Literacy classes are taught in four groups.  We aim for the child’s learning experience to be as close as possible to the UK model, and encourage creative input as much as possible:

 

Little Bees

 

Corresponds to Foundation Stage & Year 1 (Key Stage 1) in the UK system.:

 

- Children begin to learn letters and sounds through developmental play, arts and crafts.

 

- The children gradually develop their reading and writing skills with emphasis on learning the phonic letter sounds.

 

- Small group, experienced teacher and assistant make Wednesday afternoons enjoyable and constructive.

 

- Children grow in confidence and develop their ability to play and work with others.

 

 

Class 1

Corresponds to Year 2 (Key Stage 1) in the UK system.

 

-  A range of genre is covered by looking at traditional tales, poetry, fiction and non-fiction texts.

- Children begin to plan and write their own creative stories.

- An emphasis is placed on phonics skills to word build, encouraging children to spell words independently.

- Children learn to read and sequence instructions by making it fun, enabling them to answer simple questions from non- fiction texts.

- Children learn to read and spell high frequency words for KS1 this is reinforced through reading and writing.

- Reading is the main emphasis in this class with every child reading to the class teacher every week.

- Creative teaching including art and craft.

 

Class 2

Corresponds to Years 3 & 4 (Key Stage 2) in the UK system.

 

- More emphasis is now given to spelling and grammar, as well as continuing to foster confidence in reading and independent writing.

- Use of vocabulary and creative language is widened and developed.

- A variety of writing is introduced to include non-fiction such as report writing, newspapers and diaries, and fiction to include fairy tales, myths and legends, poetry and complete novels.

- More independence is fostered, with children being encouraged to research and take notes.

- Emphasis is on creative teaching and learning - with the belief that an engaged child is a happy one, open to new ideas.

 

Class 3

Corresponds to Years 5 & 6 (Key Stage 2) in the UK system.

 

Children build and reinforce the knowledge and understanding from their previous work. They explore fiction and non-fiction with an investigative approach, and are encouraged to:

 

- Enjoy the experience of discovering new and challenging words including the use and derivation of prefixes and suffixes.

- Practise the skills of skimming and scanning to find key words in a text quickly.

- Understand the difference between literal questions and inferring meaning from a text.

- Plan, develop and refine their own writing as most appropriate for the task, understanding why different formats and language are used in different contexts.

- Become confident in using encyclopaedias, (adult) dictionaries or a thesaurus.

- Enjoy the creativity of language.

 

English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

 

For all primary aged children for whom English is not their first language:

 

- French–speaking pupils (and other non-English speakers) are immersed into our existing literacy classes, taking into account their age and ability.

- Extra support is given where needed to ensure that the pupils gain confidence and have fun whilst joining in activities designed to bring the language to life.

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