Developing Receptiveness to Oral   Language

Developing Competence &   Confidence in Using Oral Language

Developing Cognitive Abilities   Through Oral Language

Developing Emotional &   Imaginative Life Through Oral Language

• Experience,   recognise and observe simple commands.
• Listen to a   story or description and respond to it.
• Hear, repeat and   elaborate words, phrases and sentences modelled by the teacher.
• Use and   interpret tone of voice expressing varying emotions.
• Learn to adapt   verbal and non-verbal behaviour to secure and maintain the attention of a   partner.
• Mime and   interpret gesture, movement and attitude conveying various emotions.
• Talk about past   and present experiences, and plan, predict and speculate about future and   imaginary experiences.
• Choose appropriate   words to name and describe things and events.
• Experiment with   descriptive words to add elaborative detail.
• Combine simple   sentences through the use of connecting words.
• Initiate and   sustain a conversation on a particular topic.
• Use language to   perform common social functions.
• Provide further   information in response to the teacher’s prompting.
• Listen to a   story or a narrative and ask questions about it.
• Focus on   descriptive detail and begin to be explicit in relation to people, places,   times, processes, events, colour, shape, size, position.
• Discuss   different possible solutions to simple problems.
• Ask questions in   order to satisfy curiosity about the world.
• Show   understanding of text.
• Reflect on and   talk about a wide range of everyday experience and feelings.
• Create and tell   stories.
• Listen to, learn   and retell a rich variety of stories, rhymes and songs.
• Respond through   discussion, mime and role-playing to stories, rhymes and songs heard and   learnt.
• Use language to   create and sustain imaginary situations in play.
• Listen to, learn   and recite rhymes, including nonsense rhymes.
• Listen to, learn   and ask riddles.
• Create real and   imaginary sound worlds.
• Recognise and   re-create sounds in the immediate environment.
• Experiment with   different voices in role-playing.

Developing Receptiveness to Oral   Language

Developing Competence and Confidence   in Using Oral Language

Developing Cognitive Abilities   Through Oral Language

Developing Emotional and Imaginative   Life Through Oral Language

• Experience   challenging vocabulary and sentence structure from the teacher.
• Listen to   stories, descriptions, instructions and directions and respond to them.
• Listen to sounds   and respond to them.
• Become more   adept in using appropriate verbal and non-verbal behaviour in order to secure   and maintain the attention of the listener.
• Use gesture and   movement to extend the meaning of what he/she is saying.
• Express in mime   various emotions and reactions, and interpret the emotions and reactions of   others.
• Talk about and   reflect on past and present experiences, and plan, predict, anticipate and   speculate about future and imaginary experiences.
• Experiment with   more elaborate vocabulary and sentence structure in order to extend and   explore meaning.
• Experiment with   word order and examine its implications for meaning and clarity.
• Focus on the   subject under discussion and sustain a conversation on it.
• Initiate   discussions, respond to the initiatives of others, and have practice in   taking turns.
• Engage in real   and imaginary situations to perform different social functions.
• Give a   description, recount a narrative or describe a process, and answer questions   about it.
• Listen to other   children describe experiences and ask questions about their reactions to   them.
• Become increasingly   explicit in relation to people, places, times, processes and events by adding   elaborative detail to what he/she describes and narrates.
• Listen to a   story or a narrative and ask questions about it.
• Engage in real   and imaginary situations involving language use.
• Ask questions   that will satisfy his/her curiosity and wonder.
• Describe   everyday experiences and events.
• Express feelings   in order to clarify them and explain them to others.
• Tell stories to   his/her own words and answer questions about them.
• Listen to, read,   learn and recite a varied and appropriate repertoire of rhymes and poems.
• Re-create   stories and poems in improvisational drama.
• Use play and   improvisational drama to sustain imaginary situations.
• Listen to and   say nonsense words and unusual words.
• Listen to, learn   and tell riddles and jokes.
• Clap the rhythms   of poems and rhymes.
• Listen to, read,   learn and recite more sophisticated nonsense verse and rhymes.
• Recognise and   re-create sounds in the environment.
• Create real and   imaginary sound worlds.
• Use imaginative   play to create humorous characters and situations.

• Talk and   discussion.
• Circle Time
• Consider   advertisements, posters, themes of interest.
• Role play.
• Hotseating – one   pupil takes on the role of a story / poem character and the pupils ask   questions of him / her.
• Brainstorming.
• Wordwebs.
• Listening games   e.g. Chinese whispers, auditory tapes / CDs / activities, Simon Says,   clapping games.
• Story telling –   rich and varied selection of texts.
• Cross-age   tutoring and sharing stories.
• Visitors to   school / classroom e.g. garda, priest, storyteller / poet, touring theatre.
• Newsboard –   newspaper cuttings, photographs.
• Reciting poems   and rhymes.
• Identifying word   families, rhyming words, onsets and rimes.
• Call out a list   of words twice omitting one the second time.
• Teacher gives a   list of numbers.  Pupils repeat.  Repeat in reverse order.
• Teacher taps   rhythm.  Pupil repeats.
• Twenty   questions.
• Pupils listen   for the silly sentence / word that shouldn’t be there.
• Listen to sounds   inside / outside the classroom.
• Different child   presents news / weather / area of interest each morning.
• Pupil takes turn   for the day for answering phone, door, going with messages.
• Introduce new   words e.g. night words, scary words, magical words.
• List new words   on the wall.
• Presentations to   own / other class e.g. project, poem.
• Follow a recipe.
• Kim’s Game –   identify the missing object.
• ‘What would you   do if…?’ e.g. found an injured animal, found a €1,000 lottery ticket.
• Finish the   story.

