Parents Curriculum Evening
Wednesday 3rd September 2014
Maud School
New Active Literacy
Approaches (North
Lanarkshire Literacy
Programme)
Implementation across Aberdeenshire
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All schools and networks across
Aberdeenshire.
Education Service partially provided and
funded new teaching materials and teaching
resources
Background
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Active approach to the teaching of Reading,
Spelling and Writing
Developed by Literacy Officers in North
Lanark
In its eighth year in North Lanark
Research shows success in raising
standards
Background contd…
The essence of the Active Literacy
programme:
“Literacy is fundamental to all areas of learning,
as it unlocks access to the wider curriculum.
Being literate is central to an individual’s
development and well being in society”
 Effective, enjoyable, relevant learning
 Literacy skills for 21st Century life
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Structure of Active Literacy
Programme
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Stages 1-7
Phased in over the course of the year
Training all children in new approaches
Main Elements:
Phonics and Spelling
Guided Reading/Book Banding
Writing
Stage 1-3 Phonics and Spelling
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Identifying phonemes (sounds) in words
Multi sensory approach
Integrated and active
Weekly phonics, phonemes and common
words.
Working with a partner on structured phonics
tasks
Stage 1 – Phonics
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Phonemes (sounds) will be taught at a pace which is
deemed acceptable through the class teacher’s
assessment over the course of the year.
26 individual sounds taught initially each with a story
and action
Children given lots of experience of and practice
with blending
More complex sounds introduced – approximately
one per week
Stage 1 contd…
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Time for revision and consolidation is written
into the programme
Use of magnetic whiteboards – 1 per child
Say, Make/Break, Blend, Read and Write
strategy
Short dictated sentences including phonetic
and tricky words eg I can see my dog
Spelling, Dictation and Handwriting
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Improvements made through daily sessions
working with pairs or trios
Partner working – builds confidence and
competence
Spelling Strategies taught – not just word
lists
Spelling Strategies
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Children encouraged to use a strategy which suits their learning
style including-
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as a mnemonic
its similarity to other known words
using a learned spelling rule and recognising patterns
making use of syllabification
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Children will regularly, interactively and collaboratively discuss,
look at, think and learn about words
Stages 2&3 – Phonics and Spelling
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Continues in the same way as Stage 1 – Say,
Make/Break, Blend, Read, Write
Encourages children to experience fun and activity
while building up confidence through collaborative
working
Encourages active learning experiences while
building up and breaking down words using
phoneme patterns
Continued focus on pair/trio working and
collaborative learning – Word Makers/Word Readers
Elkonin Boxes
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To aid children in
breaking words into
phonemes
Eg – birthday
b
i
r
th
d
ay
Guided Reading
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Books in early years colour banded to reflect reading
ages – move from one band to another as they
develop fluency and comprehension
Main difference to previous reading programme – no
longer necessarily working through any reading
scheme stage by stage
Aiming towards two guided reading sessions per
week
Partnership between teacher and pupil
It’s not reading round a group!
Books are sent home for the pupils to read for
pleasure
Guided Reading – Stage 1
Five stages to guided reading lesson:
1. Planning
2. Introduction/Walkthrough
3. Independent Read
4. Returning to the Text
5. Follow up Activities
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Five Stages of Guided Reading
1.Planning
 Teachers become familiar with the text
Five Stages of Guided Reading
2. Introduction/Walkthrough
 Teacher walks through the book page by
page drawing attention to any difficult words
Five Stages of Guided Reading
3. Independent Read
 Pupils read the text aloud at their own pace
while the teacher monitors and assesses
individuals
Five Stages of Guided Reading
4. Returning to the text
 Discuss the story including characters, events,
setting
 Looking at significant words again
 Finding words starting with the same sound
 Finding words containing last week’s phoneme etc
Generating purposeful, stimulating discussion is the
most challenging part of Guided Reading
Five Stages to Guided Reading
5. Follow Up Activities
 Include individual and pair/trio work relating
to the text
 Include letter/ word and sentence level work
 Should be completed independently
Guided Reading Stages 2 &3
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At this stage pupils are taught comprehension skills
and how to find stated and implied information in
texts including:
How and why the author has introduced a story
The main sequence of events in a story
Understand what happens to different characters
and why
Identify and understand key words
Understand characters feelings etc
Guided Reading at Stages 2&3
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Children talk about text with teacher making links to prior
knowledge.
Read independently and with a partner, being encouraged to
summarise the main ideas in their own words
Written tasks linked to their reading will then be completed
One important strategy children engage in is the “Find It, Prove
It, Talk About It”
A lot of written tasks will be completed through partner work
Texts will be sent home approximately twice per week. These
are for the children to read for pleasure.
And finally…..
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“ It is the overarching aim of the Active
Literacy Programme to provide all of our
children with rich opportunities to make
learning effective, enjoyable and
relevant……..and help to prepare them to
take their place in our global society”
Christine Pollock
Executive Director North Lanarkshire Council
Active Literacy Stages 1-3
Any questions?
Thank you for coming