Better English and literacy Everyone a writer. Data for 2013: Key Stage 4 33% overall did not achieve grade C or higher for English Language GCSE

Better English and literacyEveryone a writer


Data for 2013: Key Stage 4

33% overall did not achieve grade C or higher for English Language GCSE.

33% overall did not make expected KS2–4 progress in English.

50% CLA/FSM pupils did not achieve grade C or higher for English Language GCSE.

03.04 Better English & literacy P Metham HMI


Data for 2013: Key Stage 2-4

69% overall made expected KS2–4 progress in English.

76% of girls made expected KS2-4 progress in English.

Only 63% of boys made expected KS2-4 progress in English.

Only 56% CLA/FSM pupils made expected KS2-4 progress in English.


In 2012, a National Literacy Trust survey found that:

one in every six adults struggles with literacy, with a literacy level below that expected of an 11-year-old

levels of achievement are often associated with pupils’ levels of deprivation.



In 2008, employers had concerns over employees’ ability to:

read and understand basic texts – 32%

understand and reply clearly to spoken instructions – 39%

construct properly spelt, grammatically correct writing – 72%.

CBI survey (2008)



National Literacy Trust/CBI survey in 2011:

40% of employers were dissatisfied with school and college leavers’ literacy skills.

These responses suggest that improvement in many school leavers’ literacy skills is painfully slow.



Who

really

cares?



In your school -

are literacy features consistently included in teachers’ instructions? These may include: – appropriate style

– sentence construction– key words– spelling.

Who monitors the planning and impact?



Persistent challenges identified in a government survey include:

the gap between girls’ and boys’ achievement, especially in writing

evidence of lower standards overall in writing

poorer performance in English by pupils eligible for free school meals.



Barriers to success for boys:

poor behaviour

low levels of motivation

low self-esteem and reluctance to risk failure

a reluctance to begin writing



Try reversing the sequence.

Barriers to success for boys include:

reluctance to begin writing (because of…)

low self-esteem and reluctance to risk failure (leading to…)

low levels of motivation (prompting…)

poor behaviour.



Barriers to good writing:

over-directed teaching limiting learners’ independence

‘practice’ writing rather than meaningful tasks with a clear sense of context, purpose and audience

the lack of whole-school approaches to writing



Barriers to good writing:

teachers’ lack of confidence

over-dependence on external guidance and off-the-peg schemes

a view that curriculum content leaves too little time for writing and discussion, reflection and consideration of ideas



Moving English Forward (2012)

In less effective lessons:

the teaching of writing was of variable quality

learning was constrained by too narrow a focus on test preparation

too little attention was given to spelling and handwriting.



Teachers and students who write together…

…get it right together!

What have surveys shown working?

Teachers and pupils working together as writers

Combining a variety of experiences and approaches

Encouraging pupils to develop their own success criteria

Beyond the crossroads: a teachers’ forum (2009)



What have surveys shown working?

Encouraging pupils to play with language, free from formal assessment

Using marking to generate genuine dialogue with pupils about their work

Giving pupils choice of text type and topic

Creating opportunities to write on-line



‘Teachers demonstrate high standards in their own use of language and they model the processes of reading and writing powerfully to help pupils make real progress in their own work.’

English subject inspection: a mark of outstanding teaching



The pupil experience

With a partner, choose a picture on the hand-out (and on the next slide).

Briefly agree writing criteria for the following task.

Individually, write the beginning of your story or poem. You have five minutes.

Peer-review with your partner. Be honest!



a



Whole-group discussion

What worked? What could have made it more productive for pupils?

How do you integrate creative writing into your planning and what guidance do you give your department?

What do you know about how well your teachers model and teach writing?



Further barriers to effective writing:

too few opportunities for pupils to complete extended writing

too little emphasis on creative and imaginative tasks

too little choice for pupils in the topics for writing

Moving English forward (2012)



Look at the examples of Year 7 writing on the hand-out (also on the next slides).

What guidance would you give to a new teacher on how to respond to these pieces?

Next steps?

End of key stage targets?





Year 7



NC aims include ensuring that all pupils:

acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions

write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.



Despite some effective individual marking of spelling, schools lacked consistency on which mistakes to correct and how.

Marking did not make it clear how pupils should respond to spelling mistakes.

Teachers’ comments on spelling too rarely led to action by pupils.




Lack of punctuation can be lethal!

im hungry lets eat granny



Correct punctuation saves the day – and Granny!

‘I’m hungry! Let’s eat, Granny.’



Woman without her man is nothing.




Woman, without her man, is nothing.





Woman: without her, man is nothing.





Woman: without her, man is nothing.

Punctuation makes sense!



Making choices: modal verbs

Imagine you are the English team coach trying to inspire the team.