Developing Receptiveness to Oral Language

Developing Competence and Confidence   in Using Oral Language

Developing Cognitive Abilities   Through Oral Language

Developing Emotional &   Imaginative Life Through Oral Language

• Experience the   teacher’s use of challenging vocabulary and sentence structure.
• Listen to,   retell and tape a narrative or a description, taking turns giving the   account.
• Give and follow   instructions on how to perform a particular task or process.
• Become   increasingly aware of the importance of gesture, facial expression, tone of voice,   audibility and clarity of enunciation in communicating with others.
• Use of mime to   convey ideas, reactions, emotions, desires and attitudes.
• Discuss the use   and effect of music, sound effects and non-verbal clues in audio tapes, video   tapes and film clips.
• Give and take   turns in speaking and experience a classroom environment in which tolerance   for the views of others is fostered.
• Initiate   conversations and respond to the initiatives of others in talking about   experiences and activities.
• Present ideas   that are relevant to the subject in a logical sequence.
• Summarise and   prioritise ideas.
• Discuss the   meanings and origins of words, phrases and expressions with the teacher.
• Become aware of   new words and new connotations of words through his/her reading and writing   experience.
• Play synonym and   antonym games.
• Become familiar   with the functions without necessarily using technical grammatical terms.
• Practice the   common social functions in the everyday context of class and school and   through improvisational drama.
• Make lists of   local expressions and words.
• Use   improvisational drama to re-create well-known characters.
• Hear, discuss   and react to local storytellers.
• Discuss issues   that directly affect his/her life.
• Discuss a story   being read and predict future events and likely outcomes in it.
• Discuss   different possible solutions to problems.
• Discuss what   he/she knows of a particular topic or process as a basis for encountering new   problems.
• Discuss causes   and effects in relation to processes and events and predict possible   outcomes.
• Listen to a   presentation and discuss and decide which are the most important questions to   ask.
• Learn how to use   the basic key questions.
• Make   presentations to the class about his/her own particular interests.
• Justify personal   likes and dislikes.
• Argue a point of   view and try to persuade others to support it.
• Explore   historical events through improvisational drama.
• Explore   reactions to ideas through improvisational drama.
• Describe   everyday experiences to the class or group and discuss them.
• Discuss   favourite moments, important events and exciting characters in a story, play   or poem.
• Express   reactions to events and characters in stories.
• Discuss   reactions to poems.
• Create and tell   stories to the class or group and retell them after questioning, comparing   the versions.
• Express feelings   and attitudes through improvisational drama.
• Create and   sustain imaginary contexts through improvisational drama.
• React to poems   through improvisational drama.
• Dramatise   stories.
• Experience and   enjoy playful aspects of language.

• General   classroom conversation in all subject areas.
• Informal story   telling, life experiences, news, current affairs.
• Use of   alternative words, phrases, sentence structures.
• Listen to   commercial recordings / own recordings of stories and accounts.
• Chinese   whispers.
• Pass on a story   – each child adds on.
• Listening to and   identifying sounds recorded on tape.
• Describing a   process e.g. how to make a cup of tea, how to make a photocopy etc.
• Listening to and   completing tasks e.g. in PE lesson.
• Turn down sound   on TV – identify moods etc.
• Mime – charades.
• Use different   tones of voice e.g. say ‘I need a cup of tea’ in 5 different ways.
• Display anger,   sadness, joy, tiredness etc.
• Communicate   using mime e.g. ‘I’m going out’.
• Role play   arguments as to why / why not e.g. I need a mobile phone.
• Listen to a   piece of music, select words to describe it, make up a story behind it.
• View a short   video clip, turn down the music, select language to describe the extract.
• Use drum-tapping   to convey moods e.g. happy, sad, angry, agitated, excited etc.
• Hotseating.
• Word webs.
• Collect local   expressions.
• Act out sections   of the class novel.
• Relay role play   i.e. pupil takes place of existing character in middle of role play.
• Engage local   storytellers.
• Make list of   questions – correct use of why, what, where, when as a reaction to a passage.
• Making of   presentations on project work etc. followed by question and answer session.
• Social   interactions – greeting / introducing visitor, answering the phone.
• Working in   groups and introducing members.
• Verse speaking.

