What skills should children be developing to be good communicators?
Our key objectives for Speaking & Listening development at Griffin are as follows:
- To listen carefully and understand
- To develop a wide and interesting vocabulary
- To speak with clarity
- To tell stories with structure
- To hold conversations and debates
Click on the document below to see the particular objectives that are the focus for Years 1 & 2 (Milestone 1), Years 3 & 4 (Milestone 2) and Years 5 & 6 (Milestone 3).
The 'Support' section shows the focus of speaking and listening development for our youngest children and those in the Infants who are progressing more slowly. 'Challenge' suggests an extension for our most advanced pupils in the upper Juniors.
For Reading, there are only two (broad), 'Essential', Key Objectives. They are:
To read words accurately and To understand texts
The first involves being able use sounds (phonics) and other cues to read the words; the second relates to what we often refer to as comprehension. As the Milestones below show, the emphasis is greatest for phonics and 'reading words accurately' when children are emerging as readers (Milestone 1), and the skills required 'to understand texts' become more central as children develop as readers in the Juniors.
Children in the Juniors tend to read less (including at home) because they are generally reading words accurately and fluently and it may be thought that the job is done. However, they are often only at a 'basic' level for comprehension and so it is important that reading and questioning continues at home, including with parents.
Click on the sample page below for the detail of our Milestone objectives for Reading. Look at 'To understand texts' (page 2), in particular, to guide your Reading discussions with both Junior and Infant children.
