Planning within the new curriculum, 2013
The challenge
The new English curriculum is not only more challenging, it also seeks to prioritise or accentuate
different aspects of teaching English. Thus, Word reading (decoding) comes above Comprehension,
and Transcription (encoding) comes before Composition. Grammar and punctuation, as we have
seen already from the new SATs for Y6, are also given an increased importance, as is spelling. In
summary, technical or secretarial skills are apparently stressed whilst semiotic or ‘meaning-making’
skills appear lower down the scale.
However, at Hamilton we believe that it is vital that we not only teach children to read and to write
with competence and confidence, but that we inspire and stimulate them so that they want to read
and write, and so that both activities bring them happiness and fulfilment. We are also aware that
children can all too often learn to ‘bark at print’ and yet are unable to share and create meaning
from a text. They may be able to write and spell correctly, but unable to use high-level skills to
enable them to produce content which is elaborated or interesting. In today’s world, with so many
alternative demands on children’s as well as adults’ time, to develop children as enthusiastic,
perceptive readers and persuasive, energetic writers is a challenge indeed. The jury is out on
whether the new curriculum is best shaped to support these aspirations.
The Hamilton Plans
As we have said, keeping inspiration and stimulation on the agenda is a real challenge in today’s
educational climate. However, we believe that several things help.
1. Choosing exciting, unusual and quirky texts to enhance our teaching; dreaming up relevant
and genuinely stimulating contexts through which to approach non-fiction texts;
2. Drawing on a mixture of short and sustained activities which involve both collaboration with
peers and individual endeavour;
3. Embedding rigorous and well-structured grammar/punctuation exercises within each 2/3
week unit, ensuring that these are relevant to children because they are linked to the
content of the unit.
4. Providing a clear progression in grammar, punctuation and spelling over the six years from
Y1 to Y6 and breaking this down into yearly, termly and then weekly components so that
each unit incorporates the necessary elements. This ensures that teachers can be confident
that they are covering the required grammar/punctuation and spelling sections of the
National Curriculum for all Year groups without allowing these aspects to dominate, or
reducing the exciting and stimulating parts which will keep motivation high and interest
strong.
5. Including within every unit of work the newly stressed aspects of the curriculum such as
children regularly reading aloud to their peers and teachers in class and also learning by
heart poems, rhymes and other suitable texts.
New format
In order to produce plans which fulfil the demands outlined in 1-4 above, we have found it necessary
to change the format of the planning. The new layout enables the progression in composition,
comprehension and grammar to be seen and tracked through the unit far more easily than the old
layout did. Because the activities are listed by type, under the National Curriculum headings, both
the coverage and the progression are rendered clearly visible. In addition, the new format allows
teachers to select from the plans more easily – enabling an easy transition into daily plans or into a
personalised teacher- or school-template.
Resources
Because we have made it our priority to produce teaching and learning which stimulate, excite and
inspire children to speak, to respond, to read and to write, we have made particular and strenuous
efforts to make sure that the resources are of the highest quality. We employ our own illustrators,
rather than falling back on the ubiquitous and mind-deadening clip-art, and we have produced our
own texts for group reading, which is now a specified facet of every unit of work. In addition, we
provide grammar and punctuation exercises within every unit, where their relation to the subjectmatter makes their relevance to children’s writing much more immediate.
Year groups and Mixed age range
The new National Curriculum is stratified into four sets of attainment targets and teaching
objectives.
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Year 1 – Key Stage 1
Year 2 – Key stage 1
Year 3/Year4 – Lower Key Stage 2
Year 5/Year 6 – Upper Key Stage 2
For simplicity we have elected to structure the plans in the same way. This means that we will
provide a rolling programme of plans for Y3/Y4 and for Y5/Y6. Each unit has teaching and activities
suitable for both year groups, some of which are differentiated by outcome and some of which
provide a graded input. The major advantage of these plans is that they enable teachers to cater for
children of a wide range of ability, attainment and maturity within a year group.
Coverage
We provide an overview of the year’s plans so that teachers can see the content and also make
choices in terms of text type, book and media. The two year rolling programme ensures that we are
able to offer a wider selection of texts, narrative, poetry and non-fiction, and also to draw upon
different levels of accessibility within one unit to allow for children’s own levels of attainment and
personal preferences.
Grammar and Punctuation exercises
As well as providing a backbone of structured activities within the two-week and three-week plans,
we also supply two sets of targeted grammar and punctuation exercises.
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Extra grammar sessions with matching practice for Y5 teachers;
Specifically focussed exercises supporting children in preparing for the grammar and
punctuation tests in Y6.
Watch for the plans
A full raft of plans for Y1, Y2, Y3/Y4 and Y5/Y6 will be on the site in August. Thereafter, we shall have
plans for each term on the site in good time for teachers’ planning. The latest that mixed age Y1/Y2
will appear on the site is April 2014 and it may be earlier.