Return to Our Policies Index Page

Tokoroa Intermediate School aims to enable children to communicate effectively by developing listening and speaking, Reading and Writing and Viewing and Presenting Skills.

PURPOSE

1. To develop a classroom climate that encourages mutual trust, support and sensitivity toward others and the language they use so that children can communicate freely and confidently.

2. To provide situations in which children can freely express their ideas, develop independence, improve their self esteem and encourage creativity and experimentation. This would include the fostering of children using languages other than English and Maori.

3. To provide children with language styles for different situations and encourage the accurate use of these.

4. To encourage children to be accurate in the use of English skills such as grammar and spelling.

5. To provide reading programmes using a wide range of text at each child’s level.

6. To develop competence in the use of essential reading skills and the critical evaluation of what is read.

7. To foster neat, legible and fluent styles of writing that they can take pride in.

GUIDELINES
1. Written Language should occur in each classroom on a regular basis. Ideally, each child will be expected to produce a minimum of one piece of finished written work per week.

2. Work with a high quality of meaning is often produced:
     - when children see a purpose for their/the writing
     - when the context for writing (topic, audience, purpose, setting) takes a higher priority than the language features (grammar, full stops, capital letters etc) in providing background knowledge and focus
     - when work is marked and /or conferenced with children
     - when children are given shared experiences to write about

3. Test results have shown that a reasonably large percentage of each class has students with limited ability in oral and written language (including reading). Classroom programmes must therefore cater for the development level of children and involve them as active participants in activities which provide experiences and background knowledge from which language can develop. These should included activities which will develop a greater understanding of vocabulary.

4. Children who have difficulty can benefit greatly from displayed word lists, (from the topic being studied), which are regularly added to.

5. Attempted spelling will be encouraged in all areas where writing occurs.

6. Provision needs to be made in the programme for the application of proof-reading skills, listening skills, dictionary skills, copying and learning of words.

7. Spelling needs to be taught in context so that meanings and usage can be more clearly established.

8. Care needs to be taken when written language is integrated with other subjects that there is adequate time for written language achievement objectives to be developed and that they don’t become a token area through the integrated approach.

9. Teachers will use the Record Sheet to record the genre covered.

10. A record of children’s work will be kept throughout the year. This will included first drafts and final copies.

11. Teachers need to appreciate their role model effect in all forms of language.

12. During written language, quality rather than quantity needs to be emphasised.

13. Oral language (listening and speaking) and visual language (viewing and presenting) will be integrated into aspects of the classroom programme. All areas of the school curriculum will contribute to the development of oral and visual language.

14. Spelling is related to the way children speak, therefore correction of oral language is necessary.

15. Through a reading programme in each class we will endeavour to make reading enjoyable and to build confidence.

16. Reading is a part of language, and integration into other subject areas will add purpose, provided children are working with reading texts at their level of understanding.

17. Children should be read to on a regular basis.

18. The reading programme in each class should allow a range of instructional and recreational reading
activities allowing each pupil to be exposed to a variety of approaches and materials catering for individual abilities.

19 The following should guide selection of reading material for both children and teachers:
     - 95% + accuracy - recreational text
     - 90 - 95% accuracy - instructional text
     - below 90% accuracy - too difficult and needs to use one of the following approaches
          * read to
          * shared reading
          * language based approach (this often how text is used during an integrated approach and needs to be presented to children)

20. A library session will be timetabled weekly.

21. S.R.R. periods should occur regularly where children are encouraged to read text at 95%+ accuracy.

22. Legible writing at a reasonable speed should be developed through correct pen grip, proper positioning and posture.

23. Publications, sharing and presenting of children’s work will be given a high priority. Classroom displays will reflect this with displays changing regularly.

24. Self evaluation, peer evaluation and group evaluation of children’s work will be encouraged as part of the classroom programme in all language forms.

25. Help will be provided for pupils who have specific English difficulties and strengths through the Special Needs and Special Abilities programmes - details of these are available under these areas in the School Policy folder.

return to top