Literacy is a set of writing, speaking and listening skills; it is an aspect of English but it is not a subject or a separate department responsibility. Along with having a good level of personal skills, our students need to be skilled in language and literacy to cope effectively with the demands of further education, employment and adult life. It is important for students to know how to access text and transfer skills and strategies from subject to subject.
Any subject which uses text has a responsibility to help students overcome difficulty with understanding ideas and concepts and must explicitly teach them how to transfer read. Literacy is an important aspect of all subjects and these skills should be applied consistently across all subjects.
Getting students interested in reading in a huge part of literacy, and so making use of the library is a great way to do this. Our newly revamped library provides lots of reading opportunities to our students and promotes a love of reading!
We run a wide range of exciting competitions over the academic year to encourage our young people to get involved with reading, writing, speaking and listening. There are always lots of fun and challenging things for our students to participate in. We have both school and national competitions. One of our favourites is the BBC 500 words writing competition.
Useful websites:
Reading
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/english/reading/
http://www.k12reader.com/strategies-to-help-engage-reluctant-readers-in-reading/
Writing
http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/seven-ways-to-encourage-kids-writing/
http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/getting-boys-write
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/25-ways-get-kids-writing
Spelling
http://www.howtospell.co.uk/ESL-spelling-strategies
http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/effective-spelling-strategies
http://thegrid.org.uk/learning/english/ks3-4-5/ks3/useful/index.shtml
Reading for pleasure at Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School
There is strong evidence linking reading for pleasure and educational outcomes. We know that academic attainment is of vital importance, but the benefits of reading for pleasure go beyond this and stretch throughout a person’s life. It is for this reason that Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School has developed a carefully selected menu of suggested reading material for students from years 7 to 11.
The reading material chosen for each subject has been selected by Sir Thomas Boteler High School teachers and links directly to the curriculum taught in each year group. We would encourage students to read at least one per term and we encourage students to share the books they have read with their subject teachers.
Evidence clearly suggests that early engagement in wider reading prepares students for the demands of GCSE exam preparation. Reading around the topics covered helps to build independent learning skills and hopefully deepens both their interest and knowledge of certain subjects. We hope providing students, parents and guardians with this list of suggested reading material provides additional support to enable our students to reach their full potential.
For more information explaining the importance of encouraging students to engage in wider reading, please see the Department for Education 2012 paper into Reading for Pleasure.