Developing Receptiveness to Oral   Language

Developing Competence and Confidence   in Using Oral Language

Developing Cognitive Abilities   Through Oral Language

Developing Emotional &   Imaginative Life Through Oral Language

• Experience from the teacher a growing   elaboration and sophistication in the use of vocabulary and sentence   structure.
• Listen to expressions, reactions,   opinions and interpretations and retell or summarise them.
• Listen to radio broadcasts and   discuss what has been learned.
• Follow detailed instructions or   directions from others in order to test their accuracy.
• Take part in games in which unseen   objects are identified from descriptions given by other pupils.
• Be continually aware of the   importance of gesture, facial expression, audibility and clarity of   enunciation in communicating with others.
• Use mime to convey ideas, reactions,   emotions, desires and attitudes.
• Interpret mood, attitude, emotion and   atmosphere in video extracts, advertisements, paintings and photographs.
• Listen to or watch sound tapes,   videos and films and discuss how sound effects enhance the content.
• Listen to authors reading and   discussing their own work.
• Acquire the ability to give detailed   instructions and directions.
• Converse freely and confidently on a   range of topics.
• Give and take turns in an environment   where tolerance for the views of others is fostered.
• Practise and use improvisational   drama to acquire a facility in performing more elaborate social functions.
• Discuss the positive and negative   effects of jargon, slang and cliché, and express examples of them in his/her   own language.
• Understand the functions and know the   names of the parts of speech.
• Learn about and name the basic   properties of nouns and verbs.
• Become familiar with compound and   complex sentences and know and understand the terms ‘phrase’ and ‘clause’.
• Explore the possibilities of language   and sentence structure in expressing increasingly complex thoughts.
• Discuss the meaning, effect and   diversity of local words and expressions.
• Hear accents and dialects other than   his/her own on tape and on video and discuss them.
• Use improvisational drama to learn   how local idiom, accent and dialect can influence the effect of language in   particular situations.
• Discuss ideas of major concern.
• Discuss ideas and concepts   encountered in other areas of the curriculum.
• Use a discussion of the familiar as   the basis of a more formal or objective grasp of a topic or concept.
• Use the basic key questions and   checking questions as a means of extending knowledge.
• Listen to a presentation on a   particular topic, decide through discussion which are the most appropriate   questions to ask, and then prioritise them.
• Argue points of view from the   perspective of agreement and disagreement through informal discussion and in   the context of formal debates.
• Justify and defend particular   opinions or attitudes and try to persuade others to support a particular   point of view.
• Respond to arguments presented by the   teacher.
• Discuss the value, truth or relevance   of popular ideas, causes and proverbs.
• Explore and express conflicts of   opinion through improvisational drama
• Explore historical contexts through   improvisational drama.
• Discuss with others his/her reactions   to everyday experiences and to local, national and world events.
• Discuss the concerns of other   children.
• Discuss ideas, concepts and images   encountered in literature.
• Discuss personal reading and writing.
• Express individual responses to poems   and literature and discuss different interpretations.
• Discuss plays, films and television   programmes.
• Experience and enjoy playful aspects   of language.

• Discussion –   local, national and global issues, sport, pupils’ concerns and social issues.
• Debate topical   issues e.g. homework.
• Instructions –   giving, receiving, interpreting.
• Non-verbal   communication.
• Assigning   conversation to pictures.
• Character   interviews.
• Character role   plays – creating a story using a selection of characters.
• News telling.
• Narratives.
• Explanations.
• Story   reconstruction – using sets of picture sequences, groups of pupils put the   pictures into a logical sequence and practise retelling the story around the   circle.
• Defending   viewpoints.
• Story   composition.
• Questioning.
• Creative inquiry   – ‘What if?’
• Questioning and   logic.
• Comparing and   grouping.
• Brainstorming   and building knowledge.
• Description   activities.
• Circle Time.
• Communication   skills – clear, distinct, concise, coherent.
• Respectful for   communication.
• Etiquette and   social convention.

Developing Concepts of Language &   Print

Developing Reading Skills

& Strategies

Developing Interests, Attitudes &   the

Ability to Think

Responding to Text

• Listen to, enjoy   and respond to stories, nursery rhymes, poems and songs.
• Become an active   listener through the development of a range of listening activities based on   stories read or told.
• Play with   language to develop an awareness of sounds.
• Develop a sense   of rhythm and rhyme.
• Become familiar   with a wide range of environmental print, beginning with print in the   classroom.
• Learn about the   basic terminology and conventions of books.
• Read texts   created by himself/herself and by other children in collaboration with the   teacher.
• Learn to   recognise and name the letters of the alphabet.
• Develop an   awareness of some letter-sound relationships
• Experience the   reading process being modelled.
• Handle books and   browse through them.
• Encounter early   reading through collaborative reading of large-format books and   language-experience material.
• Build up a sight   vocabulary of common words from personal experience, from experience of   environmental print and from books read.
• Learn to isolate   the beginning sound of a word or syllable.
• Learn to isolate   beginning and final sounds in written words.
• Learn to isolate   the part of a word or a syllable which allows it to rhyme with another word   or syllable.
• Use knowledge of   word order, illustration, context and initial letters to identify unknown   words
• Engage in shared   reading activities.
• Re-read, retell   and act out familiar stories, poems or parts of stories.
• Recall and talk   about significant events and details in stories.
• Analyse and   interpret characters, situations, events and sequences presented pictorially
• Predict future   incidents and outcomes in stories.
• Differentiate   between text and pictures.
• Understand the   function of text.
• Associate print   with enjoyment through listening to stories and poems read aloud.
• Respond to   characters, situations and story details, relating them to personal   experience.
• Perceive reading   as a shared, enjoyable experience.
• Record response   to text through pictures and captions.
• Pursue and   develop individual interests through engagement with books.

