Chapel Hill State School

English - Key Learning Area

Aims

English is concerned with the use of language in all its strands – reading and viewing, writing and shaping and speaking and listening - in all school subjects.

The English program has five general aims:

• to encourage children's natural enthusiasm, vitality, spontaneity and originality;
• to provide a wide range of experiences which foster children's speaking, reading and viewing and writing;
• to develop children's ability to express their individual ideas, thoughts and feelings through language;
• to develop children's ability to communicate effectively through language within a wide range of social situations; and
• to develop and refine those skills which promote improvement in children's use of language

At school

The School English Program continues the process of language development by helping children to learn their language, to gain knowledge about it and to use their language to learn.

Language development is best achieved in a variety of ways. For example, children may listen to a story being read to them, discuss a story they have shared, write about a story they have read, compose a sequel or a different ending or compose their own story. Sometimes a story may be retold through drama, or illustrated by a series of paintings. Many forms of language are listened to, read, viewed, spoken and written by children.

On appropriate occasions the teacher may plan activities for specific language learning purposes. For example, the teacher may take aside a child or a group of children for particular instruction in the format of an invitation, the use of the apostrophe, the importance of eye contact in face-to-face discussions or any other element of language use that is needed at the time to support an activity currently being undertaken.

In the classroom

The development of language occurs throughout the school day in all subjects at all year levels. Development is enhanced when school activities build upon children's prior experience and follow a sequence derived from interests and needs expressed by the children. Activities frequently involve elements from more than one subject.

They may include, for example, the use of supermarket advertisements in a mathematics lesson; a group discussion of a poem; the viewing of a video as part of a social studies lesson, locating information on a website for a project or the observation of nature's use of colour as part of a science lesson. All these activeness promote language development.

Within the English program itself, children are given opportunities to develop their capacities to use language in a number of special ways.

Years 1 to 3

During this time, a variety of activities forms the basis for a widening background of experience and ideas; the development of oral and written language and an interest in language and literature. In the lower school, children will:

• develop skills in listening, observing and speaking by following directions, describing everyday sounds, locating, identifying and classifying people, places and things;
• develop sufficient reading and viewing skills, both oral and silent, to be able to derive information and pleasure from printed materials;
• be introduced to literature through activities such as listening to and reading stories and poems, visiting book displays and taking part in plays;
• compose imaginative stories, descriptions and conversations to develop self-expression;
• take part in informal conversations, discussions, shopping activities;
• give and receive messages and directions and develop confidence in using information and communication technologies;
• learn to use their voices effectively;
• develop their vocabularies through reading and viewing, speaking, listening, and writing;
• write their own stories, poems, reports and simple letters to express themselves and to communicate with others;
• learn to use punctuation and to understand its use;
• study the sound and form of words;
• learn to spell words frequently used in their writing; and
• learn the skills of handwriting.

Years 4 to 7

Children will:

• further the development of effective habits and attitudes in listening, observing and reading;
• develop their interest in reading through hearing books read aloud by the teacher, using a reading corner for silent and shared reading, and visiting book displays;
• develop comprehension and research skills; using the library, the internet and school intranet; as they undertake a variety of activities;
• explore the language of literature and the mass media;
• make up imaginary situations, descriptions, announcements etc, to be presented orally to the class or to a small group;
• take part in role-playing;
• practise poetry speaking as part of a group or class;
• take part in practical drama, including improvisations, puppetry and the performance of scripted plays;
• learn to use appropriate courtesies in conversations and discussions;
• refine and develop information and communication technologies skills;
• give talks on selected topics, report on everyday events, present oral reviews of books, films or television shows;
• learn simple meeting procedures;
• take part in classroom debates, forums and quizzes;
• increase their vocabularies and learn something of the origin and structure of the English language;
• refine dictionary and thesaurus skills;
• write stories, poems, reports, descriptions and letters;
• learn to spell words frequently used in their writing; further develop and refine the skills of handwriting; and
• develop standards of neatness and pride in handwriting and the setting out of written work.

At home

Here are a number of ways that families can help children to develop their language. They can:

• encourage children to express themselves by showing an interest in what they have to say;
• encourage them to listen attentively to others;
• help them to learn new words by explaining meanings of words of interest that are heard or seen;
• take them on visits to friends, relatives; to other districts, towns, cities; to places of interest such as museums, zoos, concerts;
• encourage them to read, and talk to them about what they have read;
• read stories to them;
• show an interest in their homework;
• get to know their teachers;
• encourage them to be selective in their choice of listening (radio, CD, internet) and viewing (television, DVD, internet) programs;
• provide opportunities for letter writing and e-mailing to pen-pals, relations and friends; and
• let them see that you value reading and writing by reading and writing yourself.

How you can help your child with writing

Everyday tasks such as making a shopping list can help improve your child’s writing skills.

Our school encourages all parents to help their children with their writing at home. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Ask your child to make a greeting card for a special occasion
• Talk about the different ways we use writing (making lists, writing messages or notes)
• Make personalised scrap books with your child – glue a photo or picture your child chooses onto a page and ask them to write words or sentences about the picture
• Create a special place for your child to write. Providing writing materials, such as an easel or blackboard with scrap paper and pencils, makes a great environment to experiment with writing
• Set up some plastic letter tiles or magnets for your child to play with or a keyboard to spell out or type words.

