An integrated approach to literacy and numeracy in Year 7

Ian GerrardYsgol Eirias

• Learners complete eight projects.• Learners work on two projects at a time for a period of eight

weeks.

• Project work will incorporate Level 2 themes, curriculum delivery, literacy and numeracy in context.

• 2 x PE, 2 x MFL, 2 x Welsh, 2 x numeracy and 2 x literacy lessons will be taught individually.

The Year 7 project curriculum

Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri

1 Literacy WelshProject A

Project B

PE2

Project AMFL Numeracy

3Project B

Project A4

Project B5 MFL Welsh6 PE Numeracy Literacy

Sustainability and the

Environment

The projects

Intellectual activities

• Enquiry and expression• Reflection • Persistence • Organisation • Reading accurately• Use of written and spoken English • Appreciating and expressing ideas in other languages• Making sense of ideas and data• Using computers to communicate and express • Studying and memorising • Application of knowledge beyond school • Dealing with unpredictable situations

Promoting literacy skills

• Literacy coordinator– project word lists, writing frameworks

• Communication – group work, assessment for learning, evaluation

• Literacy lessons– transition, spelling, information retrieval, sentences, reading between the lines, writing organisation

• Literacy support • Opportunities to practise application of skills in context• Questioning styles • Cross-curricular discussion• Professional learning community (PLC)

Promoting numeracy skills

• Application of skills in context• Numeracy lessons• Enrichment club• Liaison with primary schools• Numeracy support• Sixth form and teacher assistant support• Numeracy coordinator

Assessing literacy and numeracy skills

• Annual reading and spelling test• MidYIS (Middle Years Information System)• Levelling tasks in literacy and numeracy lessons

• Focus on assessment for learning in project learning– spelling– grammar– sentence structure– communication– tables– number bonds

Involving learners

• Self-evaluation and peer evaluation• Project outcomes• Learners turn teachers• Virtual learning environment (VLE)• Newsletters• Project evaