The Primary Framework for Literacy and Mathematics - Essay Example

? TEST ACTIVITY TASK A There are two national frameworks The Primary Framework for Literacy and Mathematics 2. The Frameworks for Secondary English and Mathematics The Primary Framework for Literacy and Mathematics The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics, which replaced the National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching YR to f6 (1998) in October 2006 applies to students within the age of 3 and 11. This Framework consolidates the learning that has taken place since the original Frameworks for teaching literacy and mathematics were introduced in 1998 and 1999. There are some changes contained in the renewed Framework that reflect developments in national policy. These variations are built upon evaluation and research carried out since the late 1990s. The changes include: 1. Extending it to the beginning of funded education, to create greater coherence and continuity within and between stages of care and education 2. Creating a clearer set of learning objectives to support teachers and practitioners in planning for progression in literacy and mathematics, to help raise the attainment of all children, personalise learning and secure intervention for those children who need it 3. Bringing an increased sense of drive and momentum to literacy and mathematics through the primary phase, involving some scaling up of expectations and a greater focus upon planning for progression through a teaching sequence over an extended unit of work covering two or three weeks 4. Supporting schools and settings in implementing the recommendations of the Rose report through the provision of high-quality teaching of phonics and early reading 5. Supporting improved leadership and management of literacy and mathematics to stimulate and improve standards further 6. Reducing workload and foster professional dialogue on how to use the Framework flexibly to meet the needs of the children. 7. Introducing a new, electronic format which allows for customised planning, teaching and assessment, with the ability to link quickly to a wide range of teaching and learning resources available through the Primary National Strategy. (DfES, 2006) The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics differs from the 1998 Framework in that it involves an electronic version with simplified learning objectives. The electronic Framework provides a resource that will be added to and expanded, as well as providing additional materials and support and as the Framework project develops. This may include any necessary revisions to the Early Years elements, and the simplified learning objectives that give a broader overview of the literacy curriculum in the primary phase. The learning objectives of the framework are aligned to 12 strands that demonstrate progression in each of the strands. The 12 strands also create a direct link to the Early Learning Goals and aspects of English inside the National Curriculum. If the learning objectives are covered, this will enable the pupils to reach the desired Communication, Language and Literacy goals, and ensure that the appropriate National Curriculum levels are accomplished for the Key Stages. The strands of this framework include Speak and listening for a wide range of purposes in different contexts, Reading and writing for a range of purposes on paper and on screen Word recognition, Understanding and interpreting texts, creating and shaping texts, organisation and structuring of text, Engaging and responding to text, Sentence structure and punctuation, Word Structure, spelling and Presentation. (DfES, 2006) This framework also involves the Literacy Hour within which Pupils have daily literacy lessons where they are taught the knowledge, skills and understanding set out in the National Curriculum for English. The guidance in the renewed Framework still places emphasis on properly directed, carefully planned, purposeful learning and teaching. Initially, the context of the literacy framework required adequate attention to be given to how the lessons are organised and structured. The real challenge here is the refining and improvement of the structures that are already in place, and the literacy hour has recorded quite some success in structuring the pace of learning and planning for progression through the first two Key Stages. The literacy hour also provides opportunities for pupils to develop their literacy skills, as well as providing a structure for teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2 which can be adapted and revised to be sufficiently flexible to meet the learning needs of all pupils. The daily literacy hour may sometimes be planned as individual lessons. This Framework promotes planning across a sequence of lessons that offers the pupils continuity with a blend of approaches which can sustain the pupils’ interest in the learning activities. The Frameworks for Secondary English and Mathematics The Framework for secondary English and mathematics builds on the original Framework for teaching English and mathematics, which was produced in 2001. This is based on the study programmes for the new curriculum. These Frameworks are aimed at increasing the pupils’ access to good teaching. The frameworks also aim to provide the pupils with purposeful and engaging learning that would help the pupils to make good progress in their learning. The Framework identifies yearly learning objectives that encourage ambition and provide challenge for all pupils, showing progression in each subject. The objectives will ensure full coverage of the programme of study at both Key Stages 3 and 4 and establish a minimum expectation for the progression of most pupils. In English the learning objectives are aligned to ten strands to demonstrate progression in each strand. These strands link directly to aspects of English in the National Curriculum. Covering the learning objectives will allow pupils to reach the appropriate National Curriculum levels for Key Stages 3 and 4. (DfES, 2006) The strands in this framework include Speaking and listening (i.e. Group discussion and interaction, Listening and responding, Speaking and presenting, Drama, role-play and performance), Reading (i.e. Reading for meaning: understanding and responding to print, Understanding the author's craft), Writing (i.e. Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting, shaping and constructing language for expression and effect, drawing on conventions and structures), Language (i.e. Exploring and analysing language) All areas of the school curriculum provide opportunities for the development of children's speaking and listening skills. The skills used will vary according to the curriculum area. For example, pupils may be involved in learning activities that encourage them to describe, interpret, predict and hypothesis in Mathematics and Science; express opinions and discuss design ideas in Art, Design and Technology; discuss cause and effect in subjects like Geography or History or to discuss social and moral issues. TASK B THE INTENDED IMPACT OF THE FRAMEWORKS ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF CLASSROOM PRACTICE AND MANAGEMENT The intended impact of the frameworks on aspects of classroom practice and management is to ensure that the standard of literacy among pupils is lifted to a higher level. The frameworks are aimed at setting out teaching objectives that will help the pupils to become fully literate by providing the details of the things that needs to be taught and how to go about the teaching it. The Literacy Hour is aimed at providing a practical structure of time management and classroom management that will reflect the structure of the teaching objectives inside these frameworks. Thus, the complete school plan can be developed for the literacy teaching and learning, and the progress of the whole process can be monitored to ensure staff development. The Literacy Hour consists of time for whole-class shared writing and reading, whole-class word level work, guided reading and writing, and independent work. There is one hour per day of dedicated literacy teaching time for all pupils and hence a clearer focus on literacy instruction. Teachers are required to use a wide range of teaching strategies as regards classroom practice, including questioning, scaffolding, modelling, demonstration, initiating and guiding. The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics also aims to support exciting and successful learning on the part of the pupils. This Framework takes account of the significant developments that have taken place since the publication of the original Frameworks at the end of the 1990s and of the best practice seen in our most successful primary schools, which is ensuring high achievement for all children. The recommendations of the independent review of the teaching of early reading - the Rose Report - and the control role of systematic phonics instructions are firmly embedded within this framework. There is a shared determination between the Primary Notional Strategy, schools, settings and local authorities (LAs) that all children are appropriately supported to make the progress of which they are capable. School children deserve to be taught well and be given the opportunity to learn in ways that increase their chances of success, as well as meeting appropriate learning challenges, as adults will be working with them to tackle the specific barriers to their learning progress. The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics is designed to help teachers, schools, and practitioners to achieve these goals. The original Frameworks for teaching literacy and mathematics contributed significantly towards raising standards and supporting improvements in teaching and learning in primary schools. The quality of BTEC Teaching Assistant Level 2 teaching and the learning activities and achievements of the pupils as regards mathematics and literacy have improved, as a result of the combination of greater guidance and continuing professional development for teachers. These National Strategies hove continued to build their support for teachers through the development of resources and materials that complement the Framework for teaching literacy and mathematics in response to independent evolution of what is working and of what is needed to support further improvement. As a result of this framework, the standards of learning in both English and mathematics have increased significantly since the introduction of the Framework, but some challenges remain. Nearly a quarter of 1l-year-olds are still not confidently attaining level4 or above in mathematics by the time they leave primary school and more still needs to be done to improve standards in writing. To ensure that all our children achieve well and develop the skills to read, write and calculate with conf idence and competence, there is a need to personalise further the use of guidance in these original Frameworks. Much has changed in education since the launch of the original Frameworks for teaching literacy and mathematics. The Foundation Stage was developed and