• Listen to and   respond to teacher’s /  taped stories   and rhymes.
• Simple   re-telling of stories focusing on sequencing, reading a story a few times and   children joining in, stories with repetitive phrases.
• Listen to and   repeat in proper sequence, alerting children in advance re what to listen   for.
• Marching and   clapping games, teacher claps and children copy.
• Making of simple   percussion instruments.
• Clap syllables   e.g. a cat is __ (fat)
• Finish line of a   poem / rhyme.
• B/a/t = bat.
• Onset and rime   e.g. d – og.
• Clap for each   syllable e.g. John – 1 clap, Mary – 2 claps.
• Follow   structured phonics programme.
• Labels in   classroom, alphabet frieze, labelling charts using flashcards.
• Allow   opportunities to handle a variety of books – cover, author, illustrations,   left to right, page turning.
• Shared reading   e.g. big books, our news, language experience charts.
• Shared reading   with parents, older pupils.
• Letter / sound   relationships using appropriate resources e.g. Letterland, Jolly Phonics.
• Teacher   modelling reading process.
• Develop sight   vocabulary of common words e.g. treasure hunt, word walk in locality.
• Isolate   beginning sound e.g. onset and rime, word families, adding on rhymes, games   e.g. foods that begin with b.
• Rhyming part of   words using simple poems e.g. ‘There was a man called Pat, he had a pet __’
• Pre-reading   activities, reading scheme, library reading.
• Bingo, word   matching.
• Re-read, re-tell   and act out e.g. drama box, Alive O, previous stories.
• Respond to   characters / relate to events e.g. ‘Did that ever happen to you?’
• Draw self in   picture with characters or in scene from story, draw favourite part of the   story / favourite character.
• Respond to text   through pictures, bubble conversation, captions.
• Captions with   marla / magnetic letters, write words under pictures etc.
• Pupils invited   to bring in and discuss their favourite books from home.
• Books about   favourite things.

Developing Strategies

Reading for Pleasure &   Information

Developing Interests, Attitudes &   the Ability to Think

Responding to Text

• Continue to   experience the reading process being modelled.
• Engage in shared   reading activities.
• Visit the school   library and the local library.
• Continue to   build a sight vocabulary of common words from books read and from personal   experience.
• Engage in   activities designed to increase awareness of sounds.
• Learn about the   sounds associated with the part of a word or syllable that allows it to rhyme   with another word or syllable.
• Learn about the   sounds associated with the beginning of a word or syllable.
• Learn to connect   the beginnings of words or syllables with their rhyming parts as an auditory   and visual exercise.
• Learn about   common word endings, word families and roots of words
• Use knowledge of   letter-sound relationships, grammar and syntax and surrounding text when   attempting to identify unfamiliar words.
• Self-correct   reading errors when what he/she reads does not make sense.
• Develop reading   skills through engaging with reading material appropriate to his/her stage of   development.
• Adapt his/her   reading style for different purposes.
• Read from a   range of children’s literature, choosing material for reading during silent   reading periods.
• Engage in   personal reading.
• Learn to find   books in a classroom or school library.
• Read aloud to   share a text with an audience.
• Find information   and share it with others.
• Perform simple   information retrieval tasks.
• Pursue   individual interests through independent reading of fiction and non-fiction.
• Adopt an active   approach to a text by posing his/her own questions.
• Give   recommendations to and receive recommendations from the wider community of   readers on the choice of reading material.
• Develop   comprehension strategies.
• Perform alphabetical   order tasks.
• Predict future   events and outcomes in a book that is being read aloud.
• Express a more   formal response by giving a considered personal opinion of a book in oral or   in written form.
• Use information   technology to increase motivation to read and to enhance reading development.
• Continue to   listen to and enjoy stories and poems being read aloud.
• Engage in   spare-moment reading and browsing by having ready access to reading material.
• Engage with a   wider variety of text.
• Experience   enhanced levels of self-esteem through success in reading.
• Listen to entire   stories read aloud in instalments.
• Respond to   characters and events in a story.
• Explore   different attitudes and feelings by imagining what it would be like to be   certain characters.
• Engage frequently   in informal discussion of books with teachers and others.

Note:   Many teaching methodologies appropriate to the development of reading   capacity are inherent in the content detailed on the previous page.

