Introduction to English

PGCE Full Time2011-12Tuesday September 27th

In this lecture we will…

• Look at the content of the module and directed tasks

• Explore, in outline, the documentation currently supporting the teaching of English

• Reflect on effective teachers of English

• Consider ourselves as teachers of English

Module content• Handbook of guidance outlines basic

session content and guides in you in additional activities to support your preparation for taught sessions and your independent learning.

• Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing are explicit themes which are interwoven

• Grammar is presented largely through self-managed learning and an on-line audit

• The QTS skills test • http://www.tda.gov.uk/skillstests.aspx• Learning Matters test practice books• LN Forums for discussion will allow you

to reflect further on issues raised in the taught sessions; for example discussion of the current reading debate, exploring planning for writing etc.

Directed tasks and independent learning

• Book log • School based tasks for SE 1• Morris Gleitzman’s Once (for

week semester 2 discussion forum)

• Writing journal (sem 2)• Audits (sem 1 and 2)• Early Reading Portfolio (SE1 & 2)• The reading pack supports

understanding of the seminars and the writing of assignments. Tutors will assume that you have read those indicated prior to each session.

Semester 1

Semester 2

The National Curriculum for EnglishThere are three attainment

targets:AT 1: Speaking and ListeningAT 2: ReadingAT 3: Writing

Each attainment target issupported by a programmeof study (PoS) for each Key

Stage.http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-1-and-2/subjects/english/index.aspx

For example…• EN 1 Speaking and Listening (AT 1)• Programme of Study (PoS) for KS 1• Speaking1. To speak clearly, fluently and

confidently to different people, pupils should be taught to:

• speak with clear diction and appropriate intonation

• choose words with precision• organise what they say• focus on the main point(s)• include relevant detail• take into account the needs of their

listeners.

The National Curriculum for English

Speaking and

Listening

WritingReading

Subdivisions of understanding in reading and writing

Word level

Sentence levelText level

The PNS framework for literacy

• Divides children’s learning in to 12 strands which cover speaking and listening, reading and writing

• Objectives are wide and may relate to several different units of work across a year

• http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primary/primaryframework/literacyframework

What you might have heard about…• National Literacy Strategy

or NLS (1998)• Introduced explicit

learning objectives at word, text and sentence level

• Criticisms levelled at: coverage, clock, pace, extracts, organisation

Challenges

What was missing?2003

What now?

• The Primary National Strategies – a Framework for Literacy

• Sometimes called the PNS or Framework for Literacy but NEVER the NLS or the Literacy Hour

2006

The PNS Framework for Literacy

Strands 1 - 4

Speaking

Listening and responding

Group discussion and interaction

Drama

Strands 5 - 8

Word recognition

Word structure and spelling

Understanding and interpreting texts

Engaging and responding to texts

Strands 9 - 12

Creating and shaping texts

Text structure and organisation

Sentence structure and punctuation

Presentation

For example…

• Strand 1 (Speaking), Year 1

• Retell stories, ordering events using story language

• Interpret a text by reading aloud with some variety in pace and emphasis

• Experiment with and build new stores of words to communicate in different contexts

Resources on the PNS website• Units by year group – follow links

through to detailed units of work that identify teaching sequences

• Literacy Resource Library will take you to a wealth of documentation showing you the rationale for the PNS and to many resources for teachers

• Early Reading - Find the related CLLD website for resources relating to early reading and phonics teaching.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110809091832/http://teachingandlearningresources.org.uk/collection/7618/node/7621

Defining our subject

• What do we mean by literacy?

• Is there a difference between the teaching of English and the teaching of literacy?

Defining our role:effective teachers of literacy• Do you have positive

memories of English lessons from childhood; to what are they related?

• Consider good English teaching that you have observed recently; what made it good?

• What are your priorities, at this point in your training, for yourself as a teacher of English?

OfSTED (2009) English at the Crossroads

• A focus on the curriculum

• Engagement• Choice• Independence• Meaningful• Purposeful• Creative • Practical• Stimulating• Flexibly

responding to children in your class

Successful Students of English teaching do the following:• Read beyond the directed readings• Audit their own subject knowledge

early and systematically address areas of lower confidence (eg. knowing phonemes; grammar)

• Get to know the NC and PNS quickly• Think about creating meaningful

literacy experiences that rest on their theoretical understanding of how children become literate