English

It is important that all children get to grips with the three basic skills of speaking and listening, reading and writing. This will enable them to express themselves clearly and creatively, listen to stories, and read books that will allow them to explore their imagination and find out facts.

1. Speaking and Listening

Children are taught to:

• think about what they say
• choose the right words
• listen to others before they speak
• talk with others
• share ideas
• take different roles in drama
• tell stories
• read aloud
• describe events and experiences

At the end of Key Stage 1 (age 7), most children are able to:

• speak clearly
• tell stories, and repeat rhymes and poems
• learn new words and use them in conversation
• listen carefully
• show they have thought about listeners by including details to interest them
• change how they talk to different people, in a range of situations

2. Reading

Children are taught to:

• focus on words and sentences and how they fit into texts
• work out the meaning of what they read and say why they like it or why they don't
• read stories, plays, poems, and information in print and on computer screens
• use dictionaries and encyclopaedias

At the end of Key Stage 1 (age 7), most children are able to:

• read aloud and understand stories and information books
• offer their views about events or ideas in the material they read
• use more than one way to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words

3. Writing

Children are taught to:

• compose stories, poems, notes, lists, captions, records, messages and instructions
• use punctuation to show the meaning of sentences
• develop clear handwriting
• discover that thinking about patterns of letters and sounds helps them to spell words correctly

At the end of Key Stage 1 (age 7), most children are able to:

• write in sentences, using capital letters at the beginning and full stops at the end
• use writing for different purposes, such as instructions or lists
• shape letters correctly and write neatly and clearly
• write stories with a beginning, a middle and an end
• choose words and details to interest the reader
• use interesting vocabulary that suits the subject
• spell familiar words correctly
• use spelling patterns to write unfamiliar words