• Read to children   a rich variety of stories, facts and poetry.
• Develop sound   awareness through focusing on sounds associated with letters and letter   clusters and patterns of sounds in words.
• Rhyming words,   onsets and rimes, different onsets, different rimes.
• Shared reading –   parents / older siblings / older pupils.
• Individual /   independent reading.
• Silent reading /   personal reading.
• Reading for   different purposes e.g. browsing, simple scanning, skimming.
• Encourage use of   class and local library.
• Provide   interesting and varied selection of books in class library and continuously   change / supplement selection.
• Use of tapes,   storybooks and tapes and CD Roms.
• Use of comics,   catalogues and local publications to augment library contents.
• Simple   information retrieval e.g. table of contents, simple index.
• Book reviews.
• Write-a-Book   Project – read other pupils’ books.
• Reading   programmes on CD Roms e.g. Reader Rabbit, Accelerated Reading Programme.
• Alphabetical   order exercises.
• Discuss books,   authors, plot with other pupils, teacher, parents.
• Recall and   discuss significant events in stories.
• Analyse and   interpret characters and situations.

Developing Strategies

Reading for Pleasure &   Information

Developing Interests, Attitudes,   Information Retrieval Skills & the Ability to Think

Responding to Text

• Use more than   one strategy when reading unfamiliar text.
• Identify   unfamiliar words by reference to word parts, prefixes and suffixes.
• Continue to   self-correct reading errors.
• Become an   increasingly independent reader.
• Understand the   relationship between text and illustration.
• Refine his/her   listening skills through hearing the teacher read aloud.
• Have access to a   plentiful supply of books in the classroom and in the school library.
• Use library   facilities outside the school.
• Select personal   reading material and develop personal taste in reading for pleasure and   information.
• Experience   different types of text.
• Engage with a   wide variety of poetry and verse on a regular basis.
• Develop basic   information retrieval skills.
• Use simple   dictionaries effectively.
• Extend   participation in listening and silent reading activities.
• Read short books   in one sitting to experience success in reading.
• Explore new   interests and perspectives through reading.
• Read books   independently.
• Seek   recommendations for books to read and recommend books to others.
• Continue to use   information technology to increase motivation to read and to enhance reading   development.
• Know the   structure and terminology of books.
• Develop skills   in locating and handling books through using well-stocked school and   classroom libraries.
• Continue to   develop a range of comprehension strategies to deal with narrative,   expository and representational reading material.
• Use a knowledge   of printing conventions as an aid to expression and comprehension.
• Keep a record of   his/her reading in various forms.
• Extend and   develop his/her response to increasingly challenging reading material.
• Engage in talk   about books.
• Talk about   choice of books and the reasons for choices.
• Recognise and   discuss differences in reading tastes.
• Share responses   with other children and with adults to cultivate a community of readers.
• Experience a   shared response to fiction through the use of a class novel.
• Read aloud with   expression.

Note:   Many teaching methodologies appropriate to the development of reading   capacity are inherent in the content detailed on the previous page.

• Skim / scan   through a passage.
• Read silently /   out loud.
• Teacher provides   questions first and pupils read passage to find answers.
• Pick out the   sentence which proves the answer.
• Phonetic   awareness.
• Begin with a   discussion of the illustrations.
• Personalise the   story.
• Use of class set   of dictionaries.
• Use of computer   to source specified information with questions being provided at outset.
• Distribute   poetry books, pupils read and select their favourite poem.
• Pupils select   which poem will be learned.
• Book reviews and   recommendations for other pupils to read.
• Read book and   present views to class.
• Group read same   material.  Pupils in group have   different roles to discuss material.
• USSR –   Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading.
• Reading various   packaging for information.
• Reading of   brochures, fliers, leaflets, circulars.
• Read newspaper   headline and predict story.
• Word building.
• Cloze procedure.
• Class novel.
• Read other   pupils’ work e.g. Write-a-Book.
• Pupil reads a   story and other pupils dramatise different endings.
• Select 5 well   known characters from different stories and create a new story for them.
• Invite younger /   older children to read to class.

Developing Strategies

Reading for Pleasure &   Information

Developing Interests, Attitudes, Information   Retrieval Skills & the Ability to Think

Responding to Text

• Achieve   proficiency in word identification by refining the different word   identification skills.
• Improve his/her   ability to recognise and understand words by using root words, prefixes, suffixes,   and syllabication.
• Engage with an   increasing range of narrative, expository and representational text.
• Become   self-reliant, confident, independent readers, having time in class for   sustained silent reading.

