IMPROVING LITERACY IN KEY STAGE 2

1 IMPROVING LITERACY IN KEY STAGE 2. Guidance Report CONTENTS. AUTHORSHIP Foreword 2. This guidance report was written by Professor Steve Higgins, Thomas Martell, Dr David Waugh, Summary of recommendations 4. Peter Henderson and Professor Jonathan Sharples. Introduction 6. Recommendations L LITERACY Recommendation 1 Develop pupils' language capability to support their reading and writing 8. This guidance report is one of several resources that the EEF has produced on the theme of LITERACY . Recommendation 2 Support pupils to develop fluent reading capabilities 10. Recommendation 3 Teach reading comprehension strategies through modelling For more on LITERACY from the EEF please visit: and supported practice 12. Recommendation 4 Teach writing composition strategies through modelling and supported practice 14. Recommendation 5 Develop pupils' transcription and sentence construction skills through extensive practice 16.

2 Recommendation 6 Target teaching and support by accurately assessing pupil needs 18. Recommendation 7 Use high-quality structured interventions to help pupils who are struggling with their LITERACY 20. Acting on the evidence 22. How was this guidance compiled? 23. Glossary 24. References 26. The citation for this guidance report should be Education Endowment Foundation (2017). IMPROVING LITERACY in Key STAGE 2, London: Education Endowment Foundation.'. Education Endowment Foundation IMPROVING LITERACY in Key STAGE 2 1. FOREWORD SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS. Good LITERACY skills provide us with the building blocks This report is part of a series providing guidance on This Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) guidance report contains seven recommendations regarding the not just for academic success, but for fulfilling careers LITERACY teaching. It builds on the recommendations teaching of LITERACY to pupils aged between 7 and 11.

3 And rewarding lives. Yet despite our best efforts, a presented in our IMPROVING LITERACY in Key STAGE One disadvantaged child in England is still more than twice report, but is specific to the needs of pupils at Key The recommendations are arranged in five groups relating to: as likely as their classmates from more advantaged STAGE 2. At Key STAGE 2, pupils are consolidating their homes to leave primary school without reaching the LITERACY skills, building their vocabulary and developing expected levels in reading and writing. their fluency and confidence as speakers, writers and speaking and listening;. readers of language. While many of the strategies At the Education Endowment Foundation, we believe and examples presented in this report are similar to the best way to break this link between family income those in the Key STAGE 1 guidance report, they are and educational attainment is through better use of often more complex and multi-staged, reflecting the reading.

4 Evidence: looking at what has and has not worked increasing depth and breadth of pupils' knowledge and in the past can put us in a much better place to judge skills. Pupils will be using strategies with increasing what is likely to work in the future. independence and sophistication, and will increasingly be able to combine them. But it can be difficult to know where to start. There writing;. are thousands of studies of primary LITERACY teaching I hope this booklet will help to support a consistently out there, most of which are presented in academic excellent, evidence-informed primary system in papers and journals. Teachers are inundated with England that creates great opportunities for all children, information about programmes and training courses, regardless of their family background. all of which make claims about impact. How can assessment and diagnosis; and anyone know which findings are the most secure, reliable, and relevant to their school and pupils?

5 Sir Kevan Collins This is why we've produced this guidance Chief Executive report. It offers seven practical evidence-based Education Endowment Foundation targeted interventions. recommendations that are relevant to all pupils, but particularly to those struggling with their LITERACY . To develop the recommendations we reviewed the best For each recommendation, we have provided a statement regarding the strength of the evidence underpinning that available international research and consulted experts recommendation, and an evidence summary' box that describes the supporting evidence. This statement was to arrive at key principles for effective LITERACY teaching. selected from a series of five possible options, of decreasing strength. The statements range from very extensive'. to very limited'. More information about the process used to create these statements is available in the How was this guidance compiled?

