The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics: core position papers underpinning the renewal of guidance for teaching literacy and mathematics
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The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics:
core position papers underpinning the renewal of guidance for Ref: 03855-2006BKT-EN
teaching literacy and mathematics
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DSICOLOURWORKS 09-06The Primary Framework for
literacy and mathematics: core
position papers underpinning the
renewal of guidance for teaching
literacy and mathematics
The renewed Primary Framework
The Primary National Strategy has had a significant impact on raising the achievement of young
children. The renewed Framework builds on materials in use since the introduction of the National
Literacy Strategy in 1998 and the Numeracy Strategy in 1999, now part of the Primary National
Strategy, and reflects major developments that have taken place since that time.
The renewed Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics is an interactive online planning tool,
which will provide practitioners and teachers with the following:
• guidance from the beginning of funded education to create greater coherence and continuity
within and between the stages of care and education
• guidance on high-quality teaching of phonics and early reading, based on the
recommendations of the Rose Report and including planning for effective phonics teaching
• clearer guidance on teaching comprehension
• support on integrating speaking and listening across both literacy and mathematics and
making links between the interdependent skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing
• clearer guidance on the use of calculators and standard written methods of calculation
• greater momentum in literacy and mathematics across the primary phase with increased
flexibility to secure stronger links across the curriculum
• easier access to the range of Primary Strategy resources to support teachers in planning
• guidance on planning units of work in literacy and in mathematics that can be extended over
two or three weeks to ensure that teachers and children are given sufficient time to secure and
develop their understanding.
Core documents underpinning the principles in the Primary
Framework for literacy and mathematics
The core documents contained in this booklet reflect the key principles underpinning the Primary
Framework. The purpose of making the core documents available in advance is to give an indication
of some of the most important aspects of the Framework. These documents provide a more detailed
layer of practical guidance to explain the principles that underpin the key changes, and which will
help schools and settings use the renewed Framework to the optimum effect. The documents will be
part of the electronic Framework, which will be available to settings and schools by the beginning of
October 2006. Details of the availability of the Framework are at the end of this document.
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006Literacy
a) Phonics and early reading: an overview
Audience
Headteachers, literacy leaders, teachers in schools, managers and practitioners in Early Years settings
Description
This document provides guidance on the key recommendations from the Independent review of the
teaching of early reading (the Rose Report) and implications for teaching early reading. The overview
reflects the fundamental recommendation from Jim Rose that high-quality phonic work, as defined
in the report, should be the prime approach used for teaching children to read and spell words.
This reflects the learning objectives for word recognition in the renewed Framework. The overview
document makes clear that phonic work should be taught discretely as part of a broad and rich
curriculum that develops the four strands of language: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
The overview is designed to help headteachers, literacy subject leaders and managers understand
their key role in implementing the recommendations from the review, and offers practical guidance for
practitioners and teachers on teaching high-quality phonic work.
The contents of the overview include:
• an outline of the ‘simple view of reading’ as described in the Rose Report
• the principles underpinning high-quality phonic work
• a description of the actions that headteachers and managers of Foundation Stage settings
should take to secure high-quality teaching and learning of phonic work
• clear criteria, based on the Rose recommendations, to help settings and schools select a high-
quality programme to support their teaching of phonics
• a suggested sequence in the teaching of phonics
• guidance on the place of phonics in shared and guided reading within the context of teaching
children to read.
b) The new conceptual framework for teaching reading: the ‘simple
view of reading’
Audience
Headteachers, literacy leaders, teachers in schools, managers and practitioners in Early Years settings
Description
The Rose Report made clear that there are two distinct but related processes involved in teaching
children to read: learning to recognise words and developing language comprehension. Both are
essential for learning to read and are contained in the ‘simple view of reading’. This view replaces the
Searchlights model. The knowledge and skills within the four Searchlights ‘strategies’ are subsumed
within the two dimensions of word recognition and language comprehension in the ‘simple view of
reading’. This confirms that high-quality phonic work, as defined by the review, should be the prime
approach used to teach children to read and spell and so recognise words. It supports practitioners’
and teachers’ understanding of the processes involved in ensuring children become secure in
recognising words and develop comprehension skills. The paper makes the important point that
securing word recognition through phonic work is ‘time-limited’, so that ‘learning to read’ is in time
overtaken by ‘reading to learn’ and the focus changes to teaching children how to comprehend text.
