Our English Curriculum
At Court Lane Junior we want to unlock every child’s potential to understand and communicate effectively alongside developing a lifelong passion for English. We believe that children learn best when they read as writers and write as readers.
During the learning journey, children will have the opportunity to see a teacher’s model, work in a pairs to collaborate their ideas and independently write. Through the use of a stimulus, children will capture ideas, develop their vocabulary so that they can strengthen their ability to read as writers and write as readers.
Word of the day
Every day the children are exposed to a new word and given in a context so that they can develop the skills to learn the meaning of words when reading and writing. They will practise writing this in their own sentence so that they can progressively build a varied and rich vocabulary and explore range of sentence structures.
Independent Reading
At Court Lane, we have half an hour reading time every day 1-1:30. This is a time for children to read their reading books and complete the corresponding Accelerated Reader quizzes.
Children have the opportunity to go to the library to pick a book to read for pleasure and a book on their colour linked to Accelerated Reader.
More information can be found on the Reading PowerPoint.
Phonics
Our school is using Little Wandle Rapid Catch-Up to support pupils not currently reading at age-related expectations in Year 2 and above. The programme has a fast pace, so the children can access the curriculum and enjoy reading as soon as possible.
The Rapid Catch-up programme mirrors the core Little Wandle programme that children move through in our partner Infant school. This programme is carefully designed for children aged 7 and above to catch up quickly.
You can find more information about the Rapid Catch-up below in our guide for parents, or for more information about phonics and other resources to help you at home, you can visit the Little Wandle here: Website https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/
Spelling at Court Lane Junior
- We focus on spelling rules and spelling words from the Yr3/4 and Year 5/6 lists
- We teach spellings every day
Weekly structure for spellings:
Monday: Introduce the spelling rule and etymology of the words.
Tuesday: Look at the 5 words which follow the spelling rule in this structure, pointing out where children can see the rule in use and discussing any tricky digraphs or parts of the word.
Wednesday: Follow the same structure as Tuesday but using the year 3/4 or 5/6 words.
Thursday: Independent application and practice of the words – children choose an activity from the list and practice their words using the strategy.
Friday: Spelling test
In spelling books children will write the word and a sentence with the word in it.
Spelling lists are set weekly as part of home learning. Children are expected to learn these spellings at home, ready for their spelling test on a Friday.
Ways to practise your spellings:
