At St Mary's school we are passionate about talk. We promote talk in all of our lessons and throughout the day. We ensure that children have different opportunities and purposes for talk. One of our curriculum drivers is growth and we feel that the development of talk in the school provides them with the communication skills for the future.
Key Speaker
Children from Eyfs through to Year 6 have the opportunity to talk about the topics and subjects that they are covering in school. This gives the children the oportunity to explore any part of the topic that may interest them. Children will have many opportuntities to be a key speaker in our Early years classrooms. This moves to a more structured apporached in ks1 with children being able to present to a small group, building up to a whole class situation. Our children will be key speaker three times a year and we enjoy celebrating each individuals achievements as a whole class.
Helicopter Stories
This has recently been introduced to our school. Helicopter stories are child directed learning which uses talk, conversation and imagination. It gives children the opportunity to share, be creative and develop talking in sentences, sequencing and creativity. Children have the opportunity to have their story be performed by their peers and clelebrate their words on a page.
VIP
Our VIP time is a time where children speak about their interests, ambitions and attirbutes. In these times we celebrate each child's individuality and what makes them unique. They get to share their prize posessions and It is also a time for question and answering - involving all pupils in the classroom. In the VIP session children read to the whole school and parents.
Reading Sessions
Our Reading sessions are all about talking about the text. Responding to questions and coming up with our own questions to explore. Our little Wandle reading sessions provide comprehension opportunities and we use this to not only celebrate text but as a way of improving and developing those comprehension skills. As we move through the school we dedicate time to exploring and responding to texts. We use VIPERS as a tool to support our sessions. We love reading so our texts are carefully chosen and our verbal responses are challenged and celebrated.
Talk Time
In our school we set specifc times for free talk. These times have been decided on by the children and with the children. At these times we consider our listening, speaking and respect for each other. Communication between our peers and adults is seen as an important skill for their development and growth. Set talk topics may be set up as well as purposeful talk on current issues.
Pupils Choice
We know our children are curious. With our drover of growth we feel it is important to embrace that curiosity and have oppoetuntties where they can learn about specific things that interest them. At the beginning of the year each child choses a topic that they would like to learn about. At random times in the year teachers will provide time to explore these chosen areas. This promotes talk, deiscussion and intriguing questions.