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006c) Guidance for practitioners and teachers on progression and pace in the teaching of phonics Audience Teachers and practitioners Description This document offers a suggested sequence, content and pace for phonics teaching in six phases, beginning with an early phase of development that helps prepare children for starting ‘systematic phonic work’, which is when they start to learn the correspondences between letters and sounds. The phonic knowledge and skills covered in each phase ensure that children understand that reading and spelling are reversible processes which reinforce each other and this makes it easier for them to learn the alphabetic code. The suggested progression mirrors the word recognition objectives in the new Framework, and the messages in the ‘simple view of reading’ document: that phonic work is ‘time- limited’, with the emphasis eventually shifting to developing comprehension. This guidance document helps practitioners and teachers ensure that most children are well on the way to being fluent and independent readers by the end of Key Stage 1. It also reiterates the criteria from the phonics and early reading overview document to help settings and schools choose phonics programmes to support early reading. d) Developing reading comprehension Audience Headteachers and teachers Description This paper explores the key principles underpinning language comprehension through listening and reading and will be useful for teachers to read in conjunction with the document on the ‘simple view of reading’. The comprehension paper builds on research and offers practical guidance to help teachers by exploring different forms of comprehension and the strategies that children need to develop so that they can read for meaning. Mathematics e) Guidance on calculation Audience Headteachers and teachers Description This document sets out the overall aims that children should achieve in calculation before they leave primary school. It then offers teachers guidance on progression in the teaching and learning of mental and written methods of calculation, addressing all four operations. This guidance seeks to promote wider and more consistent use of what are commonly known as ‘standard’ written methods: compact, efficient methods that work for any calculations, including those involving decimals. It provides clarity on progression in written methods and aims to bring about a more consistent approach from one school to the next. For each operation there is staged progression showing teachers how children’s methods of calculation might be developed over the primary phase. The document relates to the progression set out in the objectives and emphasises the need to ensure children can use an efficient method of calculation for each of the four operations by the end of Key Stage 2. Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006
f) Guidance on the use of calculators in the teaching and learning of mathematics Audience Headteachers and teachers Description The paper on the use of calculators encourages the effective and appropriate use of calculators in the teaching and learning of mathematics. There are learning objectives in the Framework that promote the use of calculators, spanning Years 4, 5 and 6. The guidance not only covers those objectives, but also explains how calculators can be used as a teaching and learning tool throughout the age group covered by the Framework. In the guidance document there is a sharp distinction drawn between the use of a calculator to support learning and its use by children as a tool for calculating when mental and written methods are inappropriate. For the learning objectives that make specific reference to calculators, this guidance provides an expanded account of the objectives to help schools review their policy and planned provision in the use of calculators. When will the renewed Framework be available? The interactive Framework website will become available to settings and schools by the beginning of October 2006. This will be followed by a distribution of five copies of ‘schools packs’ that will be sent to all schools, and these will contain the introduction to the Framework, the Framework objectives and posters. The schools packs will be followed shortly by a DVD-ROM containing an interactive copy of the website so that that teachers and practitioners can access the full range of resources and interactivity of the website offline. Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006
Phonics and early reading: an overview for headteachers, literacy leaders and teachers in schools, and managers and practitioners in Early Years settings Introduction This overview provides key information and guidance about the teaching of early reading. It pays particular attention to phonic work, and the implications of this for practice in the light of the final report of the Independent review of the teaching of early reading (the Rose Report) published in March 2006. The overview is in two parts: Part 1 is primarily for headteachers, literacy leaders and managers. It highlights their key role in taking forward the renewed Framework, sets out criteria for choosing a high-quality phonics programme and poses important questions that they need to consider in implementing the Rose Report. Part 2 is primarily for practitioners and teachers but it is also a useful reference for those in leadership and managerial positions because it provides detailed guidance that underpins the aspects considered in Part 1. Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006
Part 1: guidance for headteachers, literacy leaders and
managers
The 'simple view of reading'
The Rose Report makes a number of recommendations for the teaching of early reading and for
replacing the ‘Searchlights’ model, used in the original literacy framework. It makes clear that there
are two dimensions to reading – ‘word recognition’ and ‘language comprehension’. These two
dimensions are represented in a new conceptual framework – the ‘simple view of reading’ (see The
new conceptual framework for teaching reading: the ‘simple view of reading’ – overview for literacy
leaders and managers in schools and early years settings page 14) – as word recognition processes
and language comprehension processes.
Language
comprehension
processes
GOOD
Word Word
recognition POOR GOOD recognition
process process
POOR
Language
comprehension
processes
The processes by which children comprehend spoken language are the same as those by which they
comprehend the words on the page; the difference being that the first relies upon hearing the words
and the second upon seeing the words in written form. Obviously, in order to comprehend written texts
children must first learn to recognise, that is decode, the words on the page.
The report notes that when children begin to learn to read they have already made considerable
progress in their language development. Unlike early language acquisition, the subsequent, time-
limited task that is word reading is ‘generally achieved as a result of direct instruction’.
High-quality phonic teaching, therefore, secures the crucial skills of word recognition that, once
mastered, enable children to read fluently and automatically thus freeing them to concentrate on the
meaning of the text. In other words, the learning of phonic skills for reading is a time-limited process
whereas ‘developing the abilities necessary to understanding and appreciating written texts in different
content areas and literary genres continues throughout the lifespan’.
The ‘simple view of reading’ shows that both dimensions are necessary to achieve fluent reading.
However, the balance between word recognition and language comprehension shifts as children
acquire secure and automatic decoding skills and progress from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’
for purpose and pleasure. The ultimate goal of learning to read is comprehension.
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006To achieve this, practitioners and teachers need to be clear about which activities are designed
to teach children to acquire word recognition skills, and which will help children develop high-level
comprehension skills.
Principles of high-quality phonic work
The Rose Report makes clear that ‘high-quality phonic work’ should be taught systematically and
discretely as the prime approach used in the teaching of early reading. This means that settings and
schools should put in place a discrete programme as the key means for teaching phonics.
Importantly, the report makes clear that high-quality phonic work is not a ‘strategy’ so much as a body
of knowledge, skills and understanding that has to be learned.
Beginner readers should be taught:
• grapheme–phoneme correspondences in a clearly defined, incremental sequence
• to apply the highly important skill of blending (synthesising) phonemes in the order in which
they occur, all through a word to read it
• to apply the skills of segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to spell
• that blending and segmenting are reversible processes.
The report recommends that high-quality phonic work will be most effective when:
• it is part of a broad and rich curriculum that engages children in a range of activities and
experiences to develop their speaking and listening skills and phonological awareness
• for most children it starts by the age of 5, subject to the professional judgement of teachers
and practitioners
• it is multisensory, encompassing simultaneous visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities to
enliven core learning
• it is time-limited, such that the great majority of children should be confident readers by the end
of Key Stage 1
• it is systematic, that is to say, it follows a carefully planned programme with fidelity, reinforcing
and building on previous learning to secure children’s progress
• it is taught discretely and daily at a brisk pace
• there are opportunities to reinforce and apply acquired phonic knowledge and skills across the
curriculum and in such activities as shared and guided reading
• children’s progress in developing and applying their phonic knowledge is carefully assessed
and monitored.
Assessment
The Rose Report emphasises the importance of phonics as the prime approach to teaching word
recognition for the vast majority of children, including those with English as an additional language.
Moreover, high-quality phonic teaching, following the principles above, can substantially reduce the
number of children who fall below age-related expectations. This focus on quality-first teaching should
reduce the need for intervention in many cases.
To achieve these ends, a robust and continuous assessment of children’s phonic progress is needed
to identify those with additional needs, including those with specific learning difficulties. These children
will require immediate and sustained additional support to close the gap with their peers.
For a very small minority of children with special educational needs such as neurodevelopmental
disorders there are considerable obstacles to learning to read and write. To support such children,
settings and schools should make full use of the specialist guidance and support that is available.
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006What headteachers and leaders of settings need to do to secure high-
quality teaching and learning of phonic work
Headteachers and leaders have a responsibility to audit practice and provision for reading in their
schools and settings to make sure that:
• a high-quality, systematic phonics programme is in place for most children by the age of 5,
subject to professional judgement (this will mean selecting and implementing a programme that
meets the criteria set out below in ‘Choosing a programme for the teaching of phonics’)
• phonic work is given appropriate priority in the teaching of beginner readers and this is reflected
in decisions about training and professional development for their staff so that teachers and
practitioners have the necessary skills and knowledge to implement the programme effectively
• at least one member of staff is fully able to lead on literacy, especially phonic work
• the normal monitoring arrangements assure the quality and consistency of phonic work and
that staff receive constructive feedback about their practice
• high-quality teaching and learning of reading and writing in Key Stage 1 informs realistic and
ambitious target-setting for English at Key Stage 2
• parents and carers are informed about the approach to reading and how they can support it.
Choosing a programme for the teaching of phonics
High-quality phonic work can be achieved by using a commercially produced programme, or Primary
National Strategy materials. Settings and schools can also use other programmes such as those they
have developed themselves, or which have been developed for use within their local area.
What is important is that the programme adopted by the school or setting meets the criteria for high-
quality phonic work and that it is adhered to ‘with fidelity’, applied consistently and used regularly,
avoiding drawing in too many elements from different programmes.
The following criteria should therefore be applied by schools and settings in choosing a high-quality
programme or when judging the quality of their existing programme for teaching phonics. The
programme must:
• be fully compatible with a broad and rich curriculum
• be systematic, with a clearly defined and structured progression for learning all the major
grapheme–phoneme correspondences: digraphs, trigraphs, adjacent consonants, and
alternative graphemes for the same sound
• be delivered in discrete daily sessions at a brisk pace that is well matched to children’s
developing abilities
• be underpinned by a synthetic approach to blending phonemes in order all through a word to
read it, and segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to spell them
• make clear that blending and segmenting are reversible processes
• be multisensory, encompassing various visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities that actively
engage children (e.g. manipulating magnetic or other solid letters to build words, or activities
involving physical movement to copy letter shapes)
• make clear the importance of speaking and listening as the foundation for embarking on a
systematic phonics programme and for acquiring the skills of reading and writing
• offer clear guidance on how to assess progress and use this to inform the next steps of learning
• offer guidance about adapting and adjusting the programme for children with special
educational needs or who have missed earlier elements.
To assist settings and schools in choosing a phonics programme, the DfES plans to set up an
independent quality assurance system to assess commercial phonics programmes. This system will
evaluate these programmes, based on the criteria set out above. We will publish a list of programmes
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006that meet the criteria on the DfES website during the spring term 2007. The Department and the
Primary National Strategy will also use independent experts to develop a new phonics programme that
meets these same criteria to replace ‘Playing with sounds: a supplement to progression in phonics’,
which will also be available during the spring term 2007. This will make it easier for settings and
schools to implement high-quality phonics teaching, either by choosing a commercial programme, by
using the new Primary National Strategy phonics programme, or by using programmes that they have
developed themselves, which meet these criteria.
