SCITT English course days Day 3 – Teaching Spelling Teaching Reading (Part 1)

Which book? Flat Stanley Jeff brown, the rainbow Fish Marcus Pfister, Winnie the Pooh A.A. Milne, The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame, Voices in the Park Anthony Browne

Task 2 Find out how your school teaches phonics and observe a phonics session. Write a reflective log outlining how this has developed your understanding of effective phonics teaching. How did your school transform and connect subject knowledge?

Easily confused words no.2 Effect is a noun (outcome, consequence or appearance) Affect is a verb (to transform or to change) “What .......... did it have on your class” “Did the snow ............. your school?” “It was clearly ..........ing your teaching” The ........... of the medicine was sudden. Watch out – there is a rare verb: to effect (to bring into being) The new spelling policy will be effected from May Remember affect verb effect noun

Day 3 - Teaching Spelling Teaching Reading (1) You will understand Spelling conventions How to teach spelling How to teach handwriting What reading is How to build a successful reading curriculum How to teach guided reading

Teaching spelling

The beginnings Father our thou that art in heavens be thy name hallowed come thy kingdom be done thy will on earth as in heavens our daily bread give us today and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us and not lead thou us into temptation but deliver us from evil truly Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum Si þin nama gehalgod to becume þin rice gewurþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele soþlice

How spelling evolved Old English - Matching the Anglo-Saxon tongue to the Roman alphabet Middle English – from the Norman Invasion, a vast influx of new words, prefixes and suffixes The Great Vowel Shift 1476 – William Caxton arrives More Greek and Latin words from the Renaissance 1500s - Spelling reform Sr – det dett dette deytt to debt

How spelling evolved 1755 - Dr Johnson’s dictionary Noah Webster’s dictionary Words from Empire Modern spelling Globalisation and the internet

Spelling skills Phonics Sight words Spelling conventions Morphology Etymology Visual discrimination Mnemonics Grammar related rules Proof reading Using a dictionary Bontebok South African antelope

What do you need to know? KS1 Faster Sunny Face Group Fingers Paints Kitten Thanked Saturday Sweets Baking Knew Model Whale World Hurried Petal Rainbow Peaceful Teddies From the KS1 sample GPS test (July 2015)

What do you need to know? KS2 Discover Mission Loose Sign Country Gymnastics Edible Posture Sleigh Delicious Scent Illusion Re-enter Parachute Abundance Unavoidably Dissolve Ominous Drawer Possession From the KS2 GPS sample test (July 2015)

Morphological Knowledge The spelling of units of meaning within words Root words e.g. cycle Suffixes e.g. ing Prefixes e.g. bi Compound word e.g. motorcycle Etymology e.g. Cycle is from the Latin ‘cyclus’ which is from from the Greek ‘kyklos’ meaning ‘circle, wheel, any circular body, circular motion, cycle of events etc.’

Spelling – the basics Knowing the choice of graphemes for the sound and which are more likely Being able to break a word into phonemes, morphemes and syllables and deal with them one at a time Having a ‘gut feeling’ about what looks right hypogastrium

What makes a spelling harder? Unusual or unique grapheme choices e.g. bdellium An inability to use analogy e.g. khaki Too many tricky parts in one word Lack of a clear convention A word never seen before Words that break the convention Bdellium type of tree

12 Key Strategies

1. Developing visual discrimination ‘Have-a-go’ pads Teaching children to try out different spelling options

2. Enable memorisation of tricky words Only phonetically irregular high frequency words LCWC Lots of practice and overlearning

3. Teaching children to use a range of spelling strategies See handout for full range Display strategies in the classroom Prompt cards

4. Modelling as much as you can Using phonics Using other spelling strategies Using dictionaries Trying out spelling options and making a visual choice In context

5. Using a combination of discrete teaching and application In all sections of the English lesson and across the curriculum Using a spelling teaching sequence across one lesson or a series of mini lessons Include spelling in success criteria

A spelling teaching sequence Revisit A chance to revisit conventions, HF words or graphemes recently taught. Teach / investigate A spelling investigation or direct teaching and explanation of how spelling convention works. Model examples and establish a definition. Practise Interactive activities to practise spelling convention. Could include whiteboard activities, games and challenges.

Apply and reflect Assess Will commonly include children writing dictated sentences on whiteboards. These will contain challenging words, words and spelling convention words. Self assessment of what was correct and what was incorrect. How can you improve? What caused the issues? Assess A final assessment on whiteboards of HF words, words revisited and spelling convention words. Make every word count.

6. Keeping it in perspective Not letting children get ‘hung up’ on spelling but keeping the challenge Remembering that it is one small part of writing Developing a curiosity about words

7. Teaching conventions Conventions not rules Helps children to identify patterns in spelling Best taught through spelling investigations Look for tricks and patterns, especially with word endings and suffixes

/l/ at the end of words -le is the most common (table, apple) These often have a ‘stick’ or a ‘tail’ letter before the ending -al is much less common but comes next (local, usual) -el is less common still (camel, tinsel, squirrel) Both of these tend not to have a ‘stick’ or a ‘tail’ letter before the ending -ol and –il are very rare (fossil, pistol)

-Able or -ible -able is far more common Without the ending what are you left with? Agree- able Legible –ible Can you say “I am able to...” If so, it is probably –able Which ending: indestruct..., forgiv..., respons..., break...?

