Modelling, shared and guided writing are all essential steps children have to take to reach independent writing as they help children to understand and apply specific skills and strategies. Children should have plenty of opportunities to be able to write independently and by creating a stimulating writing environment they can achieve this. Evans J. (2001) suggests that Independent writing ‘must be a daily component of the writing programme. Children need opportunities to choose to write for a variety of purposes and a range of audiences.’ Displaying prompts around the classroom such as suitable vocabulary and also connectives will help the children to get into the habit of breaking free from their routine phrases and help them discover their imagination. Children should have the opportunity to enjoy writing about their own topics and for their own purposes.
Phonics is a form of effective teaching and learning in reading in primary schools as having the knowledge of phonics and how it should be applied to sounding out unknown words is an essential skill that all readers must develop in order to learn to read with ease and understanding. The Rose Review emphasises that the importance of phonics as the prime approach to teaching word recognition. Ofsted explained that the Rose Review, published in 2006 found teaching phonics systematically, or blending the sounds of letters all through a word in pronunciation, should be the method of choice for teaching early reading skills. In September 2007, the teaching of synthetic phonics was added to the national curriculum. . Teaching phonics should be set within a broad and rich language curriculum that takes full account of developing the four interdependent strands of language. The rose review also states that ‘High-quality phonic teaching, therefore, secures the crucial skills of word recognition that, once mastered, enable children to read fluently and automatically thus freeing them to concentrate on the meaning of the text.’ Children will then apply their phonic skills and knowledge to decode the text. Children will need to be confident when using the phonetic alphabet this will happen through systematic high quality phonic work. The children once mastered this will then put their skills and knowledge into practice through reading for example phoneme blending which will help with the development of fluent and self-sustaining reading.
The (DES 1975 P106) confirms that ‘The principle is that if a child is systematically taught how to synthesise sounds then they will achieve independence in tackling unfamiliar words’
By taking the opportunity to provide Shared reading sessions this draws the children’s attention to visual features in words and to discus words. Shard reading whilst using a Big Book with groups or the whole class all the children can see the print whilst the teacher reads. As the teacher reads the book she is modelling the skills and strategies used by readers and introducing children to the conventions of written language in narrative and non-narrative texts. Browne (1996) suggests that the support provided by the teacher reading aloud enables all the class to gain experience of reading the whole text even those who are only able to recognise a few words. Children can see how the books work and how the different parts of the book contribute to the reading experience. When the children join in with the reading their collaborative reading allows them to learn from each other. Whitehead (2009) informs us that shared reading enable us to share a book with a group of young children so that they share their varying degrees of knowledge with the rest of the group. Shared reading is modelling reading behaviours and therefore when someone reads they read the whole text without any interruptions. Gregory (1995) has demonstrated that when a teacher interrupts the class reading with inappropriate questions this can lead to confusion with some of the inexperienced readers who can be misled about the purpose and procedures involved in reading by this behaviour. Discussions about the way the book has been written should therefore take place after reading the story.
Guided reading sessions enables a teacher and a group of children to read, talk and think their way through a text together. The DCFS (2009) states that ‘successful reading demands both word-level reading and the ability to comprehend what has been read.’ I think that guided reading sessions will help the comprehension knowledge and help the children building upon this skill as when taking guided reading sessions the teacher can group the children according to their current targets or specific needs. In guided reading each child has a copy of the book and is able to read at his or her own pace. The DCFS (2009) also suggest that reading, and the adult will use the opportunity to listen to children reading, guide their discussions, and address common problems and misconceptions. Reading aloud with others and sharing knowledge and ideas helps the children to read with expression and intonation as they support each other and are able to share their own opinions about what they have read. The most suitable books to include in guided reading sessions are short plays but I think that guided reading sessions are also a really effective way to introduce information books to the children as they are then able to discuss the discourse of these texts and ask questions.
Speaking and listening is very important in developing a child’s creativity, understanding and imagination which are all fostered by discussion and interaction. That QCA (1999) state that ‘In their daily lives, children use speaking and listening to solve problems, speculate, share ideas, make decisions and reflect on what is important.’ Pupils should learn to speak clearly thinking about the needs of their listeners. Some teachers use the method ‘Talking partners’ during literacy which allows both children to speak and listen to each other. Children are able to build up their confidence when talking to their partner as they are able to discuss their ideas clearly and receive feedback. (The national curriculum, 1999, pg 20) states that skills in speaking and listening include the ability to speak effectively for different audiences; to listen, understand and respond appropriately to others; and to participate effectively in group discussions. I feel that with ‘talking partners’ the children are able to express their opinions clearly and be able to speak effectively when they discuss different issues and listen and respond accordingly.
Role play areas are often used in school as an effective way to teach and learn in the classroom. As well as feeding the imagination and encouraging empathy, role-play is a powerful way of developing social skills. It is essential that foundation classes are able to experience role play areas but I think that role play areas could be used in the older year groups. The opportunities for talk within these areas are phenomenal and they can be used for both structured activities and free play. Sharp (2005 pg 15) informs the reader that ‘when children are left to play without restraints they often draw on personal experience that is important to their social and linguistic development.’ Children are able to experiment in this safe environment and practice speaking and listening in varies roles that the take on. Role play areas should be used more in the older years as they can allow other skills to develop also reading and writing as the child could be pretending to be a cafe therefore writing orders down, lists or party invitations. A very important aspect of role play is the function it plays in socialisation as it encourages friendship through cooperation, listening and turn taking. Children must be able to have had experience with the role play area during a real life encounter as children will be unable to role-play real life situations if they have no experience or knowledge about that particular area.
Hot seating is also an effective ways to teach speaking and listening in the classroom. The children are able to put themselves in a characters role and the other children are able to ask questions to enquire and to get a response from the child in the characters role. DCFS (2009) states that Children are receptive (listening) and expressive (speaking) skills underpin all modes of language development. Through listening, reinforced by talk, children develop their ability to express themselves. Hot seating and drama are ways in which children can develop their ability to express themselves and therefore builds up confidence in speaking and listening effectively. Sharp (2005) gave me the idea that the essence of hot seating in the early years is the encouragement it gives children to move away from an egocentric view of the world and towards an understanding that we all see things differently. It also paves the way for the development in social skills in speaking and listening. During my placement in a year one class my mentor used this technique which I was able to see the how successful the drama strategy is and it allows the children to focus on a characters motivations, feelings and reasons for their behaviors and allows the rest of the class to develop their questioning skills.
References
DCFS (2009), ‘Developing literacy in initial teacher training’, Nottingham, DCFS publications
Hornsby, D. (2000), ‘A closer look at guided reading’, Melbourne, Eleanor curtain publications
DFEE (2001), ‘Developing early writing’, London, HMSO
http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk /node/48331 , date visited 10th April 2010
Evans J. (2001), ‘the writing classroom’, London, Fulton Publications
Browne, A (1998), ‘a practical guide to teaching reading in the early years’, London, Paul Chapman Publishing.
, date visited 12th April 2010.
, date visited 12th April 2010
DES (1975,) ‘a language for life’ (the bullock report), London, HMSO
Gregory, E. (1995), ‘what counts as reading in this class?’ London, Routledge.
Whitehead M. (2009) ‘supporting language and literacy development in the early years’ 2nd ed, London, Open University Press.
Sharp E. (2005), ‘learning through talk in the early years.’ London, Paul Chapman Publishing.
Qualifications and curriculum authority (1999) ‘Guidance for teaching speaking and listening skills in key stages 1 and 2’ London, QCA.
Samantha Katie Bill
100119734
B.Ed Primary Education
English Language
4QT025