Questions for headteachers and leaders of settings to consider in light
of the principles and recommendations of the Rose Report
• How do we currently teach word recognition skills?
• How effective are we at teaching these skills and how do we know this?
• What will need to change?
• How do we currently teach comprehension skills?
• How effective are we at teaching these skills and how do we know this?
• What will need to change?
• How will we set about reviewing our policy on reading and the impact of our teaching of
reading?
• How will we know that the changes we make are having the desired impact on learning and
teaching and on children’s reading attainment?
How the renewed Framework will support schools and settings in
implementing the recommendations on the teaching of early reading
To support headteachers and managers of schools and settings, and practitioners, in implementing
the recommendations of the Rose Report, the renewed Framework and its related guidance are
designed to do the following.
• Make clear the distinction between the two dimensions of reading identified in the new
conceptual framework – the ‘simple view of reading’. This is done by, for example, grouping
learning objectives related to word recognition under one strand (Strand 5: Word recognition:
decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling)) and those related to comprehension under two
other strands (Strand 7: Understanding and interpreting texts and Strand 8: Engaging with and
responding to texts).
• Give a greater emphasis to speaking and listening and the interdependent nature of speaking
and listening, and reading and writing and how these are developed. There is support on
making explicit links across all these four strands within and across a series of teaching
sessions. These materials, which include planning exemplars to support high-quality teaching
of phonic work, can be accessed through the literacy tab of the electronic framework and
through the Early Years Foundation Stage tab.
• Give support on integrated planning across all aspects of literacy through the literacy tab.
Professional development to support schools and settings in
implementing the recommendations of the Rose Report
The renewed Framework is accompanied by a range of professional development opportunities to
enable schools and settings to meet the recommendations of the Rose Report. The Primary National
Strategy will provide local authorities, settings and schools with materials and guidance to support
continuing professional development (CPD) to improve the teaching of early reading. These materials
will include guidance to help settings and schools audit their current provision for the teaching of early
reading.
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006Part 2: A sequence for teaching high-quality phonic work for practitioners and teachers, and underpinning guidance The sounds of English British spoken English is generally reckoned to use 44 sounds, or ‘phonemes’. Technically, a phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can make a difference to the meaning of a word. Twenty of these are vowel sounds and 24 are consonant sounds. Many of the sounds (particularly vowel sounds) can vary slightly according to accent, but they are generally consistent within the speech of an individual and recognisable by others who may pronounce them slightly differently. Alphabetic writing Alphabetic writing is based on the principle that letters and groups of letters (graphemes) represent the small units of sound (phonemes) in spoken words: that is to say, the letters are a written code for the speech sounds. In reading, the sounds are produced in response to single letters and letter-groups of from two to four letters (e.g. ‘sh’, ‘igh’, ‘eigh’) and then have to be blended together. In spelling, the whole spoken word has to be segmented (split up) into separate sounds so that letters and letter- groups can be written down to represent the sounds. Some languages have very simple alphabetic codes where each letter or letter-group always stands for the same sound, and each sound is represented in only one way in writing. English, however, has a complex alphabetic code. Most sounds can be represented in more than one way in writing (e.g. the /s/ sound can be written with the letter ‘s’, as in ‘sit’, with ‘ss’, as in ‘fuss’, and with ‘c’ as in ‘city’), and most letters and letter-groups can represent more than one sound (e.g. the letter ‘c’ can represent both the /k/ sound, as in ‘cat’, and the /s/ sound, as in ‘city’). Sequential stages Obviously, it makes sense to start beginner readers at a simple level before introducing the complexities. This is best achieved by staging the work in an incremental sequence as follows. Introducing grapheme–phoneme correspondences Children should be taught the 26 letters of the alphabet and a sound for each letter. (Strictly speaking, the sounds that we associate with the letters ‘q’ and ‘x’ are each two sounds: /kw/ for ‘q(u)’ and /ks/ or /gz/ (as in ‘fox’ and ‘exam’) for ‘x’. For the purpose of teaching beginners, however, it is sensible to treat each of these as a single sound.) They should be taught to write each letter, forming it correctly. Children should be taught to produce the sounds as purely as possible – that is, not to add /uh/ (‘schwa’) sounds, particularly after consonants such as /b/, /d/, /g/. Once correspondences have been taught, they should be frequently revised and practised so that responses are automatic. Sounds should be produced quickly in response to letters, and letters should be pointed to or written quickly in response to sounds. The reversible nature of decoding for reading and encoding for spelling should be reinforced from the earliest stages. Vowels and consonants should both be taught from the start, and in an order that allows children to start reading and spelling simple words as soon as the first few correspondences have been taught. They read by producing sounds for letters and blending the sounds, and they spell by the reverse process of segmenting the spoken word into sounds and writing down appropriate letters. Blending and segmenting need to be taught explicitly. Some skill is involved in converting the staccato sounds produced in response to letters into seamless word-pronunciations and in splitting up seamless spoken words into individual sounds. Plenty of practice should be given in reading and writing words containing all the correspondences that have been taught. This allows children to consolidate both their knowledge of the correspondences and their blending and segmenting skills. Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 10 Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006
Reading and spelling simple regular words
The skills of blending and segmenting CVC words are easily adapted to words containing consecutive
consonants in CCVC and CVCC words (such as ‘spit’ and ‘mint’) and then to more complex words
(such as ‘split’ or ‘crust’). This is an important phase for widening the words available to children for
reading.
Introducing sounds that are represented by more than one letter
Sounds that can be represented only by letter-groups (mostly digraphs, at this stage) should be
taught: ‘sh’, ‘ch’, ‘th’ (these can represent two sounds, one ‘voiced’ and one ‘unvoiced’, as in ‘thin’
and ‘then’), ‘ng’ (‘sing’), ‘ee’, ‘ay’, ‘ie’ (‘pie’), ‘oa’ (‘boat’), ‘oo’ (two sounds, as in ‘moon’ and ‘book’),
’or’ (‘port’), ‘ar’ (‘car’), ‘er’ (‘fern’), ‘ow’ (‘town’), ‘oy’ (‘boy’), ‘air’, ‘ear’. Again, children should be given
practice in reading and writing words containing these correspondences as they are taught.
Introducing alternative grapheme–phoneme correspondences
Alternative sounds for spellings already covered should be taught. Such examples include the /s/
sound of ‘c’ (‘city’), the /j/ sound of ‘g’ (‘gem’) and the /o/ sound of ‘a’. This can often be covered
during the teaching of high frequency words: for example, ‘was’ and ‘want’ illustrate the /o/ sound
which ‘a’ tends to have after a /w/ sound.
Alternative spellings for the sounds already covered should also be taught. Examples would include
‘ea’ for the already-taught /ee/ sound, ‘oe’ for the already-taught /oa/ sound and ‘igh’ for the already-
taught /ie/ sound.
Introducing ‘tricky’ words
Once children are starting to blend CVC words, high frequency words that do not follow the letter–
sound correspondences taught can be introduced. This may be done at the rate of two or three per
week but the professional judgement of the pace must lie with the teacher or practitioner. Examples
of such words include ‘the’, ‘was’, ‘said’, ‘once’. Even these words usually contain some common
letter–sound correspondences, and children should have their attention drawn to these so that they
do not regard the words as completely random. This can be combined with the teaching of the few
sounds that have not yet been covered because they are less straightforward in terms of their spelling.
Children’s attention can be drawn to such words in shared reading and writing sessions to increase
their exposure to them.
Implications of high-quality phonic work for shared and guided reading
Part 1 of this overview explained that schools and settings should put in place a systematic, discrete
programme as the key means for teaching high-quality phonic work. Shared and guided reading
sessions should not be used to replace discrete phonics teaching but they can provide opportunities
to reinforce children’s developing phonic knowledge and skills, in the context of achieving the ultimate
goal of the sessions, which is the development of comprehension. Guidance is given below.
Shared reading
Shared reading has a number of specific functions in the teaching of early reading:
• inducting children into the world of literature, meaning and response
• providing rich opportunities for increasing children's stock of words and teaching early reading
behaviours
• serving as a vehicle for extending children’s understanding of what is being read, that is their
language comprehension
• providing opportunities to apply acquired decoding skills in context, reinforcing children’s
developing phonic knowledge and skills gained from discrete, daily phonic sessions.
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 11
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006When engaging children in shared reading, teachers need to be clear which aspect of reading they are addressing. They will need to consider carefully the purpose of each session, the relevant learning objectives and the opportunities the selected text provides to support this work. Discussion of the text also offers opportunities to underpin other aspects of the curriculum such as personal, social and emotional development. Reinforcing decoding skills (see the principles of high-quality phonic work described on page 7) If the purpose of the shared session is to encourage children to apply acquired phonic skills, then their attention should be focused on decoding words rather than the use of unreliable strategies such as looking at the illustrations, rereading the sentence, saying the first sound or guessing what might ‘fit’. Although these strategies might result in intelligent guesses, none of them is sufficiently reliable and they can hinder the acquisition and application of phonic knowledge and skills, prolonging the word recognition process and lessening children’s overall understanding. Children who routinely adopt alternative cues for reading unknown words, instead of learning to decode them, later find themselves stranded when texts become more demanding and meanings less predictable. The best route for children to become fluent and independent readers lies in securing phonics as the prime approach to decoding unfamiliar words. In order to reinforce decoding in shared reading, practitioners and teachers should adhere to letters and sounds already taught so that children experience how to apply their knowledge in the context of reading texts. Words, phrases and/or even whole sentences from a Big Book or other enlarged texts can be used to demonstrate this skill, as well as exploiting opportunities in the environment such as words in labels, captions and displays. Developing comprehension (see also Comprehension on page 28) When children learn to read, the comprehension processes they use to understand written texts are the same as those they already use to understand spoken messages. The main difference is that the language of written text is accessed via the eyes rather than the ears. Independent review of the teaching of early reading (the Rose Report), Appendix 1, paragraph 62, page 90 If the focus for the session is the development of comprehension, then practitioners should concentrate on plot, character, and motive, and features of language such as vocabulary, figurative language and sequence. Children benefit if they can make links to their previous experience, or they are supported where the text deals with matters that are beyond their immediate experience. Over time, the practitioner will model how readers predict, question, clarify, summarise and imagine as they read; and in time, children should internalise these mental activities. Modelling one or two strategies really well is preferable to overloading children with multiple approaches. Guided reading Guided reading is a carefully structured session in which a small number of children are helped to apply their freshly learned skills in context. It is tailored to the specific needs and ability of the individual, or a group of individuals working at the same level. In the session, the teacher guides the children through a text, prompting them to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned elsewhere in the reading curriculum. The aim is to encourage and extend independent reading skills on new and increasingly challenging texts. Children gain most from guided reading when they have already developed a sound understanding about how texts work, about the alphabetic code, and when they have considerable experience of listening to and talking about texts. Guided reading sessions offer a good opportunity for children to practise their developing phonic knowledge skills in texts that are carefully chosen to match their abilities. Where the focus is on honing phonic skills, the practitioner’s role is to support and prompt children to decode, recognise and say words as they read, thus helping them to access the meaning of the text. Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 12 Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006