• Read widely as   an independent reader from a more challenging range of reading material,   including stories, poems, myths, legends, novels and non-fiction texts   appropriate to his/her age and reading ability.
• Engage in books   in group or in whole-class settings.
• Learn about the   structure and appreciate the function of the component parts of a newspaper.
• Participate in   organised visits to the public library and avail of the mobile library   service.
• Read to satisfy   personal interests.
• Listen to, read,   learn, recite and respond to a challenging range of poetry.
• Have access to a   wide range of reading material in the classroom and/or school a library.
• Continue to keep   a record of personal reading in various forms.
• Use   comprehension skills such as analysing, confirming, evaluating, synthesising   and correlating to aid deduction, problem solving and prediction.
• Develop study   skills such as skimming, scanning, note-taking and summarising.
• Retrieve and   interpret information in a variety of ways.
• Support   arguments and opinions with evidence from the text.
• Read and   interpret different kinds of functional text.
• Explore   appropriate non-fiction texts for various purposes.
• Use information   retrieval strategies in cross-curricular settings.
• Distinguish   between fact and opinion, and bias and objectivity, in text and in the media.
• Use the school,   classroom and public libraries to develop greater insight into book location,   classification and organisation.
• Find information   relevant to his/her purpose in non-fiction texts, graphs and pictorial and   diagrammatic data, and through the use of information technology.
• Hear the teacher   model a response to poems, fiction, plays and parts of plays.
• Respond to   poetry and fiction through discussion, writing, drama, the visual arts and   dance.
• Relate personal   experience to the ideas and emotions conveyed in the text.
• Appreciate   issues in fiction.
• Examine   similarities and differences in various types of text.
• Continue to   share response to an ever-increasing variety of texts with the wider   community of readers.
• Browse through,   handle, discuss, recommend and select books for independent reading.
• Develop   individuality as a reader by experiencing success and the enhancement of   self-esteem through reading.
• Read aloud from   a personal choice of texts to entertain and inform an audience.
• Listen to books   or extracts from books and poetry read aloud or presented on tape, radio or   television.

• Reading to   pupils.
• Modelled reading   by teacher / pupil.
• Guided reading.
• Shared reading.
• Independent   reading.
• Performance   reading.
• Paired-reading.
• USSR –   Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading.
• Research   reading.
• Encouraging use   of class / city library.
• Book Fairs.
• Project work.
• Recalling,   retelling, predicting.
• Analysis,   explanation, mood, issues, theme.
• Inference.
• Deduction.
• Summarising.
• Evaluation.
• Correlation,   classification.
• Use of different   genres.
• Reading   strategies – scanning, skimming, research reading, reflective reading.
• Book discussions   involving comparisons of style etc.
• Class reader.
• Class novel.
• CD reading.
• Magazines,   newspapers.
• Visit by author,   poet.

Creating & Fostering the Impulse   to Write

Developing Competence, Confidence and   the Ability to Write Independently

Clarifying Thought Through Writing

Developing Emotional &   Imaginative Life Through Writing

• Experience and   enjoy a print-rich environment.
• Receive help   from the teacher, who will sometimes act as scribe to assist with accuracy   and presentation.
• Write and draw   frequently.
• Write for   different audiences.
• See personal   writing displayed.
• Read personal writing   aloud and hear it read.
• Learn to form and name individual letters   using various materials.
• Write and draw.
• Understand the left-right, top-bottom   orientation of writing.
• Develop a satisfactory grip of writing   implements.
• Copy words from signs in the environment.
• Copy letters and words informally as part   of class activities.
• Write his/her name.
• Use labels to name familiar people or   things.
• Write letters and words from memory.
• Become aware of lower-case and capital   letters and the full stop.
• Develop the confidence to use approximate   spelling.
• Begin to develop conventional spelling of   simple words.
• See the teacher model writing as an   enjoyable experience.
• Choose subjects for drawing and writing.
• Choose the form   of expression he/she finds appropriate
• Draw a picture   and write about it.
• Draw and write   about everyday experience or about something just learned.
• Writing naming   words and add descriptive words.
• Rewrite   sentences to make the message clearer.
• Draw and write about feelings.
• Draw and write about things he/she likes   and dislikes.
• Draw and write about sensory experiences.
• Draw and write stories.
• Hear a rich variety of stories, rhymes and   songs and write about them.
• Use mime and   role-playing to create imaginary situations and then draw and write about them.

Note: Many teaching methodologies appropriate to the development of writing capacity are inherent in the content detailed on the previous page.

• Provision of   print-rich environment e.g. labels, flashcards, posters.
• Teacher as   scribe – pupils tell story and teacher writes and pupils may copy / type.
• Compilation of   Our News on flip chart pad.
• Scribbling,   writing patterns using different media e.g. chalk, crayon, paint.
• Tracing of basic   letters on sandpaper and sand, making letters with marla and use of magnetic   letters.
• Letter formation   including lower case, upper case, capital letters and full stop.
• Making cards and   writing simple messages.
• Copying /   writing own name, environmental labels, words and simple sentences.
• Writing for   different people / purposes e.g. card, name on art work.
• Display personal   writing and read pupils’ writing aloud.
• Making of little   books e.g. My Book about…Autumn.
• Teacher models   letter formation on the blackboard / air and pupils imitate.
• Start with dot –   left / right, top / bottom. front / back.
• Teach writing   grip progressing from chubby crayons to chublets, to chubby pencils to   standard pencils.
• Allow children   to spell own words – approximate spelling.
• Draw a picture and   write about it e.g. name, caption, sentence.
• Add descriptive   words to naming words.
• Dominoes – match   the start of a sentence with an ending and write.
• Draw and write   about feelings e.g. happy face and write word ‘happy’, I feel sad / happy   when…

