Why do we learn English?
Reading
Our vision is that every child at Ark Oval becomes a lifelong reader, not only for academic success but for enjoyment. We balance teaching daily reading skills with an enjoyment of literature though weekly library visits for every class, Library nights and daily DEAR ('Drop Everything and Read'.)
Pupils at Ark Oval learn important reading skills in a daily lesson (alongside daily phonics for pupils on the programme). Our philosophy is based on 'Stage, not Age' and this is used to teach pupils skills in a way that they are all sufficiently challenged. Key skills are built upon at every reading stage in a 'mastery' approach, to allow pupils to practise and refine their reading skills with a core text at the heart of learning.
Our aim is for Ark Oval Pupils to leave school with the skills and good reading behaviours to be an independent, mature and critical reader:
- Enjoy reading extended and more challenging texts across a variety of genres (modern fiction, poetry, classics, non-fiction, newspapers, etc)
- Use reading to access the wider curriculum
- Think critically and question what they read
- Become’ what they read, and what writers have to say, as well as beginning to notice the effect that writing has on them as a reader
Writing
The English Curriculum at Ark Oval adopts a holistic approach - making connections between reading and writing at every turn so that our pupils are using the vocabulary, literary techniques, structures and draw inspiration from the wide range of authors they are exposed to through Reading and the Wider Curriculum. Our Writing Model has been designed specifically for our pupils to inspire a genuine love for reading and writing but also to support the development and consolidation of the fundamental reading and writing skills that will allow our pupils to gain the cultural capital and skill to access learning across the curriculum. The model is underpinned by three key phases which mimics the writing process that an actual author would undergo.