The success of the guided reading session depends on the teacher being clear about the purpose of the session and its specific learning objectives. Early on, new readers will be focused on the application of phonic skills and word recognition, but as they grow in confidence and skill, the emphasis will shift to comprehension. The practitioner makes an important decision at the planning stage about the focus of the session, and this decision is largely determined by close observation of what the children know, understand and can do. Guided reading sessions should be pitched carefully to the level and needs of the children in the session at the time. This implies a high level of knowledge about the exact state of each child’s phonic learning. This is achieved through observation, robust assessment and regular contact during phonic sessions. In deciding what to teach in guided reading sessions, teachers might start by considering the four types of reader identified in the ‘simple view of reading’: • those who have good comprehension but poor word recognition skills • those who have good word recognition skills but poor comprehension • those who are weak in both the above • those who are strong in both the above. Clearly, the child who has good levels of comprehension but weak word recognition needs to consolidate their phonic knowledge and to apply that knowledge in practice. Conversely, children with strong word recognition skills but poor comprehension need to be focused on meaning. The choice of text for the guided reading session is particularly important. The text should be within the child’s current capabilities in order to exercise the new skills without becoming frustrated. The text must also be carefully chosen to appeal to a child’s age, ability, interests and circumstances. For example, a child who is new to English may be able to decode quickly, but limited familiarity with English vocabulary may limit his or her immediate comprehension. Guided reading is a wonderful opportunity for teachers and learners to engage with texts in the most personalised way. It deserves the best possible planning for the best possible return on the investment of precious time. Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 13 Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006
The new conceptual framework for teaching reading: the ‘simple view of reading’ – overview for literacy leaders and managers in schools and Early Years settings Recommendations of the Independent review of the teaching of early reading (the Rose Report) March 2006 The Rose Report acknowledges the contribution the National Literacy Strategy has made to raising standards of attainment in reading in England since its inception in 1998 and to the improved direct teaching of literacy in the primary phase. However, the report also found that the Searchlights model of reading promoted by the Strategy has now been overtaken by more recent research and concludes that it is now time to move on from this model in order to support teachers and practitioners to further improve their teaching of early reading. It recommends the adoption of a different conceptual framework: the ‘simple view of reading’ http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/rosereview/finalreport/. This conceptual framework identifies two components of reading: ‘word recognition’ and ‘language comprehension’, both of which are essential to developing fluent and effective reading, and both of which require specific kinds of teaching. Further progress toward the goal of using evidence derived from psychological research to inform teaching practice will be better achieved if the searchlights model is now reconstructed into the two components of reading (word recognition, language comprehension) that are present but confounded within it. Independent review of the teaching of early reading, Appendix 1, paragraph 9, page 75 What is the ‘simple view of reading’? As shown in the figure on page 6, the ‘simple view of reading’ proposes that skilled reading entails development of a set of processes by which the words on the page are recognised and understood (i.e. word recognition processes), and development of increasingly sophisticated language comprehension processes, by which texts as well as spoken language are understood and interpreted. Learning to read therefore involves setting up processes by which the words on the page can be recognised and understood, and continuing to develop the language comprehension processes that underlie both spoken and written language comprehension. Both sets of processes are necessary for reading, but neither is sufficient on its own. Children who cannot adequately recognise the words on the page are by that fact alone prevented from fully understanding the text; however, recognising and understanding the words on the page is no guarantee that the text will be understood. Different kinds of teaching are needed to develop word recognition skills from those that are needed to foster the comprehension of written and spoken language. Independent review of the teaching of early reading, Appendix 1, paragraph 18, page 77 It follows that when practitioners and teachers undertake reading activities, including shared, guided and discrete teaching of reading, they need to think carefully about which component of reading they intend to focus on. Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 14 Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006
