spelling rules and common exception words in each year group following the National Curriculum set rules and common exception word lists. Children receive a short, fast-past spelling lesson at the start of each week where they are taught a spelling rule; opportunities are then given to practise this rule at school and at home and to finish the rule is tested within a group of words at the end of the week. The approach also allows opportunity for rules to be revisited and revised throughout the year to consolidate understanding and prepares children for the higher demands of the English Spelling Curriculum in upper KS2.
Handwriting
We use WriteWell to support teachers in the progression of handwriting across the school. This supports the transcription and fluency of pupils to support them in their writing lessons. As well as practising letter formation in daily phonics lessons, all year groups across the school receive handwriting sessions. In Year 2, children will begin to learn to join their handwriting using the first four joins. In Key Stage 2, children continue to work on joining, legibility and writing with stamina; receiving a pen licence when they can write fluently in a neat, cursive style (commonly by the end of Year 4). Handwriting progress is celebrated across the school through handwriting hero displays and published displays on corridor displays.
Nursery
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
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Topic: All about me Quality Texts: Maisy goes to Nursery, What makes me me? You choose. Speaking and Listening: Talking 1:1, child - adult, child - child, following 2 step instructions Reading: Listening and environmental games and name recognition Writing: mark making and fine motor control activities Vocabulary: Autumn, dentist, healthy, morning, soapy, afternoon |
Topic: Terrific Tales Quality Texts: The owl who was afraid of the dark, Peace at last, Dear Santa Speaking and Listening: Talking 1:1, child - adult, child - child, following 2 step instructions Reading: Instrumental sounds, initial sounds and name recognition Writing: making marks to represent their name, fine motor control activities, drawing with a range of resources Vocabulary: Winter, chilly, fluffy, bumpy, dusty, silky |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
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Topic: Ticket to Ride Quality Texts: Whatever next, Magic train ride, We're going on a bear hunt Speaking and Listening: Talking in small groups with an adult, retell a familiar story Reading: Listening and environmental games, name recognition, RWI-set 1 Writing: use print and letter knowledge in early writing and add marks to drawings Vocabulary: sparkle, melt, disappear, burst, round, half |
Topic: Amazing animals Quality Texts: Walking through the jungle, Book of bones, On the farm Speaking and Listening: Talking in small groups with an adult, retell a familiar story Reading: Instrumental sounds, initial sounds, RWI-set 1 Writing: use print and letter knowledge in early writing and write some of the letters in their name Vocabulary: pond, spring, wriggle, farmer, gentle, spotted
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| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
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Topic: Come outside Quality Texts: Over in the meadow, The Hungry Caterpillar, The Enormous Turnip Speaking and Listening: Talking in larger groups with an adult, retell own simple story, listen and respond to 3 step instructions Reading: Listening and instrumental games, name recognition, RWI-set 1 Writing: use print and letter knowledge in early writing, write some of the letters in their name and write for purpose Vocabulary: Summer, muddy, leaf, sniff, touch |
Topic: At the Seaside Quality Texts: Billy's bucket, Rainbow fish, 10 Little Pirates Speaking and Listening: Talking in larger groups with an adult, retell own simple story, listen and respond to 3 step instructions Reading: Listening and instrumental games, name recognition, RWI-set 1 Writing: use print and letter knowledge in early writing, write some of the letters in their name and write for purpose Vocabulary: warm, rough, slide, race, sink (v), stare |
Reception
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
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Topic: Who am I? Quality Texts: Dinosaur starts school, Elmer, What do I look like? Speaking and Listening: Answering and posing questions Reading: RWI - set 1 sounds, CVC words, R4P, Fred Talk games Writing: name writing, CVC words, experimenting with writing resources, postcards Vocabulary: worried, amazing, chimney, delighted, pretend, grin |
Topic: Toys Quality Texts: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Little Red Hen, Kipper's Christmas Eve Speaking and Listening: Answering and posing questions and following 3 step instructions Reading: RWI - variable, CVC words and familiar words, re-telling stories, Fred Talk games Writing: captions, CVC words, writing cards, labelling Vocabulary: invitation, costume, sneaky, scratch, flat, flatten (v) |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
