Literacy

Dundonald Primary School are committed to raising all pupils' standard of Literacy and actively encourage them to communicate clearly and confidently through reading, writing, talking and listening across the curriculum.

Literacy skills are viewed as the gateway to learning and our children are introduced to the world of communication from the moment they begin Nursery school. Through carefully structured play activities, opportunities are provided for the children to develop their language through play, their reading through engaging with texts that are read aloud to them  and their pre-writing skills through marking with paint, chalk and crayon.

Foundation stage ( Primary 1 and Primary 2) continues the teaching of pre-writing and writing skills through engagement with a variety of materials that lead ultimately to forming letters and print. Cursive style of handwriting, using the Penpals Handwriting Scheme, is taught from Key Stage 1 onwards, leading to all class and homework being written in a neat script.

Here at DPS we aim to foster a love of reading as we believe that the ability to read opens a world of learning to children and is the tool by which they are able to engage in all other areas of the curriculum. We teach our children to read using the Jolly Phonics Scheme, where, through actions and songs, the children learn the sounds that letters make and how they combine to make different sounds. Key Stages 1 and 2 use Read, Write, Inc. Spelling scheme to build upon this knowledge and to give pupils the confidence to be able to reads and spell unfamiliar words. Reading, using Oxford Reading and Collins Big Cat, is taught in small group guided reading sessions and allows the children to interact with a variety of genre, appealing to boys and girls. In Key Stage 2 this is supplemented by home/school reading journals and a whole class book study approach to teaching reading, with a particular focus on reading for fluency and further development of a range of comprehension strategies to support text understanding.

All children have equal access to resources in the class library and in the School Library which is the focal point for teaching of information skills. Independent learning is encouraged and resources assist the pupils' research through text and technological means.

All pupils are registered to use Bug Club an online Literacy resource providing children with an extensive range of reading material in several genres with supporting material to develop confidence in comprehension skills.

Talking and Listening is viewed as integral to learning across the curriculum. We aim to promote self-esteem and confidence through successful and enjoyable language use, developing each child's ability to understand and use language and to speak fluently. Pupils have represented the school at numerous Public Speaking Events and have  won both personal and group awards for their presentations in a wide range of subjects.

Literacy Week and Scholastic Book Fair  is an annual celebration of Language and Literacy across the school. Past celebrations have included visiting authors , dressing up as book characters on World Book Day and Shakespeare  Freeze Frames. We also have visits from Drama groups such as M and M productions to school and off course our own

"West End" ready productions such as Beauty and the Beast, Annie and the Lion King when our pupils excel and play to packed houses for 3 consecutive performances.  

P7 Step Up to Literacy Students study 'Much Ado About Nothing'

P7 Students studied Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing Novel with Mr McKane. Students then created their own comic books retelling the famous story. Check out their fantastic work!

Celebrating Word Book Day

As part of Literacy Week we celebrate World Book Day. Check out our pictures below a yearly highlight for pupils and staff alike