Literacy

At HASN, we aim to place literacy at the heart of the academy. We believe in unlocking the curriculum and creating subject scholars who read and understand challenging texts for both information and pleasure, write with fluency, accuracy and enthusiasm, and speak and listen with confidence. Every teacher will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to empower students to use disciplinary language purposefully and efficiently to sequence, develop and articulate their thoughts in every subject. Through universal provision and effective literacy intervention we will ensure that all students are fully equipped to succeed both within education and beyond.

We believe that promoting literacy is a whole academy responsibility and not just that of the English department. We also invite you to join us in developing your child's literacy at home.

Reading and literacy skills are the key to learning and pleasure. They open doors and allow our students to access all aspects of the curriculum, whilst improving oracy, communication and problem-solving skills.

You can read more on our vision in our 2023-24 Literacy Policy here

 

Literacy in the Classroom

•  All teachers implement our three reading strategies: Double Reading, Layered Reading, and Zoning
•  Students read aloud frequently in lessons
•  Students are reading all the time, both for information and pleasure
•  Students write/perform independently frequently (for 15 minutes of every single lesson / 30 minutes of every double lesson)
•  Sentence construction and paragraph organisation is explicitly taught.
•  Teachers live model good writing frequently using a disciplinary approach (e.g. what does good science writing look like)
•  Key vocabulary is pre-taught before reading and planned for.
•  Spelling is explicitly taught (using etymology for example)
•  Students are given frequent opportunities for structured talk through “turn and talk” activities.
• “Say it better” is used to encourage students to use good vocabulary

• During live marking, writing is marked for Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation mistakes, giving students an opportunity to correct their mistakes in the moment. 

 

Literacy in Tutor Time:

· Spelling Tests: All students in years 7-10 are given ten new spellings every Monday – spellings are grouped by morpheme, spelling rule or subject.

· First Chapter Thursday: All students in years 7-10 experience a new story or piece of non-fiction every Thursday. The first chapter of a book is read aloud, and students are encouraged to engage through reciprocal reading strategies.

Literacy Beyond:

· All KS3 students have a subscription to Bedrock Vocabulary and complete these lessons as homework every week.

· Students in Years 7-8 visit the library every week to read, borrow books, and work on Bedrock Vocabulary.

KS3 Reading Journals

At South Norwood, we are all readers. Students should always have something they are reading, and they should dedicate 15-20 minutes at least 5 times a week to reading. For each book they read, they will complete a series of short tasks in their reading journal, as a record for themselves and their teacher, but also to ensure that they are actively engaging with their reading and developing a personal response to the themes, characters and stories they are discovering. While we will check that they are completing this every week, we will also use the journals as a way of sharing our favourite stories and promoting a proud reading community here at HASN. 

You can read more and support your child with their reading journal tasks using these suggested questions: Reading-journals-parent-letter.pdf

Key Vocabulary Lists

We learn new words in every lesson, every day! Every lesson students are taught a new 'tier 2' word - these are the words that students need to understand to unlock meaning in written texts but don't appear frequently in speech. We are also busy learning 'tier 3' words - words that are specific to a subject or discipline. You can support your child's learning by testing them on these 10 key tier 3 words for each of the subjects they study: Subject-Vocabulary-Lists.pdf

English Recommended Reads: Enjoyed sleuthing with Sherlock? Growing perseverance with Parvana? Forming friendships with George and Lennie? Gossiping with Benedick and Beatrice? You can find books of similar themes, genres, authors, ideas and events like the books you read in English here. Enjoy!

Recommended Books

Recommended Books for KS3	Recommended Books for KS4
Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron Granted by Rachel Huffmire The Chocolate Box Girls series by Cathy Cassidy The Breakfast Club Adventures by Marcus Rashford The Woods are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins 21% Monster by P.J. Canning How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell The Selection series by Keira Kass Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson Slated by Terri Terry The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf The Extinction Trials by S.M. Wilson Girl Online by Zoe Sugg Faking Delinquency by Ashley Winters	Twin Crowns by Katherine Webber and Catherine Doyle Lore by Alexandra Bracken This Place is Still Beautiful by XiXi Tian Daughter of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester The Unsound Theory by Emilia Zeeland Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite Legendborn by Tracy Deonn Vox by Christina Dalcher Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray Paper Towns by John Green The Auora Cycle by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff The Robin Hood series by Robert Muchamore A Darker Shade of Magic series by V.E. Schwab Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon Blackout by D. Clayton, A. Thomas, N. Stone, N. Yoon, A. Woodfolk, T. D. Jackson The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan The Magpie Society by Amy McCulloch and Zoe Sugg  Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim Caraval by Stephanie Garber Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell