Lieracy at Arlington

Lighthouse

 The Lighthouse Keepers are continuing with digraphs (two letters that make a single sound) and are gaining confidence in ch, sh and th sounds. Over the past two weeks we have mostly been looking at ‘th.’ The group has been using both the noisy and soft variations of the diagraph to sound out new words. The Lighthouse Keepers collect a whiteboard with letter magnets on them. Working in pairs, the children hear simple ‘th’ words and work together to assemble the word on their board. Some children even suggest words for us to try. Then we practise letter formation using whiteboards. When writing their last letter, the children close their eyes and try to just focus on the formation rather than its appearance. The Lighthouse Keepers are often stunned that their neatest letters are usually the ones they created with their eyes closed. We then move to the tables to use our worksheets. As a group we sound out a word, say the word, cover the word and then attempt to write it. We will continue to use this method when we introduce new sounds. We have also recently been reading books as a group and take note of words that contain the ‘th’ sound we have been practising. 

Loft Room

Home reading has been a focus this term in the Loft Room. Reading nightly with family, or even the family pet, builds strong reading habits, and develops a love of the written word. We can use our home reading books to support specific learning too. The post-it notes above show a literacy activity called Punctuation Detectives. The children used their reading books to search for sentences that use exclamation marks and question marks as ending punctuation. The children then copied the two sentence types they found onto the coloured card. The next step will be to transfer this learning into their own writing to add intrigue and excitement to their story writing. The children have connected their learning to the Unit of Inquiry, "Conflicts Shape Communities." Here, each child is engaged in crafting an information text on a topic of their choosing within the Inquiry. Through their writing, they are exploring how conflicts can impact and shape communities, and conveying this information to the reader, considering audience; what context can be assumed, and what information needs to be explicit.

The Reading Comprehension Programme is currently exploring innovative ways to interpret and analyse text, by encouraging the children to think critically and creatively about the content they read.

We've introduced new Literature Circle Roles: Quote Analysis and News Report. These roles help children to interpret the different meaning of words, and even transform them into budding journalists as they analyse and report on what they have read.

Biggies and Buddies has had a focus on reading together this term. The Peppercorns children worked during library sessions to choose a book to read with their Lighthouse buddy. They then wrote a review of the book, and once it had been read and shared together, they supported their buddy to create their own review.