English
At Harris Primary Academy East Dulwich, we believe that learning to read, write and communicate effectively underpins all learning. Reading is taught through traditional phonics and children are encouraged to read for pleasure and take books home.
At Harris Primary Academy East Dulwich our aim is for all children to become fluent, confident readers.Reading will give your child the tools to become an independent life-long learner.
We achieve this by:
- Teaching reading using Read Write Inc.
- Reading a range of storybooks daily to encourage a love of reading
At Harris Primary Academy East Dulwich we teach Read Write Inc. (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their reading and writing.
What is RWI?
RWI is a literacy programme which teaches all children to learn to read fluently.
At first, children learn to read ‘sounds’ and then learn how to blend those sounds together to read a word.Once they can read words, they read carefully matched Storybooks containing words they know.Their speed and fluency increases on subsequent reads of the book.
All children are assessed half termly by our RWI leader so children are always learning to read at the right stage for them. Children are re-grouped each half term.
How can I help at home?
Use pure sounds
We use pure sounds (‘mmm’ not ’muh’,’sss’ not ‘suh’, etc.). This helps children to blend the sounds into words more easily.
Please do not use letter names at this early stage.
Sound out words using ‘Fred Talk’
We use a puppet called Fred who only talks in sounds. We call it ‘Fred Talk’.
E.g. m-o-p (mop), c-a-t (cat), m-a-n (man).
Use Fred Talk throughout the day at home eg. ‘it’s time for l-u-n-ch… lunch!’
(See Fred Games here)
Use the handwriting phrases
For each letter, there is a handwriting phrase. Use the handwriting phrase to support your child with their letter formation when writing.
Practice at home
Your class teacher will send home links to Virtual lessons.Please follow these links (which may come in the form of QR codes) and encourage your child to join in.
The more times they access the lessons, the better! Learning to read can be hard, but the more practice a child has, the easier it will become.
Listening to your child reading
Once your child knows how to read the initial sounds and can blend these sounds into words, they will bring books home.Encourage them to read the book to you using ‘Fred Talk’. Your child will have read these books in school, so please don’t worry if they are reading the book easily. We want them to show off their reading to you at home!
Reading to your child
We inspire a love of reading in our children by reading to them.Read a wide range of stories daily. Make this a special time for you and your child to bond over books.
FAQs
Our English curriculum is based on the National Curriculum and enriched and extended to challenge and interest the children. All children are taught all elements of the curriculum, which seeks to ensure they are confident speakers, readers, and writers by the end of their time at primary school.
Our focus on high-quality, engaging literature is at the root of both reading and writing at Harris Primary East Dulwich. The structure of our curriculum and our carefully chosen wide variety of core texts, ensure that children have the opportunity to read and write a balance of different text types.
Reading: We want children to learn to read quickly and accurately. We believe that an engaging diet of reading will encourage children to read for enjoyment as well as knowledge and comprehension. We are proud of the excellent reading opportunities that we provide the children daily through whole- class reading lessons, a highly structured phonics programme called Read Write Inc. Phonics; reading enrichments and core texts in English lessons. Read more about how we teach reading in our Reading Skills Progression document and our English Intent document at the bottom of this page.
Writing: High-quality texts also support the development of excellent writing. Children are immersed in a rich diet of texts that have been selected to engage and excite, in order to facilitate excellence and enjoyment in writing. Within the writing sessions, children are actively encouraged to develop their initial ideas through a process of editing and revising. We publish a number of pieces of writing each term, making clear the audience and purpose of our work.
Read more about how we teach writing in our English Intent document at the bottom of this page.
Throughout their time at Harris Primary East Dulwich, children will develop skills in:
- Word reading (including phonics)
- Comprehension
- Transcription
- Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
- read easily, fluently and with good understanding
- develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
- acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
- appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
- write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
- use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
- are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