The implications of the ‘simple view of reading’ for the Searchlights model The report recommends that the NLS Searchlights model should be reconstructed to take full account of word recognition and language comprehension as distinct processes, albeit both essential to securing effective reading. The report makes clear that there is a different weighting to these processes as children become increasingly fluent and accurate readers. Children need to acquire and practise certain skills in the early stages of reading in order to develop fluent automatic word reading, whereas the abilities to understand and appreciate written texts continue to develop throughout life. Development of fluent and automatic word reading skills is based on acquisition and use of phonic knowledge. This is acknowledged in the report’s recommendation that the Primary National Strategy should now take forward the conceptual framework of the ‘simple view of reading’ to support quality- first teaching of early reading, with an appropriate focus on teaching phonic knowledge and skills as the prime approach to the teaching of early reading. The knowledge, skills and understanding that constitute high-quality phonics work should be taught as the prime approach in learning to decode (to read) and encode (to write/spell) print. Independent review of the teaching of early reading, paragraph 240, page 70 The ‘simple view of reading’ replaces the Searchlights model. The knowledge and skills within the four Searchlights strategies are subsumed within the two dimensions of word recognition and language comprehension of ‘the simple view of reading’. For beginner readers, priority should be given to securing word recognition knowledge and skills. This means that ‘high-quality phonic work’, as defined in the Rose Report, should be the prime approach used when teaching beginners to read and spell. Ensuring that children develop word recognition and language comprehension In the early years of learning to read, teachers need to focus on helping children develop their word recognition skills. Initially the focus is on helping children to master the alphabetic code, apply their phonic knowledge and skills as they decode words and develop a store of familiar words – developing automaticity in their word reading. This work is set alongside work on developing speaking and listening skills, phonemic awareness, vocabulary development and language comprehension. However, as children develop in their reading, attention should be paid to the transition from learning to read to reading to learn, where the balance of word recognition and language comprehension changes. Language comprehension will be developing alongside the growing skills of word recognition and as stated in the report, ‘phonic work should be time-limited, whereas work on comprehension continues throughout life.’ (Independent review of the teaching of early reading, paragraph 129, page 39) The focus of teaching for later reading development will emphasise comprehension and response as children develop as critical and fluent readers, moving from learning to read to reading to learn, engaging and interacting with a wide range of texts for purpose and pleasure. In summary, the dimensions of word recognition and language comprehension processes are distinct but both are needed to secure effective reading in the longer term. Teaching needs to be staged so that priority is given to the development of word-reading processes in the early stages of learning to read, with a switch towards a greater emphasis on the teaching of language comprehension as children secure their knowledge of the alphabetic code and ‘developing the abilities necessary to understanding and appreciating written texts in different content areas and literary genres’ (Independent review of the teaching of early reading, paragraph 19, page 78). Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 15 Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006
Children perform differently in the two dimensions of word reading and
language comprehension
Teachers need to be clear about children’s performance and progress in each of the two dimensions
of word recognition and language comprehension. The diagram below, illustrates the four patterns
of performance which reflect relative differences in the balance of word recognition and language
comprehension abilities. Teachers need to monitor children’s performance and progress carefully
against these different patterns.
Language
comprehension
processes
Poor word Good word
recognition: good recognition: good
GOOD
comprehension comprehension
Word Word
recognition POOR GOOD recognition
process process
Poor word Good word
POOR
recognition: poor recognition: poor
comprehension comprehension
Language
comprehension
processes
Children may fall into any one of the four quadrants in the figure above. It is important that teachers
recognise that ‘the four patterns of performance reflect relative differences in the balance of word
comprehension and language comprehension abilities: as both dimensions are continuous, children
can vary continuously on each.’ (Independent review of the teaching of early reading, Appendix 1,
paragraph 30, page 80)
As teachers assess children’s performance and progress within both word recognition and language
comprehension processes, they need to identify children’s particular learning needs and use this
analysis to guide further teaching.
Development of word recognition skills
Children need to be taught:
• grapheme–phoneme (letter–sound) correspondences (the alphabetic principle) in a clearly
defined, incremental sequence
• to apply the highly important skill of blending (synthesising) phonemes in order, all through a
word to read it
• to apply the skills of segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to spell them
• that blending and segmenting are reversible processes.
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 16
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006The sequence of teaching phonic knowledge and skills should be such that children should have
every opportunity to acquire rapidly the necessary phonic knowledge and skills to read independently.
Independent review of the teaching of early reading, paragraph 86, page 28
To develop their word recognition skills, beginner readers need to do the following.
• Set up processes for identifying letters.
• Acquire a store of essential phonic rules, processes to link graphemes to phonemes and blend
phonemes into words. In the first instance, the store of phonic rules will contain the single
letter–sound correspondences that are typically the first rules children are taught. Development
involves expanding the number of stored rules and incorporating increasingly complex and
conditional rules.
• Establish a store of familiar words that are recognised immediately on sight and linked to
their meanings. Development involves expanding the store of words and completing their
representations (storing all letters of the word in the correct sequence). The term ‘sight
vocabulary’ is a shorthand label for this store.
