Language Program Year 4 2010

English program Year 4 2010

RATIONALE:

Literacy is defined as the ability to read, use written information and to write appropriately, in a range of contexts with many different purposes and also the ability to communicate with a wide variety of audiences. Literacy is integrally related to learning in all areas of the curriculum and enables all individuals to develop world knowledge, understanding and deep thinking skills.

Reading and writing, when integrated with speaking, listening, viewing and critical thinking, constitute valued aspects of literacy in modern life. It is important that students develop the literacy skills needed in a world that is rapidly changing due to cultural diversity, mass communication, technical advancement and digital technology.

AIMS:

• To provide the opportunity for all children to develop their capacity and extend their ability in all three dimensions: reading, writing, oral language.
• To encourage students to explore the meaning of texts, including multimedia and to comprehend how meaning is conveyed.
• To develop the knowledge of how language is used along with related text structures and features.
• To enhance teacher skills to facilitate students’ learning related to acquiring the knowledge, skills and personal qualities of literacy.
• To use explicit teaching to enable students to become competent at reading, viewing and listening critically. This also applies to thinking, speaking and writing clearly and confidently.
• To empower students to apply their knowledge and skills in a variety of situations.
• To integrate the learning of literacy across all areas of the curriculum.

CONTENT:

The English program will cover the three dimensions:

- Reading
- Writing
- Oral Language (Speaking and Listening)

IMPLEMENTATION:

General
- English to be explicitly taught on a daily basis.
Programs will be sequential, developmental and matched to the needs of individual children.
- Intervention programs will be offered in consultation with the Special Needs Team. English as a Second Language (ESL) student will be provided with additional language assistance as deemed necessary.
- First Steps Writing inservice sessions will be attended
- Growth in multimedia means that students need to develop comprehension and research skills, such as discriminating and questioning, to effectively use these multiliteracies. The English program will be flexible, adaptive and creative in order to embrace new technologies..
- Consideration will be given to ensure that both girls and boys have relevant learning activities.
Reading
- Read Aloud, Shared or Modelled Reading, with an explicit teaching focus, will occur each day with the whole class.
- Students will be engaged in sustained, purposeful Independent Reading every day to build a love of reading, reading stamina and reading competence.
- The Smartboard program will complement the reading program by allowing students more access to such components as ebooks, research opportunities and appropriate software.
- Guided Reading sessions will be taken each day.
- Students will have a Classroom Library to which students have contributed ideas and take responsibility. From this library, students will select their weekly texts for Independent Reading.
- Selected students will articulate their new learning during Share Time, e.g. What have I learnt today to make me a better reader?
- Comprehension will be an integral component of all reading sessions as the gaining of meaning from a text provides the purpose of reading. The aim is to develop in students a higher level of understanding and the ability to think deeply/critically about their reading.
- The focus of teaching comprehension skills will be on building strategies to use on continuous text i.e. books.

Writing

• Students will learn to control language and apply the grammatical structures of English, by learning to spell and use punctuation effectively.
• Daily handwriting sessions will concentrate on letter formation, pen/pencil grip, size, speed and style of writing.
• One hour session of writing to be taken daily. Each structured session has a focus; a daily independent writing time; a publishing time; a share time. Teaching strategies will include shared, modelled, interactive, guided and independent writing.
• There will be a balanced approach to the text types (genres) to be taught.
• Students can compose writing in a variety of forms:

Recount
Information Report
Procedure
Explanation
Description
Narrative
Exposition
Discussion


Oral Language (Speaking and Listening)
- A rich oral language in discussions has a vital role in providing scaffolded learning experiences for students.
- Quality dialogue promotes greater student awareness of the world around them.
- Teaching will be explicit to ensure that the students understand what skills they are being taught when doing the task and what links they can make to prior knowledge.
- Effective oral language includes auditory and listening skills; correct pronunciation; adequate description; the ability to categorise; accurate grammar; developing sentence structure; ability to formulate questions; social skills of communication.
- Speakers and listeners co-construct meaning through their conversations, using verbal and non-verbal behaviour and both have active roles in this meaning-making process.
ASSESSMENT:

Assessment enables us to provide ongoing information about each child’s development in English using a variety of assessment tools, including self and peer assessment, to assess each child’s progress. Assessment will be in accordance with the school’s Assessment and Reporting policy.

EVALUATION OF PROGRAM:

The English Program will be reviewed and revised as needed. This will ensure that the above aims are being met. The Torrens Primary School Scope and Sequence will provide guidelines for auditing the effectiveness of the teaching of English.