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Topic: Earth and Beyond Quality Texts: Handa's surprise, The train ride, How to catch a star Speaking and Listening: Use discussions to develop thinking, understand more complex instructions Reading: RWI - variable, CVC words, re-telling stories, creating stories Writing: captions, early sentence writing, lists Vocabulary: freezing, rescue, slippery, enormous, gloomy, rough, ticket |
Topic: Living Things Quality Texts: Rumble in the jungle, Hullabaloo, Owl babies Speaking and Listening: Use discussions to develop thinking, understand more complex instructions Reading: RWI - variable, captions, re-telling stories, creating stories Writing: labelling, developing sentence writing, sequencing stories Vocabulary: cave, forest, hatch, thick, striped, mask, roar, honest, basket, mountain
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| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
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Topic: In the garden Quality Texts: Jasper's Beanstalk, Oliver's fruit salad, Seasons- Rhyme Speaking and Listening: Develop listening skills, use vocabulary in conversations learnt this year Reading: RWI - variable, simple sentences, re-telling stories, creating stories Writing: extending sentence writing, writing/ sequencing stories, instruction writing Vocabulary: caterpillar, giant (adj), bend, filthy, double, pain |
Topic: The sea Quality Texts: Commotion in the Ocean, Sharing shell, Tiddler Speaking and Listening: Develop listening skills, use vocabulary in conversations learnt this year Reading: RWI - variable, simple sentences, re-telling stories, creating stories Writing: extending sentence writing, writing/ sequencing stories, characters and stories Vocabulary: crash, steep, commotion, share, recap taught vocabulary |
Year 1
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
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Author Focus: Katie Daynes Texts: The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Enormous Turnip Fiction: To entertain - Traditional tales and character descriptions Non-Fiction: To inform - recount real events Poetry: Haiku |
Author Focus: John Burningham Texts: The Naughty Bus, Mr Grumpy's Motor Car, Fiction: To entertain - speech bubbles and character fact file Non-Fiction: To inform - instructions Poetry: Refrain (repeating line) |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
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Author Focus: Mini Grey Texts: Traction Man, Abe and Alba Fiction: To entertain - creating plots and characterisation Non-Fiction: To inform - fact file Poetry: Riddle - Who am I?
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Author Focus: Eric Carle Texts: Tiny Seed, Where the Wild Things are, Jack and the Beanstalk Fiction: To entertain - altering characters and describing settings Non-Fiction: To inform - book review and non-chronological report Poetry: Free Verse
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| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
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Author Focus: Steve Antony Texts: The Queen's Handbag and The rabbit belongs to Emily Fiction: To entertain - 5 part story Non-Fiction: To inform - non- chronological report and giving views Poetry: Calligram (shape poem) |
Author Focus: David Armitage Texts: The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch, The lighthouse Keepers Cat, Hastings Fiction: To entertain - 5 part story - altering characters/ settings Non-Fiction: To inform- label and recount Poetry: Repetitive refrain |
Year 2
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara Texts: Mary Seacole (Extraordinary Lives) and Florence Nightingale (Little People Big Dreams) Fiction: fictional recount of significant people Non-Fiction: to inform- report and recount Poetry: Nonsense- Alliteration |
Author focus: Angela McAllister and Graham Baker Smith Texts: A Winters Child, The Blue Penguin and Strange Plants Fiction: characterisation and 5 part story Non-Fiction: to inform- letter and recount Poetry: Narrative rhythm/ rhyme |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Helen and Thomas Docherty Texts: The Knight Who Wouldn't Fight and The Kiss That Missed Fiction: developing plot and altering characters Non-Fiction: to inform- instructions and non-chronological report Poetry: Diamante Poem |
Author focus: Mary Hoffman Texts: Amazing Grace and Lila and the Secret of Rain Fiction: narrative creating settings Non-Fiction: to inform- diary and instructions Poetry: Rhyme and description |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Margaret Nash Texts: Toby and the Great Fire of London and Vlad and the Great Fire of London Fiction: to entertain- characters view and setting description Non-Fiction: to inform- recount and leaflet Poetry: Rhyme |
Author focus: Roald Dahl Texts: Planet Earth and George's Marvellous Medicine Fiction: to entertain- narrative adventure plot Non-Fiction: to inform- non chronological report- book review Poetry: Emotive poetry |