8. Using Investigations Make conventions more rational More interesting and active Appeal to problem solving instincts ‘Support for Spelling’, ‘Spelling Bank’ and the 2014 curriculum are good for this approach

Have a go Make three lists of words which end in f, ff and fe What happens to nouns ending with ‘f’ when suffixes are added? Now put the nouns into the plural What’s the convention? Are there any exceptions?

Spelling sleuth My hypothesis is that -ie- is always correct except when it follows a c. Then it is –ei- Prove it or form a new hypothesis

9. Combining visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning

Quick spelling games Words within words Acrossword Shannon’s game Finish (st.......p) Phoneme challenge Word stairs Human words Scrabble and Team Scrabble Spelling tennis Boxes

10. Personalising spelling Spelling journals Sending home spellings that the child has actually got wrong Partner testing Synonyms for gifted spellers

11. Knowing where the children are Their work Tests and assessments Test analysis Help for small groups Common issues Next steps?

12. Supporting through the classroom environment Dictionaries for all abilities Spelling strategies on display Common words and ‘topic’ words on display Mobiles Word Tree THRASS chart Word of the day Thesauri

Teaching handwriting Develop gross and fine motor skills first Link to phonics Join as soon as letters are formed correctly Adopt the school’s style and use at all times Teach handwriting lessons ‘little and often’ Teacher models Children practise Have consistent high expectations Know the school expectations of pen/pencil use and handwriting book use Develop the tripod pencil grip. Watch out for tense handwriting.

An ideal progression By the end of YR – Pencil grip is correct By the end of Y1 – All letters formed correctly By the end of Y2 – Letters joined By the end of Y3 – Writing in pen By the end of Y6 – Developed a personal style

Handwriting formation Long ladder (down and off in another direction) – i, l, j, t, u One-armed robot (down and retrace upwards) – b, h, k, m, n, p, r Curly caterpillar (anticlockwise round) – c, a, d, e, e, g, o, q, f, s Zigzag letters – v, w, x, y, z Ascenders and descenders

Resources to know… Developing Early Writing Letters and Sounds Support for Spelling Spelling Bank The 2014 Primary Curriculum

An overview of reading

Language comprehension Word Recognition GOOD POOR GOOD Two dimensions of reading  four possible outcomes. POOR Language comprehension

Good language comprehension, poor word recognition Good word recognition, good language comprehension GOOD POOR GOOD Poor word recognition, poor language comprehension Good word recognition, poor language comprehension Two dimensions of reading  four possible outcomes. POOR Language comprehension

Reading comprehension in the EPK Clarifying – Understanding what you have read Answering Questions – Answering increasingly complex questions with evidence Predicting – Suggesting what will happen next Inferring – Reading between the lines Linking – Making connections to other knowledge Summarising – Spotting the key points and summing them up

Imagining – using imagination and empathy to gain a better understanding Understanding purpose and viewpoint – recognising, comparing and explaining Understanding text organisation - how and why authors have structured, ordered and organised their writing in certain ways Understanding writers’ use of language - how and why authors have used language for effect

Question time What sort of place is the story set? How do you know that it is set in a different time? What order does the author tell you things in? Why? How do the townspeople feel? Is the mayor the right man to solve the problem? How does the writer use sentences to describe the rats? What’s the effect? What does the author want you to think about the Pied Piper? What are the key points in this introduction? What will happen next? 2,7,4,3,5,6 Clarifying, linking, text organisation, imagining, inference, use of language, purpose and viewpoint, summarising, predicting How do you know? What’s your evidence?

The Reading Curriculum

A varied reading diet Independent reading Guided reading Shared reading Phonics Active reading Storytime One-to-one reading Reading across the curriculum

Balancing the diet What is the point of each of these? Which have you seen in your school?

Guided Reading

Key aspects of guided reading No more than six per group Grouped according to reading ability Regular opportunities for sessions 20 minute sessions Consistent structure

Guided reading structure Book Introduction Strategy Check Independent Reading Return to text Response Next steps What to teach?

Variations Early readers Fluent readers Paired guided reading Poetry Plays

Guided reading in action

Recording guided reading

Trying it out Plan a guided reading session for the Pied Piper text or a picture book Choose your objective What questions will you ask?

Task 3 For an identified ability group, use your school’s assessment sheets to assess their next steps in reading. Use this information to plan, teach and evaluate a guided reading session. EYFS - Choose a focus group or individual and use Development Matters assessment sheets to assess their next steps in reading. Use this information to plan, teach and evaluate a reading based session. Standard 6c - Use relevant data to monitor progress, set targets, and plan subsequent lessons

Thoughts and questions