An example of how an English lesson might take place, focusing on some key principles of Engligh. Literature is at the heart of this plan.

1. With your hosts:
Jeremy Cotton, Shriya Selli
and Charlene Robertson
Module EE601: Tuesday May 15th 2012

2.  Text: “Ice Trap” by Meredith Hooper
 Illustrated by M.P. Robertson
 Non-Fiction but written in the style of fiction.
 Main principle: “Imagination, play and drama are central to
learning, talk, listen, feel, think, read and write”.
 Strongly linked principles:
“Literacy is a set of social practices best learnt in meaningful
contexts”
“Talking, listening, reading and writing are inter-dependant:
each is enriched by the other”
“Learning to read, write and talk are
active, creative, meaning-making processes”
“Drama provides genuine contexts for reading and
writing, speaking and listening”
Most teaching principles are in some way linked, some more loosely than others.
Principles mentioned here suggest the stronger links between them.

3. Teaching should ensure that work in „speaking and listening‟, „reading‟ and
„writing‟ is integrated.
In English, during Key Stage 2, pupils learn to change the way they speak
and write to suit different situations, purposes and audiences.
They read a range of texts and respond to different layers of meaning in
them. They explore the use of language in literary and non-literary texts and
learn how language works.
Pupils are also required to extend and enrich their vocabulary through
drama and role play.
National Curriculum
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary
/b00198874/english/ks2/en1

4. EN1: Speaking
a. use vocabulary and syntax that enables them to communicate more
complex meanings
EN1: Listening
b. ask relevant questions to clarify, extend and follow up ideas
d. identify features of language used for a specific purpose [for example, to
persuade, instruct or entertain]
e. respond to others appropriately, taking into account what they say.
EN1: Group discussion and interaction
b. vary contributions to suit the activity and purpose, including exploratory
and tentative comments where ideas are being collected together, and
reasoned, evaluative comments as discussion moves to conclusions or
actions
e. take up and sustain different roles, adapting them to suit the
situation, including chair, scribe and spokesperson
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary
/b00198874/english/ks2/en1

5. EN1: Drama
a. create, adapt and sustain different roles, individually and in groups
b. use character, action and narrative to convey
story, themes, emotions, ideas in plays they devise and script
c. use dramatic techniques to explore characters and issues [for
example, hot seating, flashback]
Other elements of EN1 will feature within module. Listed above are the
stronger links.
National Curriculum:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary
/b00198874/english/ks2/en1

6. EN2: Reading Strategies
c. knowledge of grammatical structures
d. contextual understanding.
EN2: Understanding Texts
a. use inference and deduction
b. look for meaning beyond the literal
c. make connections between different parts of a text [for example, how
stories begin and end, what has been included and omitted in information
writing]
d. use their knowledge of other texts they have read.
EN2: Reading for information
b. skim for gist and overall impression
c. obtain specific information through detailed reading
d. draw on different features of texts, including print, sound and image, to
obtain meaning
f. distinguish between fact and opinion [for example, by looking at the
purpose of the text, the reliability of information]

7. EN2: Literature
a. recognise the choice, use and effect of figurative language, vocabulary
and patterns of language
b. identify different ways of constructing sentences and their effects
c. identify how character and setting are created, and how plot, narrative
structure and themes are developed
d. recognise the differences between author, narrator and character
h. respond imaginatively, drawing on the whole text and other reading
i. read stories, poems and plays aloud.
Other elements of EN2 will feature within module. Listed above are the
stronger links.
National Curriculum:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary
/b00198874/english/ks2/en2

8. EN3: Composition
c. use language and style that are appropriate to the reader
d. use and adapt the features of a form of writing, drawing on their reading
EN3: Planning and Drafting
a. plan - note and develop initial ideas
b. draft - develop ideas from the plan into structured written text
c. revise - change and improve the draft
d. proofread - check the draft for spelling and punctuation errors, omissions
and repetitions
e. present - prepare a neat, correct and clear final copy
f. discuss and evaluate their own and others' writing.
EN3: Punctuation
3. Pupils should be taught to use punctuation marks correctly in their
writing, including full stops, question and exclamation
marks, commas, inverted commas, and apostrophes to mark possession
and omission.