For more information and ideas on how you can support your child’s writing visitwww.education.qld.gov.au/parents/map/

What I Know About Reading

From time to time, some elements of the media publish inflammatory and inaccurate articles about the teaching of reading in schools. They falsely paint a picture of teachers using an ‘either or’ approach to reading, claiming that teachers either teach ‘phonics’ or they teach ‘whole language’. In actual fact a teacher who adopts a one size fits all approach to such a complex skill as reading would be like a doctor who writes a script for antibiotics for every patient who presents with a runny nose - not very professional. Like a good doctor who probes for more information about symptoms before recommending a course of action, a good teacher finds out all they can about the individual child and then adapts their teaching to provide the experiences that will best suit that particular child at that particular stage of their reading development. That is why teachers work on developing all the reading skills children need and why you will find them using a mixture of approaches.

One of the most beneficial things parents and carers can do to give children the best start as readers is to read aloud to them often – just for fun – no questions or tests given – just a warm happy time spent together with a good book. My children and I loved my bed for this and I read to them into their high school years.

Another very beneficial thing parents and teachers can do for children as they become readers in the early years is to resist the temptation to have the child read aloud with absolute accuracy and absolute fluency. This is even more unhelpful if it is coupled with a belief that children’s books and reading must be levelled. It appears that there are two things common in the criteria struggling readers use to judge themselves. One is that they falsely think that reading is something they can do when they can read aloud books of a certain ‘level’. Through unintentional messages from adults, they come to believe that reading is about making your way through the levels. The second criterion that struggling readers use to judge themselves is that of performance. As Dr Kaye

Lowe says, “…they are convinced that good reading sounds good – has lots of expression and is fluent. They use performance criteria to judge what is good and bad, and are often unaware that reading is about making meaning.”

Children who develop these unhelpful beliefs about reading, acquire them through the messages adults send. In the Early Years it is absolutely normal for there to be vast differences in the speed at which reading is acquired. If children remain confident that they will become a reader during these years – that is exactly what will happen in almost every case. The messages we as adults send to children about what a ‘good’ reader can do can make the difference.

DR Kaye Lowe 2002 “What’s the Story? Making Meaning in Primary Classrooms” PETA

How you can help your child with reading?

As a parent, you are your child’s first teacher and it is important to encourage your child to read outside of the classroom. What a great idea if all parents helped their children to improve their reading skills. You can do this by:

• Visiting the local library – this is an economical way to provide access to different kinds of books and learning materials and allows children to borrow from a wide range.

Your library may also offer a reading program which makes reading an exciting experience and allows them to mix with other children

• Asking ‘why’ questions as you read a book or story together to help your child understand and asking them to think about alternate endings to make much-loved books even more interesting
• Reading to your child as often as you can and by trying to carry a book with you when away from home
• Letting your child hold the book and turn the pages when you are reading together – this lets your child join in and allows you to talk about the pictures
• Congratulating your child on their reading – this will encourage them to enjoy the reading experience
• Pointing out words as you read them, especially long or interesting words – this will create a word bank or a spelling list which will help your child with their writing
• Making a message board or space at home and encouraging your child to read and leave messages for other family members – this will also give them an important job in the household.

The Best Australian Books for Kids

Sometimes as a parent you may have trouble choosing a children’s book. One way to find the perfect book is to learn about what kinds of stories your child is interested in.

For younger children, there are a variety of audio books available to borrow at libraries and purchase at book stores. Your child can listen to the story as they learn to read.

This will not only keep them interested, but help them recognise important words and letters.

Here are some titles of Australian classics to share with your child:

• Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall
• I Can Jump Puddles by Alan Marshall
• The Muddleheaded Wombat and Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park
• Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs.

Our school suggests the following stories and picture books for younger readers:

• The Tashi series by Anna Fienberg
• Cool Bananas by Christine Harris and Bettina Guthridge
• Are You Hungry? by Tina Burke
• No Room for a Mouse by Kyle Mewburn and Freya Blackwood
• Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr
• One Blue Sock by Emily Ballou and Stephen Michael King.

For older children:

• Daughter of the Regiment by Jackie French
• Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein
• Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman
• Pigs Might Fly   by Emily Rodda
• Lockie Leonard Human Torpedo by Tim Winton.

Remember to talk to your child to discover if he or she likes mystery or adventure stories or humorous books. This will not only make choosing a book easier, it will also make reading more enjoyable.

Home Reading

So how is home reading going in your family? Do you regularly read aloud to your children? It is a crucial part of every child’s development and a beautiful time to spend each day with each child. Renowned Australian author, Mem Fox, is an advocate for parents reading aloud to their children and has come up with Ten Commandments for reading aloud.

Mem Fox’s Ten Read Aloud Commandments

1. Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.

2. Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn to read.

3. Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.

4. Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.

5. Read the stories that the kids love, over and over and over again, and always read in the same ‘tune’ for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.

6. Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the pictures, or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.

7. Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are really short.

8. Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as letting kids finish rhymes, and finding the letters that start the child’s name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.

9. Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.

10. Please read aloud every day, mums and dads, because you just love being with your child, not because it’s the right thing to do.

For more great reading advice go to www.memfox.com