Mission

Building a strong foundation and rich language for all

The English Department aims to develop effective language use through a two-pronged approach of building a strong foundation and providing rich language for all.

Teachers will focus on developing the following areas of language learning in students:

• Listening and Viewing
• Reading and Viewing
• Speaking and Representing
• Writing and Representing

Key Programmes

1. STELLAR (P1 to P6)

Strategies for English Language Learning And Reading

STELLAR aims to strengthen both language and reading skills as well as promote a positive attitude towards reading in the foundational years through the use of well-established, learner-centred and developmentally appropriate pedagogical approaches using authentic children’s literature.

Strategies used:-

Shared Book Approach (SBA)

Modified Language Experience Approach (MLEA)

Supported Reading (SR)

Know – Want to Know – Learnt (KWL)

Writing Process Cycle (WPC)

Shared Book Approach (SBA) (P1 to P3)

The Shared Book Approach (SBA) is an integrated and balanced language teaching approach that uses motivating and enjoyable “big books” of enlarged print and illustrations or “e-books”.

The goals of the Shared Book Approach are to:-

• Provide an enjoyable experience with books for all students
• Make the experience motivating enough for students to want to reread the story later in groups as well as independently
• Teach and reinforce word identification skills, vocabulary and language structures
• Interact effectively with peers and others

Modified Language Experience Approach (MLEA) (P1 to P3)

The Modified Language Experience Approach (MLEA) is an integrated and balanced language teaching approach that uses motivating and enjoyable experiences to extend and expand on the language skills learned from the Big Books of SBA.

The goals of the Modified Language Experience Approach are to :-

• Provide enjoyable and motivating shared experiences that can be thought about, talked about, written about, read and reread
• Use these shared experiences to generate oral communication about them
• Encourage all students to practise oral communication in non-threatening situations
• Write down oral contributions about the experience
• Reinforce word identification skills, vocabulary and language structures taught in the SBA lessons and expose students to grammatical rules
• Encourage students in their acquisition of writing skills
• Encourage students to write in different genres

Supported Reading (SR) (P3 to P6)

Supported Reading (SR) provides a bridge between teacher-directed reading aloud and independent silent reading. It provides opportunities for students to make predictions, read silently, and discuss the text and difficult words.

Know – Want to Know – Learnt (KWL) (P4 to P6)

Know – Want to Know – Learnt (KWL) helps students:-

• Relate a new topic or new information to what they already know
• Anticipate what they will be reading about
• Become involved in the text by having them look for information they want to find
• Extend their reading by suggesting they look for information they wanted to know but did not find

Writing Process Cycle (WPC) (P4 to P6)

Writing Process Cycle (WPC) is a scaffolded process for writing consisting of 3 stages – Class Writing, Group Writing and Individual Writing. At each stage, it starts with planning what to write followed by the actual writing and ends with reviewing what has been written.

2. Learning Support Programme (LSP) (P1 & P2)

Students are selected for LSP through the P1 Screening Test on Basic Literacy Skills. These students are taken out of the English main class for small group teaching for 30 min daily.

3. School-Based Dyslexia Remediation (SDR) (P3 & P4)

SDR is a programme developed by MOE to help students with dyslexia overcome the difficulties in reading and spelling. Students attend lessons conducted by Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioural Support) and/or teachers in school after school hours.

4. Reading Remediation Programme (RRP) (P3 & P4)

RRP is a programme developed by MOE to help students weak in reading to improve their word recognition, oral reading fluency and reading comprehension. Students attend lessons conducted by Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioural Support) and/or teachers in school after school hours.

5. High Progress (HP) Enrichment (P3 to P5)

HP Enrichment is in the form of literature appreciation such as novel study where students engage in extensive reading and understanding of different types of rich texts for pleasure. Students learn to read critically by focusing on implied meaning, higher-order thinking, judgement and evaluation.

Signature Programme

‘Developing a Reading Culture’ Programme

The school has embarked on a whole school approach to prepare students to be proficient readers by developing in them a passion to read and also teaching them how to read. Students will be taught to set goals for reading and to select books that cater to their age and interest levels. Programmes and activities have been planned to build a reading culture that develops students into avid readers:

1. Reading Period

One period per week is set aside for reading where students engage in book exploration & extension activities. The aim is to allow students to spend time on leisure reading & encourage them to read more.

Teachers also created positive reading experiences through activities such as book talks, storytelling sessions and providing incentives for good readers.

2. Reading Activity Programme

The EL and MT departments have a Reading Activity Programme to promote the reading of both EL and MT books with a combined rewards and recognition system.

There is a Reading Activity Booklet each for Lower Primary (P1-2), Middle Primary (P3-4) and Upper Primary (P5-6). Each booklet comprises a number of reading activities to be completed by students over the course of a year.

3. Read@School Project in collaboration with National Library Board (NLB)

The school has been working with NLB since 2014 to carry out a series of reading activities with the aim to nurture readers in our students. There are assembly programmes such as Book Buzz to promote books appropriate for students and storytelling. Other activities include Read Swap Share and Mass Borrowing.

4. Reading Events

The Parent-Child Reading Day is an annual event which started in 2015.  It is well-received by parents who appreciate the opportunity to learn useful and interesting strategies from the teachers who conducted the reading activities. They also discover different ways to get their children to develop an interest in reading, learn more about their children’s reading interests and skills and increase bonding time with their children through the reading activities.

Another event that students look forward to is the Book Fiesta which started in 2017. The purpose of the event is to create a vibrant environment for students and teachers to enjoy stories and to enact these stories in fun ways. Based on themes such as ‘Fairy Tales’, pre-event classroom activities include reading stories and performing these stories through Reader’s Theatre. On the day of the event, students will get to showcase their Reader’s Theatre presentations. Students and teachers are encouraged to dress up as their favourite characters using recycled materials, making the stories come alive before our very eyes.