English
At the heart of our English curriculum is our passion to inspire a love of the English language and to equip them with the skills they need to read, write and talk about a wide variety of subjects.
Reading
In EYFS and Key Stage 1, our children progress through the Read, Write Inc. scheme which systematically teaches them how to decode texts. Alongside this, classes explore a wide range of high-quality books which help them to develop their comprehension skills.
In Key Stage 2, we encourage children to read widely and to find books they love. Through Accelerated Reader quizzes, children are empowered to find texts at an appropriate level for themselves and our library is well-stocked for all tastes.
Across the school, we celebrate reading by awarding pupils with items to add to our Reading Tree; teachers use the Reading Records to keep track of this:
25 reads = an apple
50 reads = a bird
100 reads = an owl
Our staff love to read too! To demonstrate this, each week one of our colleagues posts a ‘Costessey Bedtime Story’ onto our Youtube channel.
Writing
Throughout their time in Costessey Primary School, children learn to express their ideas through a broad array of genres, both fiction and non-fiction. Pupils are guided through all of the structural, grammatical and vocabulary-based skills they need to help them articulate their thoughts with specific attention to the purpose of the writing and its audience. The content and genres taught in each year group can be found on the following document.
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CORE SUBJECT - English Units |
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AUTUMN 1 – Towns & Cities |
AUTUMN 2 – Weather & the Seasons |
SPRING 1 – Traditional Tales |
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Traditional rhymes (2 weeks) The house that Jack built – becomes The classroom that we’ve made - whole class version / individual versions based upon their own houses/ homes?
Fiction 2 weeks - Noisy Night— innovate with new examples per floor / present within framework of towerblocks
The Great Fire of London 2 weeks - Non-fiction, chronological report
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Little Cloud - Eric Carle (2 weeks) Non-fiction captions to cloud pictures
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (2 weeks)— (patterned like The House that Jack Built) Letter from Ki’pat’s point of view
Alfie’s Feet - Shirley Hughes (2 weeks)
Narrative journey - Walk around park / story map
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2 weeks oral retelling of traditional fairytales, using props and role play areas, building vocab banks & patterned phrases
Goldilocks - (4 weeks) original version/ oral re-telling Me and You - Antony Browne Retell from Daddy Bear’s perspective (whole class / modelled) and on to Goldilocks perspective
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SPRING 2 – Superheroes |
SUMMER 1 – On the farm |
SUMMER 2 – Let’s go on holiday! |
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Traction Man - 3 weeks Read/retell Create adventure with old action men (‘Traction Man’) in and around classroom; class book of Traction Man stories
Max - Bob Graham (3 weeks) Creating your own superhero story / your own personal superpowers |
Farmer Duck - Martin Waddell (2 weeks) Plurals using animal names / onomatopoeia of animal noises Retell in zig-zag books
Recount (2 weeks) - chdn to prepare their own class newsletter of their trip to the farm.
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Non-fiction - 3 weeks Posters (non-chron report) about different rockpool / beach creatures (working out from Sally and the Limpet)
At the Beach - Roland Harvey (3 weeks)
Postcards (1 week) Seaside / beach themed descriptive poem. |
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Grammar Coverage |
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WORD |
SENTENCE |
TEXT |
PUNCTUATION |
TERMINOLOGY FOR PUPILS |
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Regular plural noun suffixes –s or –es [for example, dog, dogs; wish, wishes], including the effects of these suffixes on the meaning of the noun
Suffixes that can be added to verbs where no change is needed in the spelling of root words (e.g. helping, helped, helper)
How the prefix un– changes the meaning of verbs and adjectives [negation, for example, unkind, or undoing: untie the boat]
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How words can combine to make sentences
Joining words and joining clauses using and |
Sequencing sentences to form short narratives |
Separation of words with spaces
Introduction to capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate sentences
Capital letters for names and for the personal pronoun I |
letter capital letter word singular plural sentence punctuation full stop question mark exclamation mark |
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CORE SUBJECT - English Units |
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AUTUMN 1 – The Enchanted Woodland |
AUTUMN 2 – Street Detectives |
SPRING 1 – Life down under |
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Recount - 5 senses experience of woodland (lying on backs, to include cloud busting) (1 week)
Instructions - How to plant a seed (1 week—no independent write required)
Narrative - Percy the Park-keeper (3 weeks) Retell → Add in enchanted element with return visit to wood; incl ‘fairy doors’, dolls’ house furniture etc & rehome the enchanted creatures
Recount - Scientific Investigation Report (1 week)
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Narrative - Adventure ‘On the Way Home’—Jill Murphy (2 weeks) Class walk back from park—look for spots where own disasters/ adventures could befall them; shared class story about a new animal; independent write with own ideas.