6 ' section of the report on page 23. Overleaf is a summary of the recommendations. 2 Education Endowment Foundation IMPROVING LITERACY in Key STAGE 2 Education Endowment Foundation IMPROVING LITERACY in Key STAGE 2 3. 1. Develop pupils'. 2. Support pupils to develop 3. Teach reading 4. Teach writing 5. Develop pupils'. 6. Target teaching 7. Use high-quality language capability fluent reading capabilities comprehension strategies composition transcription and support structured to support their through modelling and strategies through and sentence by accurately interventions to reading and writing supported practice modelling and construction assessing pupil help pupils who supported practice skills through needs are struggling extensive practice with their LITERACY Purposeful speaking and Fluent readers can read quickly, Reading comprehension can be Purpose and audience A fluent writing High-quality Schools should listening activities support accurately, and with appropriate improved by teaching specific are central to effective style supports assessment and focus first on the development of pupils' stress and intonation.

7 Strategies that pupils can apply writing. Pupils need to composition diagnosis should be developing core language capability and both to monitor and overcome have a reason to write because pupils' used to target and classroom teaching provides a foundation for Fluent reading supports barriers to comprehension. and someone to write for. cognitive resources adapt teaching to strategies that thinking and communication. comprehension because pupils' These include: are freed from pupils' needs. improve the LITERACY cognitive resources are freed from prediction; Writing can be thought of focusing on capabilities of Purposeful activities include: focusing on word recognition as a process made up of handwriting, Rapid provision of the whole class. questioning;. reading books aloud and and can be redirected towards seven components: spelling, and support is important, With this in place, comprehending the text. clarifying; sentence but it is critical to the need for discussing them; planning.

8 Summarising; construction and ensure it is the right additional support activities that extend drafting;. This can be developed through: inference; and can be redirected support. Diagnostic should decrease. pupils' expressive and sharing;. guided oral reading activating prior knowledge. towards writing assessment can Nevertheless, receptive vocabulary;. instruction teachers model evaluating; composition. be used to inform it is likely that a collaborative learning professional small number of fluent reading of a text, The potential impact of these revising;. activities where pupils Extensive practice, judgement about pupils will require then pupils read the same strategies is very high, but can editing; and can share their thought supported by the best next additional support. text aloud with appropriate be hard to achieve, since publishing. processes; effective feedback, steps. Diagnostic feedback; and pupils are required to take structured questioning is required to assessment makes There is a strong repeated reading pupils re- greater responsibility for their Effective writers use a to develop reading develop fluent teaching more efficient and consistent read a short and meaningul own learning.

9 Number of strategies comprehension; transcription skills. by ensuring that effort body of evidence passage a set number of to support each teachers modelling The strategies should be is not wasted on demonstrating the times or until they reach a component of the inference-making by described and modelled before Spelling should rehearsing skills or benefit of structured suitable level of fluency. writing process. Pupils thinking aloud; and pupils practise the strategies with be explicitly taught content that a pupil interventions for should learn how, when, and diagnostic already knows well. pupils who are pupils articulating their It is important to understand feedback. Support should then and why to use each ideas verbally before be gradually reduced as pupils assessment struggling with pupils' current capabilities and strategy. For example, they start writing. take increasing responsibility. should be used to A range of diagnostic their LITERACY .

10 Teach accordingly. Most pupils will pupils' planning could focus effort on the assessments are The first step need an emphasis on developing be improved by teaching Texts should be carefully spellings that pupils available and staff should be to use reading fluency, but some pupils the strategies of selected to support the are finding difficult. should be trained accurate diagnosis may need a focus on more basic goalsetting and activating teaching of these strategies. to use and interpret of capabilities skills, such as decoding and prior knowledge. Pupils should these effectively. and difficulties phonological awareness. practise sentence- to match pupils The strategies should be combining and This approach to appropriate described and modelled other sentence can be used for interventions. before pupils practise construction high- and low-attaining them with feedback. techniques. pupils and for Support should then whole-class and be gradually reduced targeted interventions.