English Overview 23-24

Curriculum overview for English

Intent

The English curriculum at Oakfield is designed to instil in our pupils a life-long love of reading and an ability to write fluently, confidently, enthusiastically and with individual flair. Carefully planned and progressive teaching of phonics ensures that our pupils develop the skills required to read fluently, accurately and with secure understanding, across a variety of genres and a wide range of contexts across the curriculum. Our aim is to enable our pupils to develop a varied and rich vocabulary alongside extensive knowledge through their reading of carefully selected, quality texts. This in turn supports our pupils to write organised, well-structured pieces using a range of techniques for a variety of purposes across all subjects.

The sequencing of the English curriculum has been carefully planned to allow pupils to build on prior learning and make connections both within English and across other subjects, ensuring that pupils know more and remember more.

Threshold concepts

Reading

Read words accurately

This concept involves decoding and fluency.

Understand texts

This concept involves understanding both the literal and more subtle nuances of texts.

Writing

Transcription

Present neatly

This concept involves developing an understanding of handwriting and clear presentation.

Spell correctly

This concept involves understanding the need for accuracy.

Punctuate accurately

This concept involves understanding that punctuation adds clarity to writing.

Analyse writing

This concept involves understanding how grammatical choices give effect and meaning to writing.

Present writing

This concept involves learning to reflect upon writing and reading it

aloud to others.

Composition

Write with purpose

This concept involves understanding the purpose or purposes of a piece of writing.

Use imaginative description

This concept involves developing an appreciation of how best to convey ideas through description.

Organise writing appropriately

This concept involves developing an appreciation of how best to convey ideas through description.

Use paragraphs

This concept involves understanding how to group ideas so as to guide the reader.

Use sentences appropriately

This concept involves using sentences for clarity and effect.

Communication

Listen carefully and understand

This concept involves understanding how to engage with what others are saying.

Develop a wide and interesting vocabulary

This concept involves building a rich, sophisticated vocabulary with which to express oneself.

Speak with clarity

This concept involves understanding that an audience needs to understand what is being said.

Tell stories with structure

This concept involves understanding how to keep an audience engaged through structured speech.

Hold conversations and debates

This concept involves understanding how to engage with others.

Autumn - history Spring – science

Nursery Ten little fingers and ten little toes

It’s my birthday

The very hungry caterpillar’s birthday party

Higgly hen

What the ladybird heard

Reception What makes a family?

Aaaargh spider

Family and me!

Monkey puzzle

My grandparents love me

Year 1 Samson’s Titanic journey

Salty dogs

Year 2 Vlad and The Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London

Mr Fawkes, the king and the gunpowder plot

Year 3 Stone Age Boy

UG

The Stone Age and Skara Brae

Year 4 Arthur and the Golden Rope

The Dragon’s Hoard

Viking voyagers

Year 5 The Queen’s Fool

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare

Year 6 Anna at war

Anne Frank

Plants can’t sit still

Jasper’s beanstalk

Jack and the beanstalk

Oliver’s vegetables

Little acorn

Tree

Bird builds a nest

Sharing a shell

What the ladybird heard at the seaside

The last wolf

The very hungry lion

National Geographic kids: wolves

Tad

Tadpole’s promise

And the bullfrogs sing

Chandra’s magic light

Hortense and the shadow

Timeless Thomas

The wild robot

The robot and the bluebird

DK Robot

Cosmic

The race to space/Counting on Katherine

The story of Rover

Darwin’s dragons

On the origin of species

Moth

Summer - geography

The train ride

Dig, dig, digging

The naughty bus

Going on a plane

The lonely beast

Blackbird, blackbird, what do you do?

The hundred decker bus

Stick Man

Paddington goes to London

The Queen’s handbag

Paddington at the tower

The day the ocean went away

Somebody swallowed Stanley

Clean up!

First to the top

Mountains world of wonder

Great adventurers

The upside-down river

Cinderella of the Nile

River – a dazzling geographic journey

The last bear

Shackleton’s Journey

Ice trap

Fire girl, Forest boy

Time trails: rainforest

Rainforest warrior

Whole school overview of genres for English

2023-24

Being a narrator (third person) Being a character (first person) Learning something new (nonfiction)

Nursery Story map

Retelling the story (including Talk

4 writing actions)

Reception Story map

Retelling the story (including Talk

4 writing actions)

Captions

Year 1 and 2 Story map – for planning

Retelling the story (including Talk

4 writing actions) *Year 1

Innovating a narrative *Year 1

Creating a narrative with given characters

Character description

Continuing the narrative *Year 2

Puppets and role play

Poetry

Nursery rhymes

Postcard Invitation List

Captions

Invitation

Postcard Diary

Captions to non-fiction

Innovate to the tune of a known rhyme

Performance poetry

Facts – fact file, leaflet, poster, fact cards

Persuasion - poster

Innovate a known rhyme *Year 1

Rhyming couplets

Performance poetry

Year 3 and 4

Continuing the narrative

Third person narrative

Description – setting and character

First person narrative

Diary

Letter (informal)

