spelling, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
Contextualised grammar and punctuation objectives are taught as part of the Pathways To Write units. We use our knowledge of the mastery process to give children the opportunity to practise fluency, reasoning and application of grammar skills. We provide all children the opportunities to review, learn, practise and apply their grammar learning throughout the curriculum.
Further explicit grammar sessions (which link to the Pathways objectives) may also be planned in to ensure children master the most important grammar knowledge and skills for their year group. Any gaps in key skills from previous year groups are plugged to unblock learning and accelerate progress. With these building blocks in place, childen are in a strong position to apply grammar in a range of contexts.
From Year 1, we follow a mastery approach to the teaching of spelling through the programme ‘Pathways to Spell’. It is a programme designed to deliver the statutory content of the Primary National Curriculum for spelling in key stages 1 and 2. Through weekly teaching of spelling objectives and development of a whole school approach to word transcription, vocabulary development and proof-reading, the programme aims to develop children as proficient spellers.
As a school, we have moved away from weekly spelling lists and tests. Research suggests that most pupils do not benefit from weekly tests as they do not transfer their knowledge used in tests to their writing. At home, we would like parent/carer to encourage their child/ren to select activities from a multi-sensory 'spelling menu' to help practise and memorise common exception and statutory words. We suggest focusing on between 5 and 10 words each week. Over the term, pupils may also bring home some target words to practise that they have identified through our daily lessons and their writing. We regularly assess spellings to help identify areas of need along with giving children time to take ownership of their own spelling errors through proofreading or practising words from personal spelling logs.
End of year expectations for spelling and grammar for each of our year groups can be found in the attached documents.
Useful websites:
Primary Teaching Resources - BBC Teach