Non-fiction - Information Leaflet for parents (2 weeks) The Building Project in Our School
Non-fiction - Costessey ‘profile’ photos, questions & explanations re local area
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Narrative - Traditional Tales (3 weeks) Dreamtime
Oral report - (2 weeks) Weather reports comparing / contrasting UK and Australian weather. Watch weather reports / research weather / write their own scripts / rehearse and perform with maps and props / record their broadcasts
Recount - Diary / Diary of a Wombat—Jackie French
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SPRING 2 – Castles, Knights & Dragons |
SUMMER 1 – Explorers |
SUMMER 2 – Minibeast Adventures |
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Non-chronological report - (2 weeks) Individual zig zag book or flap book? On castles
Narrative - Subverted fairytales (3 weeks) The Knight and the Dragon—Tomie de Paola There was an Old Dragon who Swallowed a Knight—Penny Parker Klostermann
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Non-fiction - biography (2 weeks) Pick an explorer to research—present in form of a web page
Narrative - Adventure (2 weeks) Kick -started from own experience; set up an ‘explorer’s camp’ on bottom field with mystery element—what has happened to the explorers? What clues are there?
Poetry (4 days) Shape poem eg aeroplane (Earhart); Mountain (Hillary) |
Poetry - (1 week) descriptive / alliterative poems
Narrative - (3 weeks) Tadpole’s Promise (Jeaane Willis) Caterpillar Dreams (Jeanne Willis)
Non-fiction - Annotated diagrams of mini-beasts / mini fact files (2 weeks)
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Grammar Coverage |
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WORD |
SENTENCE |
TEXT |
PUNCTUATION |
TERMINOLOGY FOR PUPILS |
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Formation of nouns using suffixes such as –ness, –er and by compounding [for example, whiteboard, superman]
Formation of adjectives using suffixes such as –ful, –less (A fuller list of suffixes can be found on page 57 in the year 2 spelling section in English Appendix 1)
Use of the suffixes –er, –est in adjectives and the use of –ly in Standard English to turn adjectives into adverbs
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Subordination (using when, if, that, because) and co-ordination (using or, and, but)
Expanded noun phrases for description and specification [for example, the blue butterfly, plain flour, the man in the moon]
How the grammatical patterns in a sentence indicate its function as a statement, question, exclamation or command |
Correct choice and consistent use of present tense and past tense throughout writing
Use of the progressive form of verbs in the present and past tense to mark actions in progress [for example, she is drumming, he was shouting] |
Use of capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate sentences
Commas to separate items in a list
Apostrophes to mark where letters are missing in spelling and to mark singular possession in nouns [for example, the girl’s name] |
noun noun phrase statement question exclamation command, compound adjective verb, suffix adverb tense (past, present) apostrophe comma |
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CORE SUBJECT - English Units |
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AUTUMN 1 – The Dawn on Man |
AUTUMN 2 – What an Invention! |
SPRING 1 – Out of Asia |
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NARRATIVE: Adventure Stories (4 weeks) Stone Age Boy - Satoshi Kitamura
POETRY: Cave Baby - Julia Donaldson & Emily Gravett (2 weeks) Learn & perform part of the story; poems in response to story e.g. extending narrative / about own cave art
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NON-FICTION: Recount : Biographies (3 weeks) Link to Victorians being studied / inspirational figures; diary entries as incidental writing to feed into biographies
NON-FICTION: Non-Chronological (3 weeks) Work towards a published class work on aspects of Victorian life |
NON-FICTION: Instructions (2 weeks) Healthy Recipes / How to perform a particular exercise
NARRATIVE: Traditional Tales (3 weeks) The Willow Pattern Story—Alan Drummond (link to art & design)
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SPRING 2 – Saving the World |
SUMMER 1 – Temples, Tombs & Treasures |
SUMMER 2 – Road Trip USA |
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NON-FICTION: Persuasion (3 weeks) ‘Dear Mum and Dad’ - changes they could implement at home; independent- ‘Dear Mrs Lawson’, changes they could implement at school.
