At The Academy of St Francis of Assisi, we ensure all subject areas understand the importance of literacy and contribute to its successful teaching. Of course, there are students who arrive at the school below the expected level of literacy, so we work to establish the causes of this and identify strategies of intervention as quickly as possible. Where appropriate, we intervene with these students to ensure they are fully supported and make sufficient progress to enable them to access the curriculum.
We believe that students should be actively engaged in developing their literacy skills at every stage of their development. To that end we have developed a number of initiatives to foster independence and a love of reading and literature. These include:
• Form time intervention: Students are challenged to engage with a variety of texts. They read independently and with guidance from their English teachers and school librarian. Additionally students are given key point assessments to monitor progress.
• DEAR (Drop Everything And Read): Students in Yr7 and 8 have dedicated reading time twice a week in their English lessons. We encourage students to bring in a text of their choice whilst also providing a wide variety of material from our newly improved library.
• Accelerated Reader: All Key Stage 3 students are enrolled on to the AR programme which monitors the progress students make in reading.
• Word of the week: Every week across the academy, a new word is promoted to enrich vocabulary and spelling. CLICK HERE to download a word document
Week commencing Monday: | Word: |
10th Sept 2018 | Anthrop- |
17th Sept 2018 | Auto- |
24th Sept 2018 | Bio- |
1st Oct 2018 | Chron- |
8th Oct 2018 | Dyna- |
15th Oct 2018 | Dys- |
29th Oct 2018 | Gram- |
5th Nov 2018 | Appalling |
12th Nov 2018 | Predicament |
19th Nov 2018 | Fervent |
26th Nov 2018 | Fatigue |
3rd Dec 2018 | Spontaneous |
10th Dec 2018 | Pundit |
17th Dec 2018 | Pandemonium |
7th Jan 2019 | Gregarious |
14th Jan 2019 | Ambivalent |
21st Jan 2019 | Jovial |
28th Jan 2019 | Penultimate |
4th Feb 2019 | Surreptitious |
11th Feb 2019 | Astute |
25th Feb 2019 | Fickle |
4th March 2019 | Tenacious |
11th March 2019 | Abhor |
18th March 2019 | Impeccable |
25th March 2019 | Ubiquitous |
1st April 2019 | Innate |
22nd April 2019 | Vociferous |
29th April 2019 | Sartorial |
6th May 2019 | Obsequious |
13th May 2019 | Procrastinate |
20th May 2019 | Avarice |
3rd June 2019 | Loquacious |
10th June 2019 | Ravenous |
17th June 2019 | Benevolent |
24th June 2019 | Nonchalant |
1st July 2019 | Abundance |
8th July 2019 | Exuberant |
15th July 2019 | Amiable |
• Banned words/common errors: On a fortnightly basis, we target common error such as the incorrect spelling of ‘separate’. Grammatical errors and slang expressions are also challenged, for example using ‘done/did’ or ‘seen/saw’ incorrectly. CLICK HERE to download a word document
Common Errors/Banned Words
Fortnightly Focus |
||
1. | You / use/ ‘youse’ | Non-standard grammar / dialect word |
2. | Of/have | Non/standard grammar |
3. | Separate | Often spelt incorrectly |
4. | Done/did | Non/standard grammar |
5. | To/too/two | Commonly confused homophones |
6. | Seen/saw | Non/standard grammar |
7. | Its/it’s | Commonly confused homophones |
8. | ‘Alot’ / ‘abit’ / ‘aswell’ | Incorrect spelling |
9. | Teach/learn | Non/standard grammar |
10. | There/their/they’re | Commonly confused homophones |
11. | Borrow/lend | Non/standard grammar |
12. | Lose/loose | Often confused |
13. | Stationary/stationery | Commonly confused homophones |
14. | Wrote/written | Non/standard grammar |
15. | Wonder/wander | Often confused |
16. | Where/were/wear/we’re | Commonly confused homophones |
17. | Beginning | Often spelt incorrectly |
18. | ‘Gonna’ | Non/standard grammar/slang |
• Literacy intervention: We have in place several strategies to support students in need of literacy support details of which can be found in the ‘Catch-Up’ document on the website.
Reading and Writing Quality Marks
In June 2016, students and staff were proud to achieve The Liverpool Reading Quality Mark. This award celebrates the commitment and enjoyment of reading around the academy. Building on this success, we are currently taking part in the writing quality mark pilot across the city which celebrates the rich range of writing opportunities taking place across the curriculum.
Literacy Support
Some of the initiatives and programmes we have in place to develop literacy are:
- Form time reading activities
- Reading buddies programme
- Literacy intervention classes
- Reading enrichment programme
- Outside support for students
- Dedicated English Teaching Assistants
- Key primary transition sessions
Suggested Reading List
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
- Matilda by Roald Dahl
- Forever by Judy Blume
- The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 and ¾ by Sue Townsend
- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyle
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- Me Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime by Mark Haddon
- Flush by Carl Hiaasen
- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- Holes by Louis Sachar