Creating & Fostering the Impulse   to Write

Developing Competence, Confidence   & the Ability to Write Independently

Clarifying Thought Through Writing

Developing Emotional &   Imaginative Life Through Writing

• Experience a   classroom environment that encourages writing.
• Observe the   teacher as he/she models writing stories.
• Seek help from   the teacher in order to achieve accuracy and an appropriate standard   presentation.
• Experience how a   story structure is organised by reading and listening to fiction.
• Write regularly   for different audiences.
• Choose topics to   write about.
• Explore   different genres.
• Work with other   children when writing.
• Have writing   valued.
• Experience an abundance of oral language   activity when preparing a writing task.
• Realise that first attempts at writing are   not necessarily the finished product and learn to undertake second drafts in   order to improve writing.
• Understand that the conventions of   punctuation help to make meaning clearer in writing.
• Spell words in a recognisable way based on   an awareness of the most common spelling strings and patterns.
• Use approximate spelling as an interim   measure in mastering the conventions of spelling.
• Spell correctly a range of familiar,   important and regularly occurring words, and use a variety of sources as aids   to spelling.
• Choose topics for writing after conferring   with the teacher.
• Have regular opportunities to write for   himself/herself or for others.
• Decide whether or not to re-draft a piece   of writing.
• Confer with the teacher and others on the   quality of presentation.
• Write notes and   messages to different audiences.
• Write in a   variety of genres.
• Write a version   of a story told by the teacher.
• Write about   something that has been learned.
• Write the   significant details about an event or an activity.
• Write an   explanation for something.
• Re-read work,   confer with the teacher or others about it, and then rewrite it.
• Write a simple   sentence and add words to it to extend its meaning.
• Listen to a   story and write down questions to ask about it.
• Write answers to   questions asked by the teacher.
• Express feelings in writing.
• Write about experiences.
• Listen to the experiences of others and   express reactions to them in writing.
• Draw and write about sensory experience.
• Write about feelings experienced in drama   activity.
• Draw and write stories and poems.
• Express in writing likes and dislikes about   events and characters in stories and poems.
• Listen to music   and write about it.

• Teacher as   scribe, modelling story structure.
• Cross-age   tutoring – older pupil as scribe for younger pupil.
• Print-rich   environment e.g. labels, captions, displays of simple sentences / stories,   writing corner.
• Oral preparation   for all written work.
• Express feelings   in print, write about experiences, write about senses.
• Spelling in   accordance with school policy.
• Choose writing   topic through brainstorming, mind-mapping, drawing up lists of favourite   topics.
• Pupils select   own topic to write about.
• Personal writing   collections.
• Include pupils’   writing in class library.
• Free-writing in   personal journal.
• Lists, messages,   reminders, letters, invitations.
• Write for self,   other pupils, teacher, parents.
• Write the   important details of an event e.g. school / local event.
• Class story –   each pupil writes 5 – 10 sentences.
• Writing pairs /   groups for editing and re-drafting.
• Pupils read own   work to class / at assembly.
• Displays of   writing in corridor.
• Publish work in   an anthology / school newsletter.

Creating and Fostering the Impulse to   Write

Developing Competence, Confidence and   the Ability to Write Independently

Clarifying Thought Through Writing

Developing Emotional and Imaginative   Life Through Writing

• Experience a   classroom environment that encourages writing.
• Observe the   teacher modelling different writing genres.
• Use personal   reading as a stimulus to writing.
• Write stories   that explore a variety of genres.
• Re-read his/her   writing for pleasure.
• Choose the   audience for which to write.
• Choose both the   subject and form of his/her writing.
• Receive and give   positive responses to writing.
• See his/her   writing valued.
• Write regularly, and gradually extend the   period over which a writing effort is sustained.
• Engage in the writing of one piece over a   period.
• Experience varied and consistent oral   language activity as a preparation for writing.
• Learn to use questions as a mechanism for   expanding and developing a story.
• Give sequence to ideas and events in   stories.
• Develop an appreciation of how the intended   audience should influence the nature of a piece of writing.
• Develop an awareness of the difference   between written language and oral language.
• Learn to revise   and re-draft writing.
• Write in a   variety of genres with greater sophistication.
• Read a story and   write it in his/her own terms.
• Read a narrative   or expository piece and summarise it.
• Write about an   idea to explain it to someone else.
• Write about why   he/she finds an idea attractive.
• Write about   ideas encountered in other areas of the curriculum.
• Write down   directions on how to perform a particular process.
• Write a list of   questions about a particular topic and prioritise them.
• Write a sentence   and elaborate on it by adding one or more ideas to it.
• Expand and   clarify his/her thoughts on a particular idea or topic through drafting and   re-drafting.
• Express his/her reactions to particular   experiences in writing.
• Write about experiences and feelings in   diary form.
• Write about feelings experienced in   improvisational drama.
• Create stories and poems.
• Write extended stories in book form.
• Write about favourite moments, characters   and events in stories.
• Express in writing his/her reactions to   poems.
• Express in writing his/her reactions to   personal reading.
• Use his/her own   artwork and that of others as a stimulus to writing.