POETRY: (2 weeks) Concrete / shape poem—a kapok tree (see book suggestions on topic overviews) or rainforest to grow across the working wall
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NARRATIVE: Myths (2 weeks) Egyptian Gods
NARRATIVE: Mystery The 5,000 Year Old Puzzle— Claudia Logan
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NON-FICTION: Non-Chronological report - Information Leaflet (3 weeks) Road trip theme—e.g. Route 66; USA National Parks
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Grammar Coverage |
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WORD |
SENTENCE |
TEXT |
PUNCTUATION |
TERMINOLOGY FOR PUPILS |
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Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes [for example super–, anti–, auto–]
Use of the forms a or an according to whether the next word begins with a consonant or a vowel [for example, a rock, an open box]
Word families based on common words, showing how words are related in form and meaning [for example, solve, solution, solver, dissolve, insoluble]
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Expressing time, place and cause using:
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Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material
Headings and sub-headings to aid presentation
Use of the present perfect form of verbs instead of the simple past [for example, He has gone out to play contrasted with He went out to play]
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Introduction to inverted commas to punctuate direct speech |
adverb preposition conjunction word family prefix clause subordinate clause direct speech consonant consonant vowel inverted commas
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CORE SUBJECT - English Units |
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AUTUMN 1 – Out of Africa |
AUTUMN 2 – Chocoholics |
SPRING 1 – Spies & Gadgets |
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Narrative (Folk Tale) Mamo on the Mountain - Jane Kurtz (3 Weeks)
Discussion Text (newspaper article)
Big Game Hunting—use knowledge of animals gained through topic to debate rights and wrongs of big game hunting.. Finished article could be taken to other year groups (eg Ys 3 & 5) for them to respond to a readers’ survey
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Narrative (Literary Heritage) Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (3 weeks) Incidental writing—to include a biography of Roald Dahl
Recount (Scientific Investigative Report) Melting / cooling chocolate / changing states (2 weeks)
Poetry : Acrostics - focus on topic vocab (1 week)
Test week
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Narrative : Science Fiction Skychasers - Emma Carroll OR Brightstorm Vashti Hardy (3 weeks)
Narrative : Mystery Look into my Eyes - Ruby Redfort (Book 1) Lauren Child 3 weeks
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SPRING 2 – Burps, Bottoms & Bile |
SUMMER 1 – The Ancient Greeks |
SUMMER 2 – Staycation, Vaycation! |
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Recounts - News articles / sports recount Recount of a race plus editorial on cheating (2 weeks)
Shakespeare Week (18—24 March 2019)
Explanation Text - The digestive system (2 weeks)
Test week (1 week) |
Narrative - Myths and Legends (2 weeks) Oral Retelling - Develop oral performance (NOT acting out) of a legend using the tradition of a Greek chorus (1 week)
Poetry (1 week) - battle scene from a myth / legend focussing on onomatopoeia & alliteration |
Poetry - River Story - Meredith Hooper, The River Valerie Bloom, I asked the River Valerie Bloom, River Runs Free David Windle (2 weeks) Recounts - Blog Journey around the Broads (2 weeks) Persuasion - Travel Brochure / Visit Venice (2 weeks) + 1 week Test Week |
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Grammar Coverage |
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WORD |
SENTENCE |
TEXT |
PUNCTUATION |
TERMINOLOGY FOR PUPILS |
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The grammatical difference between plural and possessive –s
Standard English forms for verb inflections instead of local spoken forms [for example, we were instead of we was, or I did instead of I done] |
Noun phrases expanded by the addition of modifying adjectives, nouns and preposition phrases (e.g. the teacher expanded to: the strict maths teacher with curly hair)
Fronted adverbials [for example, Later that day, I heard the bad news.] |
Use of paragraphs to organise ideas around a theme.
Appropriate choice of pronoun or noun within and across sentences to aid cohesion and avoid repetition |
Use of inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech [for example, a comma after the reporting clause; end punctuation within inverted commas: The conductor shouted, “Sit down!”]