became the first stage of the National Curriculum. Technology and its use in teaching and learning have also developed significantly. Much has been learned from further research into children's learning, including longitudinal studies into the lasting effects of early education. There have been developments within the National curriculum along with o move towards greater personalisation. The Every child matters initiative set a clear focus for improving learning outcomes for children, with a clear continuation of the drive towards improved teaching and learning standards. Developments in the area of early reading as a response to research and the publication of the Rose Reporii independent review of the teaching of early reading in 2006 hove similarly signalled the need to take stock and to look afresh at children's learning and support for teaching. There are plans to develop a new statutory framework for children’s learning and development from birth to age five, which is the Early Years Foundation Stage. It is a move in the right direction to renew the original Frameworks in order to encapsulate the developments that have token place over the last decade in order to ensure higher learning standards for the pupils. Developing good literacy skills is an essential aspect of learning and development in life. Without the adequate literacy skills, these pupils will probably be restricted in their ability to function effectively later in school, college and at work. They will also be hindered from properly communicating their own ideas to others and from accessing relevant information and new ideas, so that they will not be able to participate fully and safely in the society. As port of the National curriculum for English, pupils learn how to express their ideas and experiences clearly and creatively using spoken and written forms of language. They listen to and read stories, poems and rhymes from all over the world os well os using books to discover new information. Education depends on individuals being able to read and write. Nearly alljobs and careers require at least basic literacy (and numeracy) skills. The society we live in also requires people to use literacy skills in everyday life. Reading signs: street names, shop names, traffic and warnings Reading newspapers, magazines, instructions, recipes, food ingredients. Dealing with correspondence: reading and replying to letters; household bills; bank statements; wage slips; benefits Literacy and numeracy are 2 key skills that are central to learning. Literary is probably the more important of the two skills, as pupils need literacy to access other areas of the curriculum through reading. For instance pupils may need to read questions accurately before applying the appropriate numeracy skills in mathematical problems, or they may need to record the results of their science experiments in a written form. Speaking and listening skills involve speaking, being able to speak clearly and to develop and sustain ideas in talk, listening: developing active listening strategies and critical skills of analysis; group discussion and interaction: taking different roles in groups, making a range of contributions and working collaboratively; drama: improvising and working in role, scripting and performing, and responding to performances. (DfES, 2003) ACTIVITY 2 TASK A LESSON PLAN FOR A LITERACY ACTIVITY As a class to start and small groups, we will be talking about phonics. The class will be talking about the nonsense element of the poem. This is also relevant for group that need extra support in Literacy. For the pupils, the hands on approach for the activity is the way to gain an understanding of the issues on hand, so with this activity, I have a laminated sheet with a poem on for each child and also I have in the cd player the poem on music for them to read along with which they will find fun and enjoyable to leam. This activity can also be across the curricular subjects, for example Music - use percussion to accompany 'on the Ning, Nang, Nong'. PSHE - ask the children to imagine their worlds become like Ning, Nang, Nong. The resources needed for this activity include: Laminated poems x4 CD player with the CD Words picture cards 2 sets of words Magnifying glasses x4 Detective badges x4 Large sheet of paper for displaying the children's words Blue tack Scissors (for adult) White board pens and wipes Pencil and rubber Lesson plan Tables and chair or carpet area for singing THE POEM On the Ning Nang Nong Where the Cows go Bong! And the monkeys at [say BOO! There's a Nong Nang Ning Where the trees go Ping! And the tea pots jibber jabber joo. On the Nong Ning Nang And the mice go Ctang And you just can't catch 'em when they do! So it’s Ning'Nang Nong Cows go Bong! Nong Nang Ning Trees go ping Nong Ning Nang The mice go Clang What a noisy place to belong Is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!! METHODS OF SUPPORT Make sure the pupils are listening first, and I will explain what I would like the pupils to do for the lesson and ask if they have any worries about the lesson and also tell the pupils how I would like the lesson to end to see what they have leaned. TASK B LESSON PLAN FOR NUMERACY ACTIVITY Measuring and Estimating Water slide and multi-coloured mixtures. Aims and objectives The pupils have got a worksheet to do and on the worksheet is a slide with different objects on it for example, wheel bins, saucer, ice --cream tub, fish tank. The pupils have got to work out the capacity using millilitres or litres and to remember 1000m1: I litre. The other work sheet