9. EN3: Language Structure
a. word classes and the grammatical functions of words, including
nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, arti
cles
b. the features of different types of sentence, including
statements, questions and commands, and how to use them [for
example, imperatives in commands]
c. the grammar of complex sentences, including clauses, phrases and
connectives
d. the purposes and organisational features of paragraphs, and how ideas
can be linked.
Other elements of EN3 will feature within module. Listed above are the
stronger links.
The language structure input will be variable depending on activities.
National Curriculum:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary
/b00198874/english/ks2/en3

10.  Class numbers likely between 28-30
 Unit of work will be 2-3 lessons, but this is flexible
 3rd lesson on standby if activities overrun, and dependant
on engagement and enjoyment of the children
 Speaking and Listening
 Shared Reading
 Literature Circles
 Shared Writing
 Drama
 Guided Writing
 Poetry
 Independent writing (possibly)
 Planning for progression from shared writing to independent
writing

11.  The main focus of pedagogy will be to adopt the social
constructivist approach.
 Ensures that imagination, play and drama are central to
a child‟s learning.
 Create real world environments that employ the context in which
learning is relevant. (Choice of text).
 Provide multiple representations or perspectives on the content.
(Drama and emotions)
 Instructional goals and objectives should be negotiated and not
imposed.
 Provide tools and environments that help learners interpret the
multiple perspectives of the world.
 Learning should be internally controlled and mediated by the learner.
 Shared reading, guided reading and shared reading are social
platforms.
Jonassen, D. (1994, April). Thinking technology. Educational
Technology,34(4), 34-37

12.  Lesson one to focus on:
- Story Boxing (using props for talk and imagination)
- Shared Reading
- Drama – emotions and hypothesis
- Speaking and Listening
 Story-Boxing:
Hall, N. (1989). Cited in Bromley, H. (2006). The Magical World Storybox
“If it is the experience of authorship that helps authors
develop, then it follows that children should, from the start, be given
opportunities to explore what it means to be an author” (p.3).
“Pupils are likely to achieve well as the context for talk is
purposeful, with a strong sense of audience, and is taking place in
a playful, relaxed context”
Bromley, H. (2006). The Magical World Storybox

13. Storyboxing | Why?
National Literacy Trust

14. Story-boxing activity
Barnes, D. (1992)
“Exploratory talk provides an important means of working on
understanding, but learners are unlikely to embark on it unless they feel
relatively at ease, free from the danger of being aggressively contradicted or
made fun of.”
Links to Story-boxing theory of “playful, relaxed context”.

15.  Feedback from the class to create some key words that, based on the
props, could be important. (Speaking and listening as a class)
Key words written onto IWB in mind map fashion.
 First half of text is then read aloud to the class (Shared Reading)
 Discussion on what kind of text it is, and examples / ideas as to why. Eg – Fiction
/ Non-Fiction (Speaking and Listening as a class)
 Particular focus on the emotions of the characters: Why might something have
been said, and how are the characters feeling?
 Children then spend a few minutes in their table groups to discuss what might
happen next. (Speaking and listening in groups)
 This hypothesis will later be used for drama.
Barnes, D. (1992). Discussing Vygotsky‟s social constructivist theory:
“…our ability to talk and think is in the first instance social and only later becomes
individual.”
This part of our lesson uses a social constructivist approach when discussing ideas
and the emotions involved in the book. E.G. Why something was said.
Myers, J and Burnett, C. (2004) Teaching English 3-11. London: Continuum.
“One of the most powerful strategies that teachers can use involves demonstrating and
making explicit their own use of exploratory talk and attentive listening. This helps the
children understand that it is acceptable to contribute to discussions with suggestions
that are not fully formed; it helps them realise that there is no fixed answer and that their
ideas matter”

16.  The text is read to the class by the teacher. (The first half of the
text).
 Teacher scaffolds the reading by asking questions about the
text.
 Discussion on what kind of text it is, and examples / ideas as to
why. Eg – Fiction / Non-Fiction
 Relationship between the author and the reader
 How is it written? EG: Why do we get the feeling of desperation
from the plight of the men at sea?
 Their answers help towards hypothesising the next part of the
text and for drama.
Barrs, M. (2002). The Reader in the Writer.
“…reading is always an act of relationships between reader and writer with the text
as a meeting place.”

17. Drama activity
Gallas, K. (2003).
“When literacy and imagination are paired it can lead to joy, ecstasy, and
encounters with the sublime, and that is what education is about. Children
should be open to a world full of curiosity, wonder, joy, and exploration.”
(p.167).
All of these things can be met with the help of teacher.

18. Drama activity | Reasoning
Maley, A. and Duff, A. (1982). Drama techniques in language learning.
Medwell, J., Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2009)
“Active role play…places children firmly into the situations of others
and almost obliges them to see the world from different points of
view. By being placed in this situation children discover aspects of
human motivation and behaviour” (p.164).

19.  Lesson two to focus on:
- Literacy Circles and feedback
- Shared Writing
- Guided Writing
- Potential for independent writing depending on
time and engagement
- Speaking and listening of other pupil‟s work
 Pupils finish reading the rest of the text in their literacy circles
 Pupils form groups and choose discussion topics according to
their interests
 They participate in reflective discussions about literature within
supportive group environments
 The teacher serves as a facilitator, not a group member or
instructor.

