1. Greenhills Primary Literacy Workshop
Talking and Listening
Reading
Writing

2. Talking and Listening
Children are encouraged to share and explore ideas in pairs, trios, groups or whole class discussions in order to:
solve problems
reflect on their learning
respond to a text or event i.e. talk about pictures, words, headings, use of language, genre and talk about their feelings, thoughts and ideas. Also retell stories (sequence), predict, share opinions about a text and justify these

3. Reading Children are taught and encouraged to:
read with and to a partner (and help each other)
talk to and listen to one another about what they have read
discuss the main points of the story – Who? What? Where? What happened next?
write about what they have read
read what they have written and in collaboration with others, edit and fine tune their writing

4. Writing Children are taught and encouraged to:
write daily for different reasons
share ideas about their writing
work collaboratively to check and improve their writing
All three organisers of Literacy are taught within an integrated approach i.e. there are clear links

5. Reading Features of teaching Reading: Phonics Comprehension
Guided reading
Paired reading
Word attack strategies

6. Reading
Phonics
Introduce initial sounds first – hear sound at beginning and end of words, recognise sound orally and written, generate words with sound at beginning, write sounds
2 letter phonemes e.g. sh, ee, oy
Use of magnetic letters Say Make/Break Blend Read Write
Focus on collegiate working together

7. Reading Comprehension
Before (prediction), during (understanding) and after reading (recall)
Questioning e.g. can the title/pictures tell me what the story might be about? Who is in the story? Where does the story take place? What happens at the beginning/ middle/end of the story? Moving on to inferential questions and children generating their own questions
Summarising the story
Making links to own experiences and the wider world

8. Reading Guided Reading
Teacher introduces book, encourages use of prior knowledge to make connections, prediction skills, draws attention to new words and punctuation
Children read book independently
Discussion of story – characters, events, setting, significant words, find words that start with the same sound, words containing previously taught phonemes
Follow up activities – individual/pairs/groups, includes letter, word and sentence work. Focus on building independent learners

9. Reading Paired Reading Excellent approach for parents!
Child selects a book
Sit comfortably side by side
Look at title and front page – read title together and ask child what story might be about
Start reading book together – go at child’s speed
Agree a hand signal when your child wants to read alone. Praise your child for wanting to read alone
If your child gets stuck at a word give him/her a short time to try and work it out then tell the child the word if needed
In paired reading you do not ask the child to break up a word or sound it out
When the story is finished talk about what has happened in the story

10. Reading Word Attack Strategies (skills to help decode words)
Look at the first letter
Look for a rhyme e.g. at as in cat
Break the words into syllables
Sound the first few letters
Read the sentence again
Look at the last letters
Look at the pictures
Look at the shape of the word

11. Writing Key Principles. All children need to: Have fun in writing
Develop a positive attitude towards writing
See themselves as writers
Have daily opportunities to write
Have regular opportunities to hear good quality texts

12. Writing Features of teaching Writing:
Linking Talking and Listening, Reading and Writing
‘Big’ writing lessons- relevant and meaningful to children’s experiences
Daily writing opportunities – opportunities for children to extend their own thinking and improve independence
Writing across the curriculum for different purposes
Spelling including common words

13. Writing Tools for writing:
Children need to be able to articulate what they want to write (talking and listening)
Children need to be able to write each letter
Children need to understand the need for a space between each word
Children need to be able to use the phonemes to ‘have a go’ at writing
Children need to be able to read back what they have written
Children are introduced to capital letters, full stops and question marks then the use of ‘and’ as a connective

14. Spelling Aspects of teaching spelling: listen to the sounds in words
identify the number of symbols in words
look at word shapes and patterns
remembering words using look and say method (flashcards)
thinking about and discussing tricky words (words that cannot be sounded out e.g. want)
talking about words

15. Common Words
Common words are introduced to the children right away in Primary 1. Children are taught to read and write the common words. Regular practice is given in school. Between week 1 and week 4 the children will be introduced to: a at the I is it an in and

16. Assessment
Regular assessment is used to ensure children are working at a level that is appropriate:
POLAAR (Primary One Literacy Assessment and Action Resource)
RRWA (Regular Reading Word Assessment)
PM Benchmarking
Daily work in school is assessed to ensure children are supported/challenged

17. How you can help your child
Talk to your child, listen and respond
Read daily to your child (not always paired reading, enjoy books together)
Support your child with homework – little and often is the key
Please sign reading record and use this to communicate with the teacher about reading
Ensure your child has their reading book in school every day
Speak to your child’s teacher regarding any concerns

18. Additional information (attached)
Correct pronunciation of initial sounds sheet
Correct formation of letters sheet
Reading homework hints sheet
How to help your child with phonics sheet
How to help your child with reading