From Good to Outstanding in English Geoff Barton Download free at (Presentation number 98) Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Miranda: “O brave new world that has such people in't!” Prospero: “'Tis new to thee”.

WhatHow

+ G&T + Grammar + Literacy + 5*A-C(EM) + NC Review + Revised Ofsted

Where have we come from? Where are we now? Where are we going?

Parse the italicised words: “The lady protests too much, methinks” “Sit thee down” “I saw him taken” Rewrite these sentences correctly: “Louis was in some respects a good man, but being a bad ruler his subjects rebelled” “Vainly endeavouring to suppress his emotion, the service was abruptly brought to an end” Alfred S West, The Elements of English Grammar

For each of the following write a sentence containing the word or clause indicated: a)That used as a subordinating conjunction b)That used as a relative pronoun c)An adjective used in the comparative degree d)A pronoun used as a direct object e)An adverbial clause of concession f)A noun clause in apposition g)A collective noun JMB O-level English Language, 1967

Autonomy Disempowerment

Next …?

The Matthew Effect (Robert K Merton)

The rich shall get richer and the poor shall get poorer Matthew 13:12

“the word-rich get richer while the word-poor get poorer” in their reading skills (CASL) Canadian Association of School Librarians

“While good readers gain new skills very rapidly, and quickly move from learning to read to reading to learn, poor readers become increasingly frustrated with the act of reading, and try to avoid reading where possible” (SEDL 2001) The Matthew Effect Daniel Rigney

“Students who begin with high verbal aptitudes and find themselves in verbally enriched social environments are at a double advantage.” The Matthew Effect Daniel Rigney The Matthew Effect Daniel Rigney

Poor readers more likely to drop out of school and less likely to find rewarding employment … “good readers may choose friends who also read avidly while poor readers seek friends with whom they share other enjoyments” The Matthew Effect Daniel Rigney

Stricht’s Law: “reading ability in children cannot exceed their listening ability …” E.D. Hirsch The Schools We Need

“Spoken language forms a constraint, a ceiling not only on the ability to comprehend but also on the ability to write, beyond which literacy cannot progress” Myhill and Fisher

“The children who possess intellectual capital when they first arrive at school have the mental scaffolding and Velcro to catch hold of what is going on, and they can turn the new knowledge into still more Velcro to gain still more knowledge”. E.D. Hirsch The Schools We Need

Aged 7: Children in the top quartile have 7100 words; children in the lowest have around The main influence is parents. DCSF Research Unit

The Matthew Effect: The rich will get richer & the poor will get poorer

Subject Reviews 2005 & 2009 ‘English at the Crossroads’ & revised schedule (2012)

English 2005: Myhill and Fisher: ‘spoken language forms a constraint, a ceiling not only on the ability to comprehend but also on the ability to write, beyond which literacy cannot progress’. Although the reading skills of 10 year old pupils in England compared well with those of pupils in other countries, they read less frequently for pleasure and were less interested in reading than those elsewhere. Pupils’ writing does not improve solely by doing more of it

English 2009: All the English departments visited had schemes of work for KS3 but, since they rarely showed them to the students, students could not see how individual elements linked together and supported each other. To many students, the KS3 programme seemed a random sequence of activities … 1

English 2009: Some schools persevered with ‘library lessons’ where the students read silently. These sessions rarely included time to discuss or promote books and other written material and therefore did not help to develop a reading community within the school. 2

Many of the lessons seen during the survey showed there was a clear need to reinvigorate the teaching of writing. Students were not motivated by the writing tasks they were given and saw no real purpose to them. 3 English 2009:

Ofsted’s previous report on English found that schools put too little emphasis on developing speaking and listening. Since then, the teaching of speaking and listening has improved. 4 English 2009:

The last English report identified a wide gap between the best practice and the rest in using ICT. This gap remains; indeed, some of the evidence suggests that it has widened. 5 English 2009:

Whole-school literacy: 1.Every teacher in English … 2.Teach reading, not FOFO … 3.Demystify spelling … 4.Model writing … 5.Emphasise quality talk …

CASE STUDIES

Implications? COMMUNICATION For your teaching? For your Department?

Brave New World: The 2012 Schedule

It’s all about the classroom

Satisfactory is unsatisfactory Outstanding wasn’t always outstanding and will be subject to inspection No-notice from September (SEF? lesson plans? data?) It’s about teaching and marking It’s about literacy aka ‘communication’ (‘DCIL’) It’s about progress. BIG PICTURE

8 Key Expectations COMMUNICATION

1.Are key terms and vocabulary clear and explored with pupils to ensure that they recognise and understand them? Are they related to similar words or the root from which they are derived? 1.Do teachers identify any particular features of key terms and help pupils with strategies for remembering how to spell them or why they might be capitalised (e.g. ‘Parliament’ in history or citizenship)? 1.Do teachers remind pupils of important core skills – for example how to skim a text to extract the main elements of its content quickly or to scan a text for information about a key word or topic? 1.Do teachers make expectations clear before pupils begin a task – for example on the conventions of layout in a formal letter or on the main features of writing persuasively? COMMUNICATION

5.Do teachers reinforce the importance of accuracy in spoken or written language – for example, emphasising the need for correct sentence punctuation in one-sentence answers or correcting ‘we was...’ in pupils’ speech? 5.Do teachers identify when it is important to use standard English and when other registers or dialects may be used – for example, in a formal examination answer and when recreating dialogue as part of narrative writing? 5.Do teachers help pupils with key elements of literacy as they support them in lessons? Do they point out spelling, grammar or punctuation issues as they look at work around the class? 5.Does teachers’ marking support key literacy points? For example, are key subject terms always checked for correct spelling? Is sentence punctuation always corrected? COMMUNICATION

Implications? COMMUNICATION For your teaching? For your Department?

