Oracy & Vocabulary

At St Hilda’s, we recognise the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum.  Spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing.  The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding for reading and writing.

As a school, we therefore need ensure that our pupils continually develop their confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills.  Our children should be able to explain their understanding of books and other reading, and prepare their ideas before they write.  They should be taught to understand and use the conventions of discussion and debate.  They should be able to participate, adopt, create and sustain a range of roles using drama and should have the opportunity to improvise, devise and perform to a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to performances they have seen. 

Oracy

Oracy can be described as learning to talk and learning through talk.  At St Hilda’s, we believe that speaking and listening form the foundations of all learning.  We build on these foundations from the Early Years where communication and language is a prime area of learning which is fundamental to support development in all other areas.

In formal and informal situations, we create and encourage opportunities for meaningful conversations, discussion, debate and talk around learning.  Through oracy, children learn how to make sense of the world; they learn how language is used to reason, how emotions can be expressed, and how to work together to solve problems.  At St Hilda’s, we want our children to be able to speak clearly, fluently and coherently; we want them to be able to listen attentively with understanding, pleasure and empathy and contribute to group discussions effectively.  Our curriculum is underpinned by ‘big questions’ and we actively encourage our children to be inquisitive and to share their thoughts and ideas confidently in a supportive environment.

Vocabulary

Oracy, and the quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak, are vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding for reading and writing.  As a school, we want to ensure that our pupils have access to, and use, a wide variety of vocabulary in their everyday speech and in their writing.  We use ‘Word of the Day’ from Vocabulary Ninja to ensure we have a clear system of consistency and progression to embed vocabulary throughout school. 

‘Word of the Day’ allows teachers to embed vocabulary into the classroom on a daily basis.  Each daily resource contains a plethora of content which supports a range of National Curriculum objectives, whilst aiming to develop children’s understanding of different types of vocabulary.