‘We can win this.’ ‘We should win this.’

‘We must win this.’ ‘We will win this.’

Consider the impact of verb choice.

Is this an approach your teachers might use?



Making choices: sentence structure

His wife was shrill, languid, handsome and horrible.

His wife was horrible, shrill, languid and handsome.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

What difference does the change of word order make? Is one more effective than the other?



NC aims include ensuring that all pupils:

acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions

write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.



The gold standard

Pupils’ writing shows a high degree of technical accuracy and they write effectively across a range of genres, frequently showing creativity in their ideas and choice of language.

English inspection descriptor for ‘outstanding achievement’



Better English and literacyAn engaging curriculum

‘To boldly go…’

Exploration

Enquiry

Imagination

A sense of purpose

Skills

Key message

The NC sets out non-negotiables in terms of skills and knowledge.

You have the freedom to develop these through an engaging curriculum.

You have the responsibility to promote the learning of all pupils in your school.


03.04.2014 Better English P Metham HMI

The ‘Wow!’ approach?

Planning choices

and

priorities?



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Preparing_Firework.jpg




http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Fireworks_on_Canada_DAY.jpg





Is the experience

purposeful?

Is the learning

sustained?



The quality of the curriculum is the strongest indicator of outstanding provision in English.

Teaching that is held in check by an inappropriate or dull curriculum will not inspire pupils or generate high standards.

Excellence in English (2011)



Pupils who make limited headway in English frequently speak of the subject as:

a largely passive experience

school-based

academic.




Effective schools:

reflect on and adapt their curriculum to meet changing needs

teach literacy in contexts that are relevant and meaningful to their learners

identify learners’ different starting points and needs accurately.

Removing barriers to literacy (2011)



Ofsted inspectors must consider:

pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

how well the school meets the needs of:

– disabled pupils and those with special educational needs– pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium.

School inspection handbook (2012)



A good plan

Elements of a good curriculum plan

Well-planned transition from KS2 to KS3

A coherent, engaging and challenging KS3

Well-planned transition to KS4

Extension and enrichment activities

Links with the ‘real’ world



Choices! Choices!

How long is your KS3?

What are its non-negotiable elements?

How do you balance language and literature?

Are there aspects you plan to change? What and why?



Literacy across the curriculum

How do you plan for key literacy skills to be routinely embedded across subjects?

Who monitors its implementation?

Who evaluates its impact?

Share your approach with another school.

The Cardinal Hume case study (hand-out) presents one approach, not ‘THE’ approach!



From curriculum structureto lesson-planning

Lesson-planning

What do we look for in a well-planned lesson?

Consider the Year 9 lesson plan on the next slide.

What advice would you give an inexperienced teacher who brought you this plan for comment?



Starter (for a Year 9 lesson on persuasive writing) Introduce and discuss objective. (5 min) Groups to complete card-sort activity. (10 min)

Development Groups to use Question of Sport information and identify

stylistic devices on whiteboard. (10 min) Mini-plenary: look at criteria for Levels 5, 6, 7. (5 min) Look at examples (L5/6) of persuasive essays on capital

punishment, choose the most effective and link to criteria. (5 min)

Pupils produce at least one paragraph for a talk for/against capital punishment. (10 min)

Plenary (15 min) Musical chairs: peer-mark two others’ work, return to own

work, check comments. Washing line: pupils get into position relating to strength of

views for/against capital punishment. What have you learnt today? Q/A. Final activity: identify techniques on board. 03.04.2014 Better English P Metham HMI

What creates barriers? Excessive pace Overloading of activities Ineffective AfL Behaviour management Focus on ‘doing’ not ‘learning’ Poor differentiation Limited subject knowledge Teaching to the test Moving English forward , Ofsted, 2012

Moving English Forward, Ofsted, 2012



Finally

Challenges?

Balancing skills, knowledge, a sense of discovery, excitement and enjoyment

Developing activities that meet all needs

Ensuring that teachers and TAs have the necessary knowledge and skills

Checking that time and resources are productively deployed



What works?

Teachers listening carefully to what pupils say about English, about what they enjoy doing and about how they learn best

Schools giving teachers freedom and flexibility to devise programmes that will engage their pupils

Excellence in English, Ofsted, 2011



Review and refresh

Using the hand-outs (L&M of speaking and listening, of reading and of writing) if they are helpful, discuss as school groups your:

secure strengths (what and where)

areas for improvements (what and where).

Identify at least one action point for each area.



The gold standard

Imaginative approaches

A wide range of challenging texts

A clear focus on basic literacy skills

A rich curriculum, accessible to all groups


Questions?


Documents

Better English and literacy Everyone a writer. Data for 2013: Key Stage 4 33% overall did not achieve grade C or higher for English Language GCSE