• Personal class   diary.
• Poetry writing.
• Pupils write to one another for a specific purpose.
• Party   invitation.
• Write a joke book (clarify boundaries).
• Write a quiz on a particular topic.
• Write a set of directions.
• Devise an evacuation plan for the building.
• Collate class   rules.
• Give a sentence  – each child writes for 5 minutes starting with that sentence.
• Give 6 to 8   words – build a story around them.
• Letters of   thanks, complaint, invitation.
• Display pupils’   written work – writing corner, corridor display, school anthology /newsletter.
• Encourage pupils to ornament work for display.  Create   book covers.
• Pupils read   written work aloud to class, assembly.
• Write-a-Book.
• Create boxes of facts etc. for projects.
• Brainstorm for story writing and use questions to expand.    Sequence events.  Discuss different beginnings and endings.
• Paired / group writing.
• Write a book for younger family member / younger classes.
• E-mail pen pal, friend, other school.
• Provide middle of story – tease out beginning and conclusion.
• Use rough work drafts before presenting final copy after discussion with teacher.
• Earmark weeks for poetry, letters etc.
• Read a story to the class and ask them to write a summary.
• Take a paragraph from a familiar story / piece and re-write in own words.
• Select a famous person whom you would like to interview and select questions you would ask.

Creating & Fostering the Impulse   to Write

Developing Competence, Confidence   & the Ability to Write Independently

Clarifying Thought Through Writing

Developing Emotional &   Imaginative Life Through Writing

• Experience a   classroom environment that encourages writing.
• Observe the   teacher model a wide variety of writing genres.
• Express and   communicate reactions to reading experiences.
• Experience   interesting and relevant writing challenges.
• Write for an   increasingly varied audience.
• Receive and give   constructive responses to writing.
• See his/her   writing valued.
• Experience a   level of success in writing that will be an incentive to continue writing.
• Write regularly on chosen topics.
• Write for a sustained length of time.
• Engage in the writing of one piece over a   period.
• Experience varied and consistent oral   language activity as part of the pre-writing process.
• Observe the teacher improving writing.
• Write independently through a process of   drafting, revising, editing and publishing.
• Write, without re-drafting, on a given or   chosen topic within certain time constraints.
• Observe the conventions of grammar,   punctuation and spelling in his/her writing.
• Use dictionaries and thesauruses to extend   and develop vocabulary and spelling.
• Explore the possibilities of syntax and   sentence structure in reading and writing.
• Choose a register of language appropriate   to subject and audience.
• Choose a form and quality of presentation   appropriate to the audience.
• Help others with editing their work.
• Take part in co-operative writing   activities.
• Write fluently and relevantly in other   areas of the curriculum.
• Develop a legible, fluent, personal style   of handwriting.
• Develop skills   in the use of information technology.
• Write in a wide   variety of genres.
• Examine the   characteristics that differentiate written and oral language.
• Write for a   particular purpose and with a particular audience in mind.
• Reflect on and   analyse ideas through writing.
• Refine ideas and   their expression through drafting and re-drafting.
• Express and   communicate new learning.
• Relate new ideas   to previous learning.
• Use notes to   summarise reading material and write an account from the notes.
• Sketch an   ordered summary of ideas and draft a writing assignment on it.
• Argue the case   in writing for a particular point of view.
• Argue the case   in writing for a point of view with which he/she disagrees.
• Explore the use   of compound and complex sentences in expressing thought.
• Analyse in writing his/her reactions to   personal experiences.
• Express in writing reactions to the   experiences of others.
• Write stories and poems.
• Write longer stories or a series of related   stories in book form.
• Keep a personal diary.
• Express a personal reaction to ideas,   emotions and images encountered in literature.
• Express and analyse his/her reactions to poems.
• Analyse different interpretations of poems   in writing.
• Write about the relationship between poems   and personal experience.
• Write short plays based on activity in   improvisational drama.
• Express in   writing reactions to music, artwork, films, television programmes and videos.

• Supply   print-rich environment e.g. Fallon’s posters.
• Narrative:

–            adventure

–            horror

–            plays

–            folk and fairy tales

–            historical

–            mystery

–            magic

–            science

–            fables

–            personal experiences

• Provision of relevant topics.
• Brainstorming,  webbing, research, conferencing.
• Note-taking.
• Instructions.
• Newspapers.
• Reports.
• Persuasive text.
• Explanations.
• Formal / informal letters and faxes.
• Reports and reviews.
• Diary.
• Editing,drafting and publishing.
• Spelling, grammar, punctuation and layout.
• Correction, self-correction, use of dictionary, thesaurus.
• Write-a-book.
• E-mail.
• Poetry