20.  Shared Writing:
- Teacher acts a scribe while the children compose the text
- This task prepares the children for their independent writing extension if there
is time.
 Shared writing is also a powerful method for direct teaching of key skills and
concepts needed in the writing process.
 Activity detail:
- The key words from the previous lesson, identified when discussing the
text, are displayed on the IWB again
- Discussion on the different types of poems. EG Acrostic poems.
- Can the children remember how they are formed and what they are?
- Children work together initially to begin their poems about the text. EG:
Imagining they are in the situation or using the text‟s characters as the basis
- First verse of poem written together on IWB. Children can either continue this
or start their own.
Graves, D. (1983). Writing: Teachers and Children at work.
“The objective of composing before children is to make explicit what children can’t
ordinarily see: how words go down on paper, and the thoughts that go with the
decisions made in the writing. Thus the teacher writes so the children can see the
words, and gives a running monologue of the thinking that goes with the writing.”
(p.45)

21.  Guided Writing:
Enables the teacher to tailor the teaching to the needs of the group;
- facilitates the teaching and learning of individual children. Although guided
writing is a group activity focused on the needs of the group, the teacher is
able to observe and respond to the needs of individuals within the group;
- provides the teacher with the opportunity to extend and challenge more-
able groups of children;
- encourages the children to be active participants in discussions about
writing;
- builds confidence – the group are all grappling with the same issues;
- allows the teacher to give immediate feedback on success and the
opportunity to discuss further areas for improvement.
Primary National Strategies 2007.
 Activity detail:
- Children begin working on their poems in their groups on table or
separately depending on ability and independence.
(Children sat in ability groups)
- Teacher moves round tables and facilitates ideas, focusing more
time on the lower ability but not excluding the higher. (Inclusion and
ECM)
- Other children may wish to extend vocabulary. Make sure
dictionaries and thesauruses are available

22.  Potential Extension / Lesson 3:
- It is possible that independent writing may come of the
lesson.
- This would be based on the poetry or stories in the same
context as „Ice Trap‟
- Poems / stories would then be read out to the class enabling
peer and group assessment
- Reading aloud and discussing in assessment ties back to
speaking and listening, completing a cycle.

23.  AfL
Module lends itself to AfL strategies including:
- Open questioning about text
(Rich questioning designed to probe children‟s
understanding)
- Peer assessment
- Self assessment
- Group assessment – group presentations with
opportunities for more peer and self assessment
- Success criteria / Learning objectives
- Formative assessment on all aspects of module
Black, P. and Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the Black Box. Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment.
“Opportunities for pupils to express their understanding should be designed
into any piece of teaching, for this will initiate the interaction whereby
formative assessment aids learning.” (p.7).

24. Resources Required

25. Barnes, D. (1992). “The Role of Talk in Learning", in Norman, K. (Ed) Thinking Voices. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Barrs, M. (2002). The Reader in the Writer”. Centre for Language in Primary Education.
Black, P. and Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the Black Box. Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment. London: GL Assessment, part of the
Granada Learning Group
Bromley, H. (2006). The Magical World Storybox. Cambridge: Yellow Door.
DfE. (2011). English: En1 Speaking and listening. [online]. Crown copyright. Available: <
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary/b00198874/english/ks2/en1>. [Accessed May 2012].
DfE. (2011). English: En2 Reading. [online]. Crown copyright. Available: <
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary/b00198874/english/ks2/en2>. [Accessed May 2012].
DfE. (2011). English: En3 Writing. [online]. Crown copyright. Available: <
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary/b00198874/english/ks2/en3> . [Accessed May 2012].
Gallas, K. (2003). Imagination and literacy: A teacher’s search for the heart of learning. USA: Teachers College Press
Graves, D. (1983). Writing: Teachers and Children at work.
Jonassen, D. (1994, April). Thinking technology. Educational Technology, 34(4), 34-37
Maley, A. and Duff, A. (1982). Drama techniques in language learning. London: Cambridge University Press.
Medwell, J., Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2009). Primary English: Knowledge and Understanding – Forth Edition. Exeter: Learning Matters
Myers, J and Burnett, C. (2004) Teaching English 3-11. London: Continuum.
National Literacy Trust. (2012). Early Reading Connects. [online]. Crown copyright. Available: <
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0000/3211/Story_box_guide.pdf>. [Accessed May 2012].
Primary National Strategy. (2007). Improving writing with a focus on guided writing. [online]. Crown copyright. Available:
<http://public.merlin.swgfl.org.uk/establishments/803/QandS/Literacy/Literacy%20website%20content%20%20library/Improving%20Writing%20-
%20Guided%20Writing.pdf>. [Accessed May 2012].