Apostrophes to mark plural possession [for example, the girl’s name, the girls’ names]
Use of commas after fronted adverbials
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determiner pronoun possessive pronoun adverbial |
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CORE SUBJECT - English Units |
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AUTUMN 1 – The Age of Empire Part 1 |
AUTUMN 2 – The Age of Empire Part 1 |
SPRING 1 – Frozen Planet |
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6 weeks 3 days
Biography (2 weeks)
Historical Narrative (4 weeks) The Warrior in the Midst Ruth Eastham
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7 weeks 3 days
Traditional Tales - Beowulf - Michael Morpurgo (4 weeks)
Poetry - Kennings (2 weeks)
1 Week Test Week
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6 weeks 2 days
Persuasion - Letter (3 weeks) Linked to global warming
Literary Heritage - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis (3 weeks) (Jadis, The White Witch / Snowscapes)
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SPRING 2 – Space Invaders |
SUMMER 1 – The boy who lived! |
SUMMER 2 – Gallery Rebels! |
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6 weeks
Explanation (2 weeks)
Shakespeare Week (18—24 March 2019)
Poety ‘Cosmic Disco’ - Grace Nichols anthology (2 weeks)
1 Week Test Week
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4 weeks 4 days
Narrative - Stories with flashbacks
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
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7 weeks
Discussion - Balanced Argument (4 weeks) Based on Armin Geder, The Island - Reasons for and against accepting the man onto The Island for scaffolded write; acceptance of refugees for independent
Poetry (2 Weeks) - Joseph Coehlo, anthology ‘Werewolf Club Rules’; use vimeo clip of his advice to young writers, basing poetry on art |
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Grammar Coverage |
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WORD |
SENTENCE |
TEXT |
PUNCTUATION |
TERMINOLOGY FOR PUPILS |
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Converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using suffixes [for example, –ate; –ise; –ify]
Verb prefixes [for example, dis–, de–, mis–, over– and re–] |
Relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose, that, or an omitted relative pronoun
Indicating degrees of possibility using adverbs [for example, perhaps, surely] or modal verbs [for example, might, should, will, must] |
Devices to build cohesion within a paragraph [for example, then, after that, this, firstly]
Linking ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time [for example, later], place [for example, nearby] and number [for example, secondly] or tense choices [for example, he had seen her before]
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Brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis.
Use of commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity. |
modal verb relative pronoun relative clause parenthesis bracket dash cohesion ambiguity |
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CORE SUBJECT - English Units |
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AUTUMN 1 – Off with their head! |
AUTUMN 2 – Off with their head! |
SPRING 1 – The World at War |
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Formal biography (3 weeks)
Persuasive advert – Dating profile (2.5 weeks)
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Discussion text- Death sentence or not (2 weeks)
Story with flashback (3 weeks) |
Diary entry (3 weeks)
Letters (3 weeks) |
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SPRING 2 – The World at War |
SUMMER 1 – Survivors! |
SUMMER 2 – Survivors! |
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Explanation- news event (3 weeks)
Persuasive propaganda article– opinion piece (2 weeks)
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Horrible Histories Autobiography (3 weeks)
Explanation text – rising sea-levels (3 weeks) |
Cluedo– suspense narrative (3 weeks)
Explanation text – natural selection (3 weeks) |
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Grammar Coverage |
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WORD |
SENTENCE |
TEXT |
PUNCTUATION |
TERMINOLOGY FOR PUPILS |
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The difference between vocabulary typical of informal speech and vocabulary appropriate for formal speech and writing [for example, find out – discover; ask for – request; go in – enter]
How words are related by meaning as synonyms and antonyms [for example, big, large, little |
Use of the passive to affect the presentation of information in a sentence [for example, I broke the window in the greenhouse versus The window in the greenhouse was broken (by me)].
The difference between structures typical of informal speech and structures appropriate for formal speech and writing [for example, the use of question tags: He’s your friend, isn’t he?, or the use of subjunctive forms such as If I were or Were they to come in some very formal writing and speech]
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Linking ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices: repetition of a word or phrase, grammatical connections [for example, the use of adverbials such as on the other hand, in contrast, or as a consequence], and ellipsis
Layout devices [for example, headings, sub-headings, columns, bullets, or tables, to structure text] |
Use of the semi-colon, colon and dash to mark the boundary between independent clauses [for example, It’s raining; I’m fed up]
Use of the colon to introduce a list and use of semi-colons within lists
Punctuation of bullet points to list information
How hyphens can be used to avoid ambiguity [for example, man eating shark versus man-eating shark, or recover versus re-cover]
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subject object active passive synonym antonym ellipsis hyphen colon semi-colon bullet points |