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE: What Outstanding Looks Like

Pupils show high levels of achievement in the different areas of English (reading, writing, speaking and listening) and exhibit very positive attitudes towards the subject. They express their ideas fluently and imaginatively in both writing and speaking. They are very keen readers and show a mature understanding of a wide range of challenging texts, both traditional and contemporary. Their writing shows a high degree of technical accuracy and they write effectively across a range of genres, frequently showing creativity in their ideas and choice of language. Pupils have a mature understanding of the differences between written and spoken language. They speak confidently and with maturity, using Standard English very effectively when required. They have learnt to be effective independent learners, able to think for themselves and to provide leadership, while also being sensitive to the needs of others. SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE Outstanding achievement:

Teachers make imaginative use of a wide range of resources, including moving image texts They make English highly relevant to the needs of their pupils and the world beyond school. Teachers demonstrate high standards in their own use of language and they model the processes of reading and writing powerfully to help pupils make real progress in their own work. They have a detailed knowledge of texts and use this well to extend pupils’ independent reading. SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE Outstanding teaching:

Pupils are fully engaged through active and innovative classroom approaches including well planned drama activities, group and class discussions. Teachers have a very good understanding of the English language, including differences between talk and writing, and address these issues directly in lessons. The technical features of language are very well taught. Teachers use ICT imaginatively to enhance pupils’ learning in the different areas of English. They take every opportunity to encourage pupils to work independently and homework tasks significantly enhance pupils’ learning. Systematic approaches to marking, target setting and feedback challenge all pupils to improve work in reading, speaking and listening, as well as writing SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE Outstanding teaching:

Pupils are fully engaged through active and innovative classroom approaches including well planned drama activities, group and class discussions. Teachers have a very good understanding of the English language, including differences between talk and writing, and address these issues directly in lessons. The technical features of language are very well taught. Teachers use ICT imaginatively to enhance pupils’ learning in the different areas of English. They take every opportunity to encourage pupils to work independently and homework tasks significantly enhance pupils’ learning. Systematic approaches to marking, target setting and feedback challenge all pupils to improve work in reading, speaking and listening, as well as writing SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE Outstanding teaching:

The curriculum is distinctive, innovative and planned very well Imaginative approaches, experience of a wide range of challenging texts, and clear focus on basic literacy skills ensure a rich curriculum that enables pupils to make very good progress across the different areas of English. The curriculum is continuously reviewed and improved in the light of national developments. Key aspects such as poetry, drama and media work are fully integrated into the curriculum and help to provide a rich and varied programme for pupils. SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE Outstanding curriculum:

Schemes of work build clearly towards productive outcomes for pupils involving real audiences and purposes; this helps pupils to appreciate the importance of English to their lives outside school. Independent learning and wide reading are very well promoted. The curriculum builds systematically on technological developments in communications and pupils have regular opportunities to use ICT, including analysing and producing media texts. Pupils’ learning is very well enhanced by enrichment activities such as theatre and cinema visits, drama workshops, reading groups, and opportunities for writers to work with pupils in school. SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE Outstanding curriculum:

Implications? For your teaching? For your Department?

Questions 3

1: So what, in your classroom and your school, is English for?

2: Why do I need an English teacher when I’ve got Google?

3: What are the skills, experiences and knowledge all young people should leave your English Department with?

So what – in your classroom and Department – do you need to be doing more of and less of?

1: Know English 2 Plan around assessment & feedback 3: Be relentless in driving progress 4: Build student independence, not dependancy 5: But don’t lose the rich heart of English GB’s Thoughts ….

… and remember …

‘Standards are raised ONLY by changes which are put into direct effect by teachers and pupils in classrooms’ Black and Wiliam, ‘Inside the Black Box’

Key conventions Link to speech Sentence variety Connectives Importance of reading Teach composition Demonstrate writing.

Know your connectives Adding: and, also, as well as, moreover, too Cause & effect: because, so, therefore, thus, consequently Sequencing: next, then, first, finally, meanwhile, before, after Qualifying: however, although, unless, except, if, as long as, apart from, yet Emphasising: above all, in particular, especially, significantly, indeed, notably Illustrating: for example, such as, for instance, as revealed by, in the case of Comparing: equally, in the same way, similarly, likewise, as with, like Contrasting: whereas, instead of, alternatively, otherwise, unlike, on the other hand

Break tyranny of Q&A No hands up Thinking time Get teachers watching teachers who manage S&L well Reflective groupings Rehearsing responses Key words / connectives

Reading needs teaching: skimming, scanning, analysis Use DARTs: prediction, jumbled texts, pictures and graphs Presentation and framing can make texts more accessible Teach research skills, not FOFO Teach and display subject- specific vocabulary Read aloud. Demystify spelling

From Good to Outstanding in English Geoff Barton Download free at (Presentation number 60) Tuesday, November 24, 2015

English Teacher Petite, white-haired Miss Cartwright Knew Shakespeare off by heart, Or so we pupils thought. Once in the stalls at the Old Vic She prompted Lear when he forgot his part. Ignorant of Scrutiny and Leavis, She taught Romantic poetry, Dreamt of gossip with dead poets. To an amazed sixth form once said: ‘How good to spend a night with Shelley.’ In long war years she fed us plays, Sophocles to Shaw’s St Joan. Her reading nights we named our Courting Club, Yet always through the blacked-out streets One boy left the girls and saw her home. When she closed her eyes and chanted ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ We laughed yet honoured her devotion. We knew the man she should have married Was killed at Passchendaele. Brian Cox From Collected Poems, Carcanet Press And finally …

From Good to Outstanding in English Geoff Barton Download free at (Presentation number 98) Tuesday, November 24, 2015