Literacy Through the Door Tasks
In 2019, 27% of pupils began secondary school in England without having reached the “expected standard” in their Year 6 SATs reading assessment. Research undertaken by Oxford University Press found that the word gap caused by these issues represents a significant and widespread challenge to secondary schools and it is only getting bigger. As we evaluate our curriculum design and appropriateness at KC, this is something we have to be acutely aware of. After all, how do we ensure that we offer challenge and subject mastery if our students cannot decode, comprehend and use complex texts?
Intent
Vocabulary affects students’ achievement and progress throughout secondary school, and the results affect the entire school. It means that students have difficulty working independently and following what is going on in class. As a result, students make slower than expected progress in all subjects, not just English. We need to build a foundation of language understanding to allow more students to access learning which is especially important for our disadvantaged and SEN students. Sharing these words is a great start but students need to be using them rather than just reading them in isolation.
Implementation
Our KC Word of the Week (WOW) is featured in every bulletin and tutor time PowerPoint. Each term, it is based on a different Latin root word to encourage students to start thinking about etymology and morphology so they can make links between different words and their meanings.
More widely than this, we need to consider how can we use Through the Door tasks to:
- Share key vocabulary before our students encounter it in lesson activities to avoid overloading their working memory. To support this, each subject has been provided with a list of subject specific Tier 2 language.
- Allow pupils to hear and practice correct pronunciation of words.
- Encourage them to read! Do we encourage our students to read within our subject and for pleasure?
- Develop a culture of talk and discussion.
Impact
Research from the Early Intervention Foundation showed that children with language difficulties were four times more likely to have reading difficulties in adulthood, three times as likely to have mental health problems, and twice as likely to be unemployed when they reach adulthood. Developing our students’ vocabulary will not only make them more successful in school, but it will also make them ready for the world and opportunities that await them.
Kingsthorpe College 