Carmunnock Primary School
Language Policy
August 2009
Rationale
Language is at the core of children’s learning. Through language they become successful learners
and confident individuals. Language allows children to become effective contributors for a wide
variety of purposes. It is central to intellectual, emotional and social development which encourages
responsible citizenship.
Aims
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At Carmunnock Primary School we aim to build on the wide and varied experiences of
language which are acquired at home and in the pre-school setting.
Pupils will get a wide range of reading and writing experiences which are supported by a
variety of contexts.
The development and teaching of reading and writing skills will be explicit in that both
learning outcomes and success criteria will be shared with pupils.
We aim to ensure continuity and progression from P1-P7.
We aim to meet pupils’ needs and motivate them to become independent learners.
Balance of the Curriculum
20-25% of the time should be used to teach Language. This time allocation is to be shared between
the 4 components of English Language- Reading, Writing, Talking and Listening.
In relevant classes this allocation also includes the teaching of French.
Teaching Approaches
Language tasks and activities need to be as interactive as possible, encouraging active learning at all
stages, e.g. paired spelling, literature circles, paired reading etc.
Formative Assessment and Teaching for Effecting Learning strategies and ideas are to be used
throughout language lessons.
Planning
Language and literacy planning is to focus on reading and writing skills to be taught and not resource
led, this allows the teacher to decide which resources are suitable. The skills to be taught each term
at the different stages are detailed in the Carmunnock Primary School forward planners.
Term 1 and 3 – Fiction focus
Term 2 and 4 – Non–Fiction focus
Presentation and Handwriting
In August, the first two weeks of the school year, class teachers will focus on layout of jotters,
presentation and setting out of work. This is to ensure that good habits and high standards are
encouraged from the onset.
The school follows the Nelson handwriting scheme; this is to be taught systematically as follows:
P1 and P2 - 4 times a week for 10mins
P3 and P4 - 3 times a week for 10mins
P5 to P7
- 2 times a week for 10 – 15 mins
Writing
Each term the focus for writing in each class will be on a particular genre, the skills to be taught are as
highlighted in the forward plans. As writing skills are taught children should be given opportunities to
practise the skills learnt by working on extended pieces of writing.
Each teacher should plan a dedicated writing lesson for 60-90 minutes each week. There is an agreed
writing week each term to allow for extended writing projects.
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At the end of each term a piece of assessed extended writing will be put in the Writing Folios, using the
Big Writing criteria. For Non-fiction and Poetry the teacher’s own formative comments should be made.
In every school year each child will have 4 pieces of writing in this jotter. These jotters are passed on
with the children as a record of progress as they move up the school.
Reading
P1-3
To develop basic literacy skills Jolly Phonics are taught in primary 1. At the early stages the focus will be
on the mechanics of reading. This will follow on to building fluency in reading aloud and developing
comprehension. In order to transfer skills, reading for enjoyment as well as for information will be actively
encouraged.
Children in primary 1 and 2 will be involved in a reading task or activity everyday. The children will work
through Oxford Reading Tree books at a pace of 1 book a week or faster if children are able. There is no
need for children to work through all the ‘More Stories’ if they are confident at a particular level.
From stage 8 onwards books may take 2 weeks to complete.
P4-7
The focus for literacy and reading skills for each class is as highlighted in the school forward plans.
Children will be encouraged to use reading to enhance their own learning. Reading tasks should aim
to let children experience the joy of reading. In term one P4-7 have the option to do a unit study.
Literature Circles are used instead of reading groups in P4-P7. The class teacher decides how
literature circles will be organised depending on class and stage.
In P4 reading detective roles to be introduced are: Word Finder, Question Master, Illustrator and
Summariser.
In P5&6 reading detective roles to be used are: Word Finder, Question Master, Illustrator,
Summariser, Mind Mapper and Illuminator.
In P7 reading detective roles to be used are: Word Finder, Question Master, Illustrator, Summariser,
Mind Mapper, Illuminator, Passage Master and Link Maker.
Although the children will not be formally heard reading aloud, there should be opportunities within
the language programme for children to read aloud to the teacher as well as in other areas of the
curriculum.
Silent/Paired Reading
Each class from P1-3 will engage in a silent reading time of 10-15 minutes a week. In P1 and 2 this
may be a shared storytime. Paired reading with older “reading buddies” or PSAs may be used at this
time to support less confident readers.
Additional Support in language
The ultimate responsibility for each child’s learning rests with the class teacher, however, in Carmunnock
Primary we have a referral system in place where children can be referred for learning support
Children who are struggling with reading will continue to be heard reading aloud in a group in P4-P7.
Teaching Of Spelling
Each child is to be taught Spelling daily. The common words should be systematically taught until all 300
are known.
Planning and Recording
Each term’s planned spelling work should be highlighted in the forward plans and dated once taught. One
or two spelling rules are to be taught each week, but only moving on when the bulk of the class are
confident.
2 – 5 common words are to be covered each week too, appropriate to the age/ability of the class.
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Weekly Spelling Programme
A variety of activities is to be used to teach the spelling rule each week. These should take 5-10 minutes
at the start of the language programme, and be interactive and involve limited marking.
Monday – teacher introduces new spelling rule – draw up list – display on wall for week.
Tuesday – children copy words onto whiteboard using look cover write and check method.
