Literacy Information Evening
Rea Mitchell
Assistant Head (Literacy)
Why is Literacy important?
• In English Language, 20% rather than the
current 12% of marks will be awarded for
good spelling, punctuation and grammar;
• Allocation of SPaG marks across GCSEs;
• More challenging content resulting in greater
Literacy demands.
But there is more to life than
grades…
• One in six people in the UK struggle with literacy.
This means their literacy is below the level
expected of an eleven year old;
• Seven million adults in England cannot locate the
page reference for plumbers in the Yellow Page;
• 1-in-16 adults cannot identify a concert venue on
a poster that contains the name of band, price,
date, time and venue;
• More than half of British motorists cannot
interpret road signs properly.
CBI criticises schools over 'inadequate' literacy
What is Literacy?
Implicit
Habit
Explicit
Practise
Reading
Listening
Writing
Speaking
Reading
Schools minister Nick Gibb has said reading for pleasure far
outweighs the impact of socio-economic background on pupils’
success at school.
“‘A book a week’ should be the mantra for anyone hoping to eliminate illiteracy in this
country.”…
The English Department’s Advice
Just whilst your looking at you phone, can you tell me
what the story is on the front page of ‘The Telegraph
today?
Weekend papers
Reading is a pleasure not a punishment:
Active Reading
Skimming
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H0W 0UR
M1ND5 C4N
D0 4M4Z1NG
7H1NG5!
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7H1NG5!
What is climate change?
Climate change is the long-term change in average weather
conditions, including temperature, precipitation and wind.
According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPPC), which is comprised of the world’s
leading scientific experts in the field of climate change, our
climate is undergoing dramatic changes as the direct result of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activity. GHG’s
are gases in the atmosphere that act like a glass roof around
the earth, trapping in heat that would otherwise escape to
space – this is commonly referred to as the “greenhouse
effect”.
The approach
we take in
English
How to skim a text:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Read the title;
Read the introduction or lead-in paragraph;
Read the first paragraph completely;
If there are subheadings, read each one, looking for relationships among them;
Read the first sentence of each paragraph – this usually indicates what the topic
of the paragraph will be;
Dip into the text to look for:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Clue words that answer who, what, where, when, why, how;
Proper nouns;
Unusual words – especially if capitalised;
Enumerations;
Qualifying adjectives (best, worst, most etc.);
Typographical cues (bold, italic etc.);
Read the final paragraph completely
Dealing with unfamiliar
vocabulary
‘international alliance’
‘holding the world to ransom’
‘a model for change’
‘absolute obedience’
‘political extremism’
‘mothers of the nation’
The approach
we take in
English
 Do you recognise any part of the word/phrase? E.g. you may
not know the word benefactor, but you may notice that the
prefix ‘bene’ means good;
 What is the context of the sentence? Read around the
word/phrase and get a sense of what would be the most likely
fit in the sentence;
 Read forwards and backwards in the text. What are the
sentences preceding the word/phrase. Does this give a clue?
Look at the sentences following the word/phrase.
The approach
we take in
English
Spelling
Exposure
Practice
Spelling
• Keep an exercise book of difficult spellings;
• Sound out troublesome words before writing
them down;
• Count the number of syllables a word has and
then ensure that those number of syllables is
represented in their spelling of the word
Harassment
Ha  ras  sment
Writing
A simple theory about writing:
1. We can only say what we can think.
2. We can only write what we can say.
Therefore,
If we can say it, we can write it.
Spoken language “forms a constraint, a
ceiling not only on the ability to comprehend
but also on the ability to write, beyond which
literacy cannot progress”
Myhill and Fisher
“One of the reasons why talk is undervalued is
that there is a tendency to see its function as
primarily social... but... talk…is cognitive and
cultural as well as social.”
Robin Alexander
Academic register
Thoughts
Everyday
language
Write an
essay
Thoughts
Everyday
language
Speak
like an
essay
Asking leading questions:
• Could you clarify your statement...?
• I do not understand, could you tell me more
about...?
• What is your evidence for that...
• What does that connect to...
• How can you develop that...
• I want to build upon...
• Can you see why someone might disagree with
you there?
Proofreading
(and the out loud silent voice)
Marked work
Proof reading
Code
 Do all sentences start with a capital letter?
 Do names and places have capital letters?
 Do sentences end with full stops?
 Have I used a variety of punctuation? (!,?)
 Have I used a colon to introduce a list? (:)
 Have I used a semi-colon instead of a full
stop or comma to mark a break in a
sentence?
 Have I used commas in lists / to vary
sentence structure? (The cat, who is black, is
on the mat.)
 Have I used speech punctuation when
someone speaks and when I am using a
quote?
 Have I used paragraphs when there is a
change of time/place/topic/person
speaking?
 Have I used a variety of sentences: short,
long, simple, compound and complex?
 Have I used appropriate and wide
vocabulary?
 Have I used interesting and appropriate
connectives?
 Is my writing suitable for purpose, audience
and form?
 Have I used correct spelling?
//
/
C
P
SP
CP
TE
TS
/\
V
?
Dev
Q
Commonly Misspelled Words
across
government remember
Shows the point that a new paragraph
argument
Independent sense
should begin
basically
knowledge separate
beginning
necessary
successful
Shows the point that a new sentence
occurred
should begin
business
surprise
occasion
completely
tomorrow
Connecting word or phrase missed
politician
definitely
tongue
Error in punctuation
propaganda
disappear
truly
Spelling error
publicly
embarrass
unfortunately
Missed capital letter
really
environment
until
Mistake made with tense
religious
friend
wherever
Check
Missed topic sentence
your work
Missing word
Vocabulary error
before I
Homophones
Something not clear
do!
 there: I’d love to go there.
Develop idea/more explanation
their: Is that their cat?
needed
they’re (they are): They’re here.
Insert quote or reference
 to: I’m going to work.
Explanation
Punctuation
. Full stop − Marks the end of a sentence.
, Comma − Separates items in a list or clauses in


a complex sentence.

‘ Apostrophe − Shows belonging or missing

letters in words like don’t and can’t.
‘’ Inverted commas − Show quotation.
? Question mark − Ends a question sentence.
: Colon − Joins two related clauses where one

clause cannot stand alone.

; Semicolon − Joins two equal clauses that are

closely related but could also stand alone.

too: Are you coming too?
two: I have two hands.
your: What’s your name?
you’re (you are): You’re welcome.
new: She has a new phone.
knew: I already knew that.
right: Is that right?
write: Can you write that down?
which: Which colour do you like?
witch: She was a wicked witch.
peace: I wish for peace on Earth.
piece: Do you want a piece of pie?
rain: It’s pouring with rain.
rein: I led the horse by the reins.
reign: The King’s reign ended.
where: Where are you going?
wear: What should I wear?
for: Is that present for me?
four: I’ll take four of these.
Sentence Structure
o Every sentence must have a verb and a noun:
The Soldier (noun) fell (verb);
o Compound sentences include the
connectives: and, or, because, but;
o Complex sentences are made up of a main
clause (makes sense on its own) and a
subordinate clause (adds extra information).