Literacy in the Early Years

 

 

 

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LITERACY IN THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE (EYFS)

Literacy in the EYFS supports children with speaking, listening and attention, reading and writing. It is referred to as CLL (Communication, Language and Literacy). It is a large part of the ELG (Early Learning Goal) that all children are expected to achieve by the end of their Reception year.

Literacy teaching can be in small teacher-led groups, independent tasks that children choose or in short, fast paced phonics sessions focused on learning a ‘phoneme’ (the sound a letter, or a group of letters, makes). Phonics is an integral part of literacy learning and is taught throughout the EYFS.  Early literacy sees our children noticing how we see letters and words and print all around us, in signs, books and on packets and clothes. Through topics such as ‘traditional tales’ they listen to stories such as ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and are encouraged to comment and ask questions, role play (with props), create their own versions and endings and write and create images about it in their own way.

The EYFS team plan stimulating literacy teaching. We engage all pupils in their learning and cater to the individual needs of our EAL, SEND pupils and those working beyond expected levels of attainment.  We ensure that all children access broad and balanced CLL learning by identifying, early on, any need for additional support. This maximises the best outcomes for those that might, for example, be at an early stage of learning English or with a SEND that requires specific teaching or resources. In this way, all children in the EYFS have the opportunity to access CLL, which helps them develop an understanding of how the spoken and written words can and will help them to reach and explore their potential through fascinations and personal interests – a crucial ‘hook’ into literacy for many children.

WHAT DOES CLL LOOK LIKE IN EYFS AT WESTON?

  • Speaking: All adults model clear, spoken English for children to consistently hear across the curriculum and throughout their learning. 
  • Listening and attention: Children have many different opportunities to listen and respond to what others say - in small groups, large assemblies and to their peers and different adults. Children might change their voices to be an angry giant or a sad princess, after sharing a story.
  • Children are actively encouraged to talk to their peers during whole class teaching through elbow partners, talk partners and knee partners. 
  • Reading: Children have access to books carefully chosen to enhance topics. They will read stories, poems and information texts and learn how to find information on websites. They read with teaching staff and parent helpers regularly. They take at least three reading books home to read with parents each week and choose books they enjoy from the class library. They can also access our online reading scheme 'bug club' in order to read books they can successfully decode. 
  • Every week the children learn; a poem, a song, a rhyme and a story in order to discover and explore new vocabulary. 
  • The children also have a story with each topic which they learn to retell themselves. In Autumn term the stories are 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'The Little Green Dinosaur'. 
  • Writing: Opportunities to write letters, words, sentences, lists, labels, poems are across our topics. Children learn writing skills in small groups, phonics and access independent writing activities inside and on clipboards in the outside area. In the EYFS they can often choose resources they like to write with and books they want to read.

Literacy is the fundamental thread that holds all learning together and its elements are in every task and activity that children are involved in, throughout their time at Weston Village Primary School. 

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