Literacy

Literacy at Newark Academy

Newark Academy is committed to supporting the development of the literacy levels of all students, and thoroughly believes that all teachers are teachers of literacy. Students being able to read, write and speak in a confident, articulate and effective manner is of paramount importance in order for them to be able actively engage with the world around them.

Click on the link below to access our whole school literacy strategy.

Literacy Strategy

Please see below for further detail on our literacy strategy in action:

Reading

Reading at Newark Academy is focused around three interconnected areas: Learning to Read, Reading to Learn and Reading for Pleasure.

Learning to Read focuses on ensuring that all students are able to decode and comprehend the texts they are reading with fluency and precision. At the start of each academic year, students at Newark Academy take a reading age test with allows us to identify and target support for students where necessary.

Reading to Learn is centred around ensuring that all students have access to challenging academic texts across all their subjects and develop their tier 2 and 3 vocabulary.

Reading for Pleasure is the final strand which is about fostering a love of reading which students will carry forward with them into their futures.

When reading in lessons, students will be using a ‘Before, During and After’ approach which allows them to develop the core skills needed to approach any text with confidence. Before reading students will be asked to make predictions about the texts and engage their prior knowledge. During the reading, students will be clarifying new vocabulary and reading actively through questioning. After the reading, students summarise the reading and express the core ideas within a text.

Staff at Newark Academy will employ a variety of strategies when asking students to approach reading in the classroom. Teachers may use any of the following approaches: paired reading, silent reading, group reading, and there will also be a specific emphasis of teacher modelled and teacher guided reading. For further information about these individual strategies please click the link here.

The Hive

Home to over 13,000 books, The Hive is a welcoming, inclusive space which is open to students at both break times and lunch times. There are a variety of texts for students to read, both fiction and non-fiction, across a wide range of relevant and diverse subject areas. Within the The Hive, there are also 10 desktop computers for students to use for home learning, revision and further study. Students are also able to access The Hive after school to complete homework and receive learning support.

Oracy

It is important for students at Newark Academy to be able to use their voice to share their opinions, thoughts and ideas in a clear articulate way. We are committed to supporting and challenging our students to confidently use ambitious vocabulary across all curriculum areas. Students will often be asked to SHAPE or re-SHAPE their responses within the classroom to build on these core skills

Additional resources for parents/carers:

https://literacytrust.org.uk/

https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/

Literacy across the curriculum at Newark Academy

At Newark Academy we promote Literacy across all areas of the curriculum.

Literacy activities include:

  • Weekly Year 7 and 8 Literacy Lesson
  • KS3 Crew Reading programme
  • KS4 Crew Debate
  • DEAR days each half term
  • Switch On reading intervention
  • Bespoke reading intervention packages
  • NA6 reading buddies
  • Author visits/Literacy lunches

December 2024

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