Thought bubbles

Persuasion – advert, poster

Facts – fact file, leaflet, poster, fact cards

Explanation

Review

Alliteration

Quatrain

Performance poetry

Year 5 and 6

Continuing the narrative

Descriptive narrative

Flashback

First person narrative

Letter (formal and informal)

Same event, 2 viewpoints

Diary

Persuasion – advert, poster, letter

Facts – fact file, leaflet, magazine article

Biography

Discussion

Explanation

Review

Narrative

Personification

Performance poetry

Genre overview

2023-24

Nursery Story map

Retelling the story (including Talk 4 writing actions)

Puppets and role play

Nursery rhymes

Reception Story map

Retelling the story (including Talk 4 writing actions)

Captions

Performance poetry

Year 1 Retelling the story (including Talk 4 writing actions)

Innovating a narrative *Year 1

Postcard

Fact poster

Innovate a known rhyme

Story map

Retelling the story (including Talk 4 writing actions)

Puppets and role play

Nursery rhymes

Story map

Retelling the story (including Talk 4 writing actions)

Innovate to the tune of a known rhyme

Performance poetry

Postcard

List

Creating a narrative with given characters

Character description

Invitation

Fact card

Rhyming couplets

Story map

Retelling the story (including Talk 4 writing actions)

Puppets and role play

Nursery rhymes

Story map

Retelling the story (including Talk 4 writing actions)

Captions

Performance poetry

Invitation

Creating a narrative with given characters

Character description

Diary

Fact file

Persuasion - poster

Performance poetry

Year 2

Postcard

Diary

Fact poster

Character description

Creating a narrative with given characters

Rhyming couplets

Creating a narrative with given characters

Character description

Diary

Invitation

Fact card

Rhyming couplets

Continuing the narrative – third person

Character description

Diary

Persuasion - poster

Fact file

Performance poetry

Year 3 and 4

Continuing the narrative – third person

Character description

Diary

Thought bubbles

Fact file

Persuasion – poster

Alliteration poetry

First person narrative

Setting description - third person

Diary

Facts – fact card (Y3) and leaflet (Y4)

Book review

Quatrain poetry

Letter (informal)

Third person narrative

Diary

Explanation

Persuasion – advert

Performance poetry

Year 5 and 6

Continuing the narrative – third person

First person narrative

Letter (formal)

Diary

Persuasion – poster

Narrative poetry

Flashback narrative – third person

Same event, 2 viewpoints – first person

narrative

Letter (informal)

Facts – magazine article

Discussion

Performance poetry

Descriptive narrative – third person

Same event, 2 viewpoints – first person

narrative

Explanation

Biography

Book review

Personification poetry

All classes complete a two-week unit, linked to their main text and providing opportunities for both reading (fluency and comprehension) and writing, for drama, art and music.

Unit checklist

• Daily reading of the main text and other genres including non-fiction and poetry with 3 pre-planned questions, linked to gap analysis (display on PP and answer verbally). Texts to be added to Teams. Provide opportunities to work in pairs and individually

• Model and develop reading fluency, prosody and using punctuation (echo reading)

• Use of hooks/stimuli across the unit: drama (hot seat, freeze frame, thought track, conscience alley, human form), video clips, images and music/sound effects

• Share WAGOLL and identify key features

• Grammar skills bursts (identified in the text first and linked to the focus)

• Generate the success criteria. Display on the learning wall

• Extract and provide vocabulary. Display on the learning wall and practice using in context

• Shared/paired writing

• Plan and write a longer independent writing task (4 days) with success on the learning wall, not on the task sheets

• Modelling of the review process and providing opportunities to review own writing

• Written comprehension task – to include modelled questions, displayed on the learning wall

Lesson and task design

Links to prior learning and retrieval practice

Reading fluency

Text interrogation

Shared/paired planning and writing

Independent planning and writing

Story map and actions

Text interrogation

Introduce the text (WAGOLL)

Explore the text through drama, music, art and discussion

Use Echo reading to develop prosody

Shared/paired writing

Nursery – create story map

Reception - Children work in pairs to discuss ideas. Teacher to take suggestions and combine to form a shared text

Share success criteria

Teacher think aloud throughout the process

Independent planning

Reception – talking tin lids introduced to verbally plan sentences

Independent writing

Nursery – creating own story maps

Reception – independent writing linked to shared/paired writing

Text interrogation

Introduce the text (WAGOLL)

Explore the text through drama, music, art and discussion

Use Echo reading to develop fluency

Extract and define vocabulary

Identify the key features (which will be displayed as the success criteria) These will be both genre specific and also include GAP.

Grammar skills burst will use examples from the text, in context

Shared planning

Create a shared plan, using the circles for each paragraph

Vocabulary to be generated and displayed with definitions

Grammar and punctuation skills burst

2 – examples created that are relevant to the writing and displayed

Shared/paired writing

Children work in pairs to discuss ideas. Teacher to take suggestions and combine to form a shared text

Together, underline shared piece using colour coding, referring to the success criteria

Teacher think aloud throughout the process

Independent planning

Stimulus, linked to the text

Opportunities to plan own paragraph or whole pieces

Independent writing

Opportunities to write longer pieces, including the required success criteria (genre specific and grammar and punctuation foci)

Reviewing

Self-assess

Self-assess against the success criteria