Hear word See word
Identify Letters
Apply
Store of
familiar words Phonic rules
Understand (GPCs)
word
meanings Store of word
meanings
Language
processes
Store of word
sounds
Pronounce word aloud
Understanding and application of the alphabetic principle underpin not only the application of phonic
rules to decode words but also the ease with which a store of sight vocabulary is developed. As the
store of sight vocabulary expands and representation of words in it becomes more complete, many
– if not most – children develop a ‘self-teaching’ mechanism, which enables them to infer more
sophisticated, complex and conditional phonic rules (see the Rose Report, paragraph 56, page 87).
For further and more specific guidance on the implications of the Rose Report for the teaching of early
reading, please see Phonics and early reading, available on page 5.
Developing language comprehension skills
The idea that reading comprehension depends on oral language skill is captured in the ‘simple view of
reading’. According to this conceptual framework, comprehension means understanding of language
whether it is spoken or written.
Comprehension occurs as the listener builds a mental representation of the information contained
within the language that a speaker is using…the listener's general knowledge and level of cognitive
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 17
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006development will have a bearing on the comprehension of the message. To generate an accurate
mental representation...the listener has to process the language and the concepts.
Independent review of the teaching of early reading, paragraph 61, page 88
The comprehension processes children use to understand written texts are the same as those they
already use to understand spoken messages. The difference lies in the fact that children access written
texts through their eyes rather than via their ears. They have to incorporate visual word identification
processes into the comprehension system, but the system remains the same be it for oral or written
language.
Word recognition is vital to reading comprehension; if children cannot recognise written words, then
they will quite obviously be unable to extract meaning from them. However, once words are recognised
and understood, children must activate their oral language comprehension to understand what a writer
conveys. There is widespread acknowledgment that children vary in the ease with which they can
read the words on the page; they also vary in their listening comprehension, and hence in their reading
comprehension.
General
knowledge
Comprehension
processes
Language
system
Written word
identification
Vocabulary
Visual input
From an educational perspective, what this means is that teachers must foster the development of
oral language skills in order to safeguard children’s reading comprehension. Teachers also need to
support the development of specific strategies for reading comprehension and, importantly, they need
to encourage children to practise their developing reading skills.
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 18
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006Key messages
Teachers and practitioners need to understand:
• the new conceptual framework, the ‘simple view of reading’
• the cognitive processes involved in the development of both accurate word recognition skills
and language comprehension
• the fact that children may not necessarily show equal performance or progress in each
dimension.
Teachers need to be aware that:
• careful assessment of children’s performance and progress in each dimension will help them to
identify children’s learning needs and guide further teaching
• different kinds of teaching are needed to develop word recognition skills from those that foster
the comprehension of written and spoken language.
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 19
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006Guidance for practitioners and
teachers on progression and pace
in the teaching of phonics
This paper is intended to offer support to practitioners as they reflect on their teaching of phonics in
the light of the recommendations of the Independent review of the teaching of early reading (the Rose
Report).
An important feature of high-quality phonic work is that it should be ‘systematic’, which means
teaching all the major grapheme–phoneme correspondences in a clearly defined sequence. The
aim will be to secure essential phonic knowledge and skills so that children progress quickly to
independent reading and writing. Learning should be at a brisk pace but sensitive to children’s
developing abilities.
Phonic work should be an ambitious, enjoyable and time-limited part of the reading journey. Children
progress from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’ as they secure the alphabetic code, become
confident in decoding and recognising words, and begin to read for purpose and pleasure.
Strand 5 of the Framework (word recognition) ends at Year 2 because by that time children should be
well on the way to becoming fluent readers capable of decoding the words on the page automatically.
Obviously, there will be some who progress at a faster rate and some who progress more slowly than
others in any given setting or class. Practitioners and teachers should monitor children’s progress
carefully in order to adapt their teaching to achieve optimum progress for each child.
An effective, high-quality phonic programme for supporting progression and pace should meet the
criteria in Annex A. All the criteria are important but it is essential that the programme to be followed
is multisensory, builds on earlier speaking and listening activities, is set within a coherent broader
curriculum and teaches beginner readers:
• grapheme–phoneme correspondences (the alphabetic code) in a clearly defined sequence
• to apply the highly important skill of blending (synthesising) phonemes in order, all through a
word to read it
• to apply the skill of segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to spell
• that blending and segmenting are reversible processes.
Choosing a phonics programme
Settings and schools should consider how their current practices measure against the criteria.
Commercial and non-commercial materials (such as Primary National Strategy materials) are available
and offer guidance on the sequence, progression and pace of phonic teaching. Settings and schools
can also use their own programmes. Whatever programme is chosen, it is important to implement it
with fidelity: in other words, it should be applied consistently and regularly and avoid introducing too
many elements from other programmes, which can slow the pace and disrupt progression.
To assist settings and schools with choosing a phonics programme, the DfES plans to set up an
independent quality assurance system to assess commercial phonics programmes. This system will
evaluate these programmes, based on the criteria set out above. We will publish a list of programmes
that meet the criteria on the DfES website during the spring term 2007. The Department and the
Primary National Strategy will also use independent experts to develop a new phonics programme that
meets these same criteria to replace Playing with sounds: a supplement to progression in phonics,
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics 03855-2006 BKT-EN 20
Primary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006You can also read
