One comment I heard about the Draft proposals was 'the devil is in the assessment'. I know what she meant. We know now from our experience of SATs, that these create a teaching and learning environment in many schools determining what is taught and when. In a way, in each and every school there is a 'real curriculum' only indirectly related to the curricula drawn up in this kind of document. What the test tests (and how it tests it) creates the need for certain kinds of teaching and homework and this spreads back through the year and through the school. This may well be a far cry from elements in the original document which are full of phrases and intentions that I for one would agree with.
On close examination of the Draft proposals, I think we are back in this situation. We know that Year 1 ends with the Phonics Screening Check and my own view of that is that this will determine a good deal of time trying to fit school to the Check. Across the other five years there will be tests in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. At present, the SATs paper remains in place.
If my commenter is right, this set of tests will determine a massive amount of what goes on in schools. This of course can't be stated or shown in the document. It just happens. That is the meat and potatoes of education.
So here's a question I put up for debate:
given this 'test-effect' (commented on disparagingly by Ofsted in 'Moving English Forward' (March 2012), how will this affect the implementation of the following comments on Reading taken from the Draft Primary English Curriculum - most of which I think are not all that bad?
(Please bear in mind that my view remains that such ideas will always come out better framed and have a much better effect on schools, teachers and children when they are worked up by professionals themselves.)
:[Apologies: I've cut and pasted it and some of the original 'returns' etc have stayed in. Ha ha - perhaps they should do 'formatting' in the new Curriculum! ]
1.
Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, spiritually and socially. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore,
who do not learn to read and write fluently and confidently are, in every sense, disenfranchised.
2.
The National Curriculum for English aims to ensure all pupils:
· read easily, fluently and with good understanding
· develop the habit of reading widely and often for both pleasure and information
Year 1 Programme of Study Notes and Guidance
· develop pleasure in reading and motivation to read by:
a. listening to and discussing a wide range of poems and stories at a level
beyond that which they can read independently
b. being encouraged to link what they read or hear read to their own
experiences
c. becoming very familiar with key stories, fairy stories and traditional tales
d. recognising and joining in with predictable phrases
e. learning by heart and reciting rhymes and poems
Year 2
discussing their favourite words and phrases [59]
· develop pleasure in reading and motivation to read by:
a. listening to, discussing and expressing views about a wide range of
poetry (including contemporary and classic), stories and non-fiction at a
level beyond that which they can read independently
b. becoming increasingly familiar with a wider range of stories, fairy stories
and traditional tales
c. recognising simple recurring literary language in stories and poetry
d. continuing to build up a repertoire of poems learnt by heart and recite
some of these, with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear
[60]
· participate in discussion about books, poems and other works that are read
to them and those they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to
what others say [61]
· explain and discuss their understanding of books, poems and other works,
both those they listen to and those they read for themselves.
Year 3-4
retrieve and record information from non-fiction by:
a. being clear about the information they have been asked to locate
b. using titles, headings, sub-headings and indexes to locate information
c. discussing what they have learnt from their reading [96]
· participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those
they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say
[97]
· explain and discuss their understanding of what they read, maintaining their
focus on the topic [98]
· ask questions to improve their understanding of a text
Year 5-6
· discuss how authors use language, including figurative language, in the books
they read, and considering the impact on the reader [131]
· distinguishing between statements of fact and opinion [132]
· retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction by:
a. being clear about the information they have been asked to locate
b. using contents pages and indexes to locate information
c. précising longer passages
d. using notes to present findings in discussion, oral presentations and
different types of books or other writing [133]
· participate in conversations about books that are read to them and those they
can read for themselves, building on their own and others’ ideas and
challenging views courteously [134]
· explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, including
through formal presentations and debates maintaining a focus on the topic
under discussion [135]
· ask questions to improve their understanding of what they have read [136]
· provide reasoned justifications for their views.