the pupils will have to do is multi - coloured mixtures, on this worksheet there are 4 measuring jugs, below the jugs are some measurements and the pupils have to put the measurements on the jug and each measurement has a colour for it. This is getting the pupils to recognise the different measurement on a measuring jug from millilitres to litres. The teacher's expectations are to see which pupils can work independently and to see if the pupils can work out the capacity of their objects on the slide by writing millilitres and litres beside them. The expected outcome of this worksheet is that the pupils have got to put the objects into sizes and know how many millilitres make a litre. The other worksheet with the measuring jugs on the teacher's expectations on this activity is to see if the pupils read the questions properly to know where to mark their measurements and colour the measurements in the right colours and also use a ruler to mark their measurements neatly. The nature of any special educational need and the implications of this when developing mathematical skills. ACTIVITY 3 TASK A PLAN FOR A LITERACY LESSON Proponents claim that when an auditory/verbal learner reads, it is almost impossible for the learner to comprehend anything without sound in the background. In these situations, listening to music or having different sounds in the background (TV, people talking, etc.) will help learners work better Auditory learners are good at storytelling. They solve problems by talking them through. Speech patterns include phrases "I hear you; that clicks; it's ringing a bell", and other sound or voice-oriented information. These learners will move their lips or talk to themselves to help accomplish tasks. In order that children make effective progress in core skills across the year, it is important that these Strands are planned for in every unit: Strand 5 – Word Recognition: decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) at KS1 Strand 6 – Word Structure and Spelling at KS2. Strand 11 – Sentence Structure and Punctuation at both key stages. LESSON PLAN Tell a story based on your own experience. Demonstrate how to compose a short written version. Pairs recount their own experiences and draw a sequence of pictures. Children write a story based on their own experiences. Whole class work (shared reading, writing or phonics, spelling, sentence level) Whole class work (phonics, spelling, sentence level) Group guided reading / writing Independent tasks and differentiation Plenary Mon Read The Rainbow Fish using interactive story on IW.board. Discuss which pupils like best – book or interactive version. Why? Letters and sounds set 3 & 4 as whole class and groups Brainstorming letters/writing letters/blending Matching objects to sounds Read rainbow fish text. Talk about issues that the story is concerned with. Friendship, sharing, giving. Ch. in TP to talk about a time when they have shared, given something to someone else. How do they think the other person felt? Brainstorm these ideas Red/Orange/Blue The pupils work in pairs to sequence the story using pictures. (Photocopy pictures from book) Differentiation by number of pictures to sequence. Orange – write 1 sentence. Red – write at least 3 sentences. Look at sequencing in groups and discuss why it is important to put into correct order. Tues Read The Rainbow Fish with children using props Ask a child to point to the title. Discuss what made rainbow fish feel sad in the story. Discuss what made him feel happy. Ch. to think of own experiences when they have felt either sad/happy. In TP share a fish signifying child’s opportunity to talk. Model writing sentences ‘I feel happy when … ask children for ideas. Blue Write sentence with support about feeling happy. E.g. ‘ I feel happy when … Red/Orange Write sentences about when children feel happy/sad. Encourage correct sentence structure and sounding out of words with both groups. Share sentences and discuss correct structure. Did the pupils remember to use full stops/capital letters? Wed Take a picture walk through book asking children to retell story in own words. Write ideas on post-its. Encourage speaking in full sentences and using some interesting words. Show children some pictures of scenes from story and ask them to help you match to writing using post-its from walk through of book. Explain that they are going to make a class book of The Rainbow Fish. Blue Take photos using digital camera of props for story. Ask the pupils to discuss in pairs other objects needed for class book. Orange Using post-its from earlier write pages of story. Discuss reasons for writing different parts of story. Red Using post-its from earlier write pages of story. Discuss reasons for writing different parts of story. Share pictures and writing for story so far. Thurs Look at class book to date and discuss what is needed to finish it. For example, do any pictures need to be drawn? Do all the sentences meet class writing targets? (spaces, capital letters/full stops) Write a list of what needs to be done in order for book to be completed and discuss which groups carry out remaining tasks. Blue/ Red/Orange Using list, all children carry out agreed tasks to complete class book of The Rainbow Fish. Look at finished class book and review. Fri Read The Rainbow Fish by Class MS1. Introduce The Rainbow Fish to the Rescue by looking at front cover. What do the pupils think story might be about? Why? Can they tell from the illustration? Ask a child to point to the title. Read this. Locate author’s name, have they heard of this author