Wednesday – paired work – children test each other on words – use whiteboards.
Thursday – clapping/chanting out spellings of words.
Friday – spelling test on words, children should be encouraged to self-mark and teacher then uses
mistakes as teaching points.
Other materials such as magnetic letters, flip books or word wheels are useful, especially for the teaching
of word families.
Spelling homework can be used to reinforce the rules and prepare for Friday test.
Display
Spelling words should be prominently displayed as part of the language wall. Previously taught word
lists/families should be displayed. A word wall/tree/ bank should show common words and can be used for
writing activities by children working at levels A or B.
A good approach to getting children to look at words and commit them to memory is to ‘hide’ word cards
on the list on a different wall each day. Points are given to children who spot them.
Talking and Listening
At Carmunnock our talking and listening programme aims to:
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To allow children to convey information and respond appropriately.
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To enable children to establish relationships and interact with others.
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To encourage children to express feelings and appreciate those of others.
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To provide opportunities to present, share, clarify and reflect upon ideas, experiences and opinions.
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To enable children to give and gain imaginative and aesthetic pleasure.
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To offer children opportunities to take part in activities using local dialect, Scots language and modern
languages.
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To offer children choices in what they listen to for enjoyment.
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To support children who may have difficulties in participating in listening and talking activities.
Approaches to Learning and Teaching in Talking and Listening
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Listening and talking should be relevant, purposeful and meaningful.
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Listening and talking activities should be taught within the context of other curricular areas, but at
times it may be appropriate to teach the skills in isolation.
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Listening and talking programmes should be broad and balanced to allow the children to be active
and motivated in their responses.
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Listening and talking should be interesting and stimulating for all throughout the session.
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Teachers should provide a role model for good listening and talking skills.
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Careful consideration should be given to maintain an equal balance between listening and talking
activities throughout each session.
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A wide range of media to talk about and listen to, including photographs, video and compute
programmes, audio tapes, newspaper and magazine articles and real performances, visits and
visitors to school will be offered.
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Listening and talking should also include exposure to local dialect, the Scots language and Modern
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Languages.
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Encouragement, praise and appropriate rewards should be offered to those children who are, and are
trying their best to be, active talkers and listeners.
Planning, Assessment and Recording
Teachers’ termly plans will indicate which talking and listening skills are to be taught, and the activities
and resources to be used.
Assessment should inform future learning experiences and be a part of teaching. It is important that there
should be regular feedback to pupils on how they are performing. An assessment sheet is to be kept in
the forward plan file.
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Listening and talking will be assessed both formally and informally using classroom observations and
discussions with children as well as sample testing.
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We will also use individual and group assessments for presentations and talks.
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During prepared presentations and talks, the children will have the opportunity to assess and evaluate
their own, and each other’s, performances.
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Any assessment results will be reported to parents during interviews and in the annual pupil report.
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Any identified individual difficulties will be discussed with the Additional Support for Learning coordinator and further action will be taken if deemed necessary.
Roles and Responsiblities
Role of HT
 Ensure that all teaching staff implement the policy and procedures in a consistent way.
 Monitor the pupils’ progress in language
 Ensure appropriate staff development takes place.
Role of Teaching Staff
 To implement the policy and procedures in a consistent way.
 To contribute to achieving and maintaining a school ethos in which development of language
skills is actively encouraged and promoted.
 To have high expectations of pupil attainment.
Monitoring and Evaluating
We will regularly evaluate our Language programme and policy. A report on its quality and level of
attainment will be published in our annual Standards and Quality report.
The head teacher will monitor forward plans on a termly basis and comment on specific aspects of
Listening and talking where appropriate.
The head teacher will also monitor listening and talking activities within the classroom setting as part of
the monitoring programme.
Review date: August 2011
Resources available to Teachers:
Scholastic Writing Workshop Level A-B
Scholastic Writing Workshop Level C-E
Big Writing materials
Jolly Phonics
Single Word Spelling lists
Oxford Reading Tree for P1-P3
– Big Books
- Reading Books
- Extended stories
- PCM
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- Workbooks
- Context Cards
- Story tapes
- Sequencing cards
- Fireflies (non-fiction books)
Oxford Reading Tree Treetops Reading Books
Thinking about Reading- class pack for P3
New Horizons in Reading- printable resources for P1-P7
New Horizons in Reading/Reading into Writing class packs for P4-P7
Class sets of books for Unit Study for P4-P7
Sets of books for Literature Circles for P4-P7
Reading Detectives class packs for P4-P7
Class library books
Dictionaries
Focus on Literacy Grammar and Punctuation– Introductory level for P3
Focus on Literacy Grammar and Punctuation– Levels 1-4 for P4-P7
Focus on Literacy Comprehension– Introductory level for P3
Focus on Literacy Comprehension– Levels 1-4 for P4-P7
Focus on Literacy Big Books- Levels 1-4 for P4-P7
Focus on Literacy Pupil Books- Levels 1-4 for p4-P7
Nelson Handwriting
Talking and Listening resources
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Staff should use a variety of different resources to support learning.
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Planned activities should be part of daily routine.
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The core resource is the GCC Talking and Listening Pack
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Prim ED Listening materials
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ORT Storytapes
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Listen and Do
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Oracy
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