Literacy

At Stretford High School we believe Literacy is the foundation of learning. We think of Literacy as a multitude of important life skills:

  • Reading fluency – can students recognise sound patterns and identify words correctly?
  • Vocabulary – can students recognise and understand a wide range of vocabulary – both words that are subject specific and tier 2 – ‘everyday’ complex vocabulary? Can they use this vocabulary to express their ideas and their learning accurately?
  • Reading comprehension – can students understand what they have read and use reading to gather information about a topic?
  • Reading for deeper meaning and knowledge extension – can students enhance their understanding of a topic by reading around the subject?
  • Reading for pleasure – do students have access to an exciting variety of texts and choose to read for their own enjoyment?
  • Speaking to communicate ideas – can students communicate what they think clearly? Can they structure their talk to express their viewpoint effectively? Can they listen to and respond to the ideas of others? Can they present their ideas in a range of formats?
  • Can students communicate their ideas effectively through writing? Can they structure their writing to express their viewpoint effectively? Can they present their ideas in a range of formats? Can they write neatly and accurately using correct spelling, grammar and punctuation? 

Through our curriculum we aim to address all of these skills through the following:

  • Reading age testing – to identify accuracy and comprehension
  • Intervention – for struggling readers who need support in improving their accuracy or comprehension 
  • A cross curricular, consistent approach to explicitly teaching Tier 2 vocabulary 
  • A cross curricular approach to explicitly teaching reading comprehension skills that support students’ learning in every subject
  • A carefully curated CARE curriculum activity each week to develop a metacognitive approach to reading and support student wellbeing 
  • A fully stocked, vibrant library with a range of extra curricular clubs to encourage reading for pleasure 
  • Weekly reading lessons in English – including half termly library lessons
  • Marking students work for specific writing skills to encourage organisation and accuracy
  • Weekly writing lessons in English to build on and extend the KS2 foundations of grammar and punctuation
  • The ongoing development of a whole school approach to oracy to encourage students to structure and improve the way they communicate verbally

    We test your child’s reading age score twice a year to ensure we are supporting your child’s learning needs. On your child’s school report you will see their score reported as:

    Mastery Your child is reading at or above the expected level for their age
    Developing Your child is developing their reading and is not quite at the expected level for their age, they can read well with support but might struggle reading independently
    Emerging Your child is still learning how to read effectively and is below the expected level for their age – they need lots of support to understand texts

    To understand more about how your child is tested, what their score means and how you can support your child please watch the linked video.

    School Library

    We have a wonderful school library full to the brim of exciting  fiction and non-fiction, poetry and comic books – our skilled Librarian runs events throughout the year to celebrate reading – why not check out our Library page? (Link to the library page to go here)

    To learn more about how you can support your child read Encouraging A Love of Reading in Older Children.

    Useful links:

    Ten ‘must reads’ for 11-13 year olds

    Ten ‘must reads’ for 14-16 year olds

    Words for Life

    Useful questions to ask your child about their reading:

      • Tell me what happened in the section you just read.
      • What did you like/dislike about your reading today?
      • What questions do you still have? Were there any bits you didn’t understand?
      • Did you have a favourite bit? Why?
      • Which character did you like/ dislike? Why?
      • How difficult was the language? Explain.
      • Did you learn any new words?
      • What do you think will happen next? Why?
      • Does the book cover match the story? Why?
      • Were there any funny/sad/emotional/angry parts? Can you find a quote to show me this?
      • Who would you recommend this book to? What types of interest would the person have?
      • Does what you have read today remind you of anything else you have read or seen before?