Literacy
Change your words: change your world
Why Literacy matters:
“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.” (Kofi Annan, 1997)
Literacy is a fundamental human right, the foundation for lifelong learning. Having a secure level of literacy transforms lives, from improving health and relationships as well as academic success. Poor literacy skills will act as a barrier to learning and will, therefore, impact negatively on what students can do and how they see themselves.
Ethos:
The staff of The Misbourne are committed to developing the literacy skills of our students, in the belief that this will support their learning, enabling them to access the whole curriculum and, in turn, raise standards for all. It is important to recognise that all teachers are teachers of literacy. At The Misbourne, we believe that words are powerful in linking the process of thinking, reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Schemes of learning in all subject areas identify key vocabulary that will be taught in each unit of work. This forms the basis for the explicit teaching of vocabulary including key prefixes, root words and suffixes. Activities to support deeper understanding, including subject reading lists are also used to consolidate and extend literacy skills.
Whilst quality teaching and learning underpins this ethos, we also have a number of different strategies and interventions to further support students with their literacy.
How we support improving literacy:
Tier 1 - Class Reader:
Across all year groups in Key Stage 3 and 4, form tutors read aloud to their class four mornings per week for 15 minutes. There are a range of texts to choose from - offering different genres including non–fiction and short stories. The chosen books cover a variety of time periods, traditions and cultures all aiming to provide students with a range of experiences and access to noteworthy literature. Our texts promote equality and diversity.
More information about our class reader programme can be found via the link on the left of this page or by clicking here.
Tier 2a - Reading buddies:
Reading buddies is an initiative in our school where Year 7 students are paired up with a Year 12 student from their ‘small school’ community to support reading. This provides an opportunity for students to read aloud and read together – helping with reading comprehension and fluency. The buddy system takes place during registration time one morning a week.
Tier 2b - Intervention sessions:
When appropriate, students receive 30-minute intervention sessions supporting reading or vocabulary either through Lexia (online programme supporting vocabulary and comprehension). The Lexia sessions are supported by trained specialists who oversee the sessions and provide additional support when required.
Tier 3 - Specialist support:
Where students require additional support, we offer weekly 30-minute targeted intervention sessions delivered by a trained specialist. These sessions support students' literacy through focused activities centred around reading contemporary texts that have been tailored appropriately to be accessible for the reading ability of our students, whilst also being engaging.