before? Discuss how the Rainbow Fish felt at the beginning of the story/end of story make a list Blue Children rearrange sentences into correct order with support through discussion and questioning to assess knowledge. Orange Children rearrange sentences into correct order in pairs using talk as a means to check if correct. Red Children rearrange sentences into correct order. Sequence sentences to story. Look at sentences and discuss need for correct order. Evaluation What did the pupils learn? What can they do? What has been the impact of the specific objectives? How are pupils progressing against targets and success criteria? How have children responded to learning through talk approaches? Which activities were most successful? Why? Which were less successful? Why? How does assessment information from this feed into subsequent unit plans? TASK B LESSON PLAN FOR NUMERACY LESSON Objectives: This activity is aimed at helping students to understand basic number addition. For this activity, invite 2 pupils, Nadine and Samuel to the front of the class and ask distribute twenty one counters between them. The pupils are then asked to do perform a small calculation between them, with the result indicating which pupil has an even or odd number of counters. Method Since 21 is an odd number, this means that the parity (oddness/evenness) of the counters between the pupils must be opposite, and will reduces the problem of discerning the parity of just one of the pupil’s counters. This can be made more specific by doing a calculation which will enable the teacher to know which child holds the odd number. I ask Nadine to double the number of counters in her hand and add the number of counters that Samuel is holding. If the result is EVEN then Nadine must have had the odd number. If the result is ODD then Samuel must have had the odd number. Both pupils then return to their seats and a discussion ensues about how the trick works. EVEN x EVEN = EVEN EVEN x ODD = EVEN ODD x EVEN = EVEN ODD x ODD = ODD EVEN + EVEN = EVEN EVEN + ODD = ODD ODD + EVEN = ODD ODD + ODD = EVEN As a follow up to this miracle, I ask a third pupil to come to the front of the class. I ask her to take any number of counters she wishes form the 21 counters without telling me how many she has taken. I am able to count the remaining counters and immediately tell the class how many counters she has taken from the twenty one. I also ask her to select any number of counters from the Bag of Counters on the table. I then take some other counters from the bag, and I tell her that if she has an odd number of counters, I will make the number even, and that if she has an even number of counters, I will make it odd, by adding all the counters that I have selected from the bag. If she counts the counters in her hand and they are even in number, I tip the counters in my hand into her pile before she can see what is in my hand. Therefore, when this pupil recounts the number of counters in her pile, she will find that the number is odd, just as I had promised, and she returns to her seat in the class. ACTIVITY 4 TASK A PRACTICAL SKILLS/STRATEGIES TO BE USED WITH 3 LEARNERS FOR LITERACY LESSON Some of the practical skills/strategies to be used with the 3 learners involve knowing and understanding what the pupils have to do, their learning goals/objectives, and the level of support that the pupils need. In the process of providing support for the pupils, the teaching assistant will help them to check their reading and correct the mistakes, learn the sound and spelling system, in order to help them read and write fluently and confidently. It must be noted that a good lesson plan: “- provides learning - makes students use the language communicatively - is realistic - is appropriate to students’ needs, levels and interests - provides flexibility for the teacher” (Harmer, 1991 and Ur, 1996) These strategies will be used with the 3 learners in the literacy lesson TASK B PRACTICAL SKILLS/STRATEGIES TO BE USED WITH 3 LEARNERS FOR NUMERACY LESSON For many pupils, the world of mathematics is very mysterious, and results may appear to them to be arrived at magically. Although the seemingly magical effects of the numeracy lesson above may serve to cloud the view of some of these pupils further, the upside is that magical tricks will most probably have a strong attraction for the pupils, especially if the pupils are taught how to perform the trick, as this knowledge enables the pupils to impress their parents, peers, or even their teachers in the classroom. As for the teaching value, Mathematics can be presented as a window through which can be seen explanations to many of the world’s mysteries, and not just as a dry collection of rules and exercises. A magic trick provides the interest and the explanation of the trick provides the demonstration of the power of mathematics to provide answers. The numeracy lesson plan described above helps to depict Mathematics as fun to the pupils. When a numeracy lesson begins with an algebraic card trick, or features a child’s own pencil sharpener apparently crumpling into thin air, this helps to reinforce the view that learning Mathematics is fun and likable for the pupils. REFERENCES DfES,( February 2006) Early Years Providers, Local Authorities, Primary headteachers Ur, P. (1996) A Course in Language Teaching. Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Harmer, J. (1991) The Practice of English Language Teaching. Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers. London and New York: Longman. 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