LITERACY FOR LEARNING

1. LITERACY FOR LEARNING Thinking  Talking  Listening  Reading  Writing  GEOFF BARTON 12 March 2014

2. LITERACY FOR LEARNING THE FORMAT OF THE SESSION • 1: The key stage 3 strategy • 2: The Literacy Club • 3: Teaching writing • Recognising good writing • Teaching it • How much grammar? Note: Please heckle! www.geoffbarton.co.uk

3. LITERACY FOR LEARNING GROUND-RULE Think practically - what can I use in my own teaching?

4. LITERACY FOR LEARNING We are part of the literacy club Literacy is taught - it doesn’t just happen Every teacher in English is a teacher OF English (like it or not) Basic assumptions Literacy today is different from when we were younger

5. LITERACY FOR LEARNING We are part of the literacy club Language oddities

6. LITERACY FOR LEARNING Please don't smoke and live a more healthy life

7. LITERACY FOR LEARNING DOGS MUST BE CARRIED ON THE ESCALATOR

8. LITERACY FOR LEARNING Sign at Suffolk hospital: Thieves operate in this area

9. LITERACY FOR LEARNING ICI FIBRES

10. LITERACY FOR LEARNING • Churchdown parish magazine: • ‘would the congregation please note that the bowl at the back of the church labelled ‘for the sick” is for monetary donations only’

11. LITERACY FOR LEARNING GUESS THE TEXT TYPE ICI FIBRES

12. 1 LITERACY FOR LEARNING Proud mum in a million Natalie Brown hugged her beautiful baby daughter Casey yesterday and said: “She’s my double miracle.”I FIBRES

13. 2 LITERACY FOR LEARNING The blood vessels of the circulatory system, branching into multitudes of very fine tubes (capillaries), supply all parts of the muscles and organs with blood, which carries oxygen and food necessary for life.

14. 3 LITERACY FOR LEARNING Ensure that the electrical supply is turned off. Ensure the existing circuit to which the fitting is to be connected has been installed and fused in accordance with current L.L.L wiring regulations

15. LITERACY FOR LEARNING Literacy today is different from when we were younger • Multi-media dominates • Most ‘classic texts’ are known through film • Reading extended writing is rare • A visual culture dominates • The notion of ‘accuracy’ is being challenged • None of this is a bad thing

16. LITERACY FOR LEARNING

17. LITERACY FOR LEARNING Why is literacy such an issue?

18. LITERACY FOR LEARNING The literacy context ... • 7 million UK adults cannot locate the page reference for plumbers in the Yellow Pages • 1-in-16 adults cannot identify a concert venue on a poster that contains name of band, price, date, time and venue • A 1997 survey showed that of 12 European countries, only Poland and Ireland had lower levels of adult literacy

19. BBC NEWS ONLINE: More than half of British motorists cannot interpret road signs properly, according to a survey by the Royal Automobile Club. The survey of 500 motorists - conducted to mark the 70th anniversary of the publication of the Highway Code - highlighted just how many people are still grappling with it.

20. According to the survey, three in five motorists thought a "be aware of cattle" warning sign indicated … an area infected with foot-and-mouth disease.

21. Common mistakes • No motor vehicles - Beware of fast motorbikes • Riding school close by - "Marlborough country"  advert • No motor vehicles except motorcycles - No Ford Populars • Wild fowl - Puddles in the road

22. LITERACY FOR LEARNING • 60% of all jobs now require reasonable reading skills (e.g. being able to understand and act on written instructions, obtain simple information and understand a price list …) • The cost of low literacy levels is over £10 billion per annum (Ernst & Young, 1993) ECONOMIC ARGUMENTS

23. LITERACY FOR LEARNING The great divide in literacy is not between those who can read and write and those who have not learned how to. It is between those who have discovered what kinds of literacy society values … (and those who have not) EQUAL OPPS ARGUMENTS (Margaret Meek)

24. LITERACY FOR LEARNING National data on pupil performance: • 11 year olds – Key Stage 2 • •The percentages of children reaching Level 4 and above in 2001 in Key Stage 2 tests by subject are as follows: • English 75% • Mathematics 71% • Science 87% • •Girls outperform boys in English, reading, writing and science by ten, seven, fifteen and one percent respectively. Boys, however, have a one point lead over girls in mathematics.

25. LITERACY FOR LEARNING National data on pupil performance: • 14 year olds – Key Stage 3 • •The percentages of children reaching Level 5 and above in 2001 in Key Stage 3 tests by subject are as follows: • English 64 per cent. • Mathematics 66 per cent. • Science 66 per cent. • •Girls have a 17 percentage point lead over boys in English and a 2 point lead in mathematics. Girls and boys perform at the same level in science.

26. LITERACY FOR LEARNING • KS3 results show that pupils: • Are inclined to recount rather than explain • Are stronger at narrative rather than non-narrative writing • Have difficulties structuring writing • Only 75% of sentences are properly demarcated using full stops

27. LITERACY FOR LEARNING So what’s in it for you..?

28. LITERACY FOR LEARNING • Literacy supports learning. Pupils will understand and respond better to your subject • You’ll see improvements in the quality of their work • You’ll see increased motivation, especially from boys • Better literacy increases pupils’ self-esteem and behaviour. It helps them to learn independently

29. TEACHING WRITING ACTIVELYTEACHING WRITING www.geoffbarton.co.uk

30. TEACHING WRITING • How we’ve often (not) taught writing in the past • Recognising good writing • Actively teaching writing www.geoffbarton.co.uk