Literacy

Why love Literacy?

Effective communication is vital to everything that we do.  It allows us to  express ourselves clearly, to describe fantastical worlds and different lives, to understand difference and empathise; it enables us to connect with the world and the people in it. Confident and skilled communicators can make things happen.

Big Ideas in Literacy

Literacy covers a range of skills in reading, writing and oracy. We develop fluency and accuracy in all these areas, and aim to increase confidence and resilience. We think big, engaging students with issues and ideas, and improving cultural capital.  We study high quality texts which explore different aspects of our society. We aim to foster a love of reading across a range of different genres. Students will have access to a variety of different texts across the entirety of the curriculum so that they are able to actively engage with a variety of text types and evaluate their findings effectively, both orally and in writing.

Why study Literacy?

Literacy and communication are important – they enable us to become fluent, thoughtful readers, skilled writers, and confident speakers. These skills enable us to access all areas of society and interact with it in a way that is meaningful and purposeful. Being literate means that you can ‘sell yourself’ to people in all walks of life and create an impact wherever you go.  You will be able to write to people so that you are taken seriously, whether that is for a job interview, making a complaint or expressing your opinions online.  You will be able to understand what you’re reading; that might be for pleasure, but it might be contracts or legal documents, for example when getting a job or moving house.  Having good verbal skills enables you to work effectively as part of a team, listening to and understanding the ideas of others as well as how to speak confidently in difficult and stressful situations – skills that are useful however you would like to progress in life.  Finally, having good literacy skills teaches you to spot bias or ‘fake news’; it challenges you to research and to look for the truth, to find evidence to support the things that you say and to question what you read, see and hear rather than simply accepting it.

Our literacy programme has been designed with this in mind, and the intention is that our literacy students should make progress in reading, writing and oracy across all their subjects, enabling them to access the entirety of the school curriculum with more confidence and skill.

Vocabulary (Tier 2 & 3)

All lessons have a vocabulary focus. This allows a way to begin to learn and reference the required vocabulary and knowledge to be a successful reader and orator.  Some subject specific terms as relevant to curriculum subjects are learnt.  Additionally, everyday words such as analyse, synthesise, compare, contrast, imagine and create are used in order to understand subjects fully.

Links with other subjects

Literacy is vital in accessing every subject in the curriculum: without reading comprehension and writing skills, nothing can be excelled at. In years 8 and 9, many of the texts are linked to a theme being studied in a particular subject area, for example when Geography are covering global warming, students will work on a text in their literacy lesson which is on this topic. The intent is that students will have better cultural capital, and will be more confident and competent writers and orators in that topic, and will recognise that literacy is important in all their subjects, not just English.

Assessment in Literacy

Assessment in literacy is continuous. In year 7, students are assessed primarily on reading in term one, and writing is the main focus in terms two and three. In years 8 and 9, reading, writing and oracy are assessed every lesson. Students are assessed on their accuracy, ability to work independently, and their fluency. Students are encouraged to reflect on their writing and make improvements.