Year 3
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Michael Bond Texts: A Bear Called Paddington Fiction: to entertain- plot and paragraphs Non- Fiction: to inform - non chronological report and newspaper Poetry: Free verse, narrative |
Author focus: Dick King Smith Texts: The Sheep Pig and The Stone Age boy Fiction: to entertain- characterisation and portal story Non- Fiction: to explain and argue- persuasive letter Poetry: narrative with rhyme |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Roald Dahl Texts: The BFG Fiction: to entertain- characterisation and dialogue Non- Fiction: to inform- non chronoloigcal report- book review Poetry: Biographical/ humerous |
Author focus: Roald Dahl Texts: The BFG Fiction: to entertain- narrative setting and suspense Non- Fiction: to inform- recount and review Poetry: figurative language and refrain |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Ted Hughes Texts: The Iron Man Fiction: to entertain- description Non- Fiction: to inform- instructions and warning Poetry: metaphoric narrative |
Author focus: Phillip Reeve Texts: Oliver and the Seawigs Fiction: to entertain- suspense and action Non- Fiction: to inform - book review and reporting Poetry: rhyme and rhythm Oliver and the Seawigs |
Year 4
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: S.F. Said Text: Varjak Paw Fiction: to entertain- characterisation and dialogue Non-fiction: inform- informal letter and non-chronological report Poetry: Free verse- repetition |
Author focus: Katherine Rundell Text: The Explorer Fiction: to entertain- creating settings Non-fiction: inform- diary recount and book review Poetry: nonsense |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Katherine Rundell Text: The Explorer Fiction: to entertain- suspense and action Non-fiction: explanation Poetry: descriptive language- rhyme |
Author focus: Brian Setznick Text: The invention of Hugo Cabret Fiction: to entertain- description and characterisation Non-fiction: inform- non-chronological report and newspaper Poetry: Limericks |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Onjali Q. Rauf Text: The Boy at the back of the class Fiction: to entertain- creating plots and paragraphs Non-fiction: inform- diary recount and book review Poetry: personification |
Author focus: Cressida Cowell Text: How to train a dragon Fiction: to entertain- dialogic writing Non-fiction: explanation text and recount Poetry: rhyme within stanzas |
Year 5
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Frank Cotrell Text: Cosmic Fiction: to entertain- characterisation and dialogue Non-fiction: to argue and inform: leaflet and debate Poetry: Renga Poetry |
Author focus: Tony Bradman Text: Viking Boy Fiction: to entertain- suspense and setting description Non-fiction: to instruct and inform- web article Poetry: Historical language |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Gill Lewis Text: The Closest Thing to Flying Fiction: to entertain- plots and paragraphs Non-fiction: to persuade - formal letter Poetry: performance poetry |
Author focus: Hugh Lupton Text: The Adventures of Odysseus Fiction: to entertain- mythological writing Non-fiction: to inform - report (web article) and instructions Poetry: Nonsense - free verse
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| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Peter Bunzl Text: Cogheart Fiction: to entertain- characterisation and dialogue Non-fiction: to inform- non- chronological report and leaflet Poetry: Ballad |
Author focus: Roald Dahl Text: Matilda Fiction: to entertain- creating plots and paragraphs Non-fiction: to inform and persuade (letter and newspaper) Poetry: Structured stanzas |
Year 6
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: David Almond Text: Skellig Fiction: to entertain- Creating Settings Non-fiction: inform and persuade (letter and web article) Poetry: Imaginary AABB stanza |
Author focus: Michael Morpurgo Text: Kensuke's Kingdom Fiction: to entertain- moral discussion Non-fiction: to debate and persuade (speech and balanced argument) Poetry: Diamante Poem |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Louis Sachar Text: There's a boy in the girl's bathroom Fiction: to entertain- characterisation and dialogue Non-fiction: to debate and recount (discussion and dairy) Poetry: Metaphorical narrative |
Author focus: Morris Gleitzman Text: Once Fiction: to entertain- suspense and action Non-fiction: to argue and inform (balanced argument and non-chronological report) Poetry: Free verse |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
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Author focus: Patrick Ness Text: A Monster Calls Fiction: to entertain- plots and paragraphs (play) Non-fiction: to inform- reviews and leaflets Poetry: Lambic Pentameter |
Author focus: R.J. palacio Text: Wonder Fiction: to entertain- characterisation and dialogue Non-fiction: to explain and argue (debate/ balanced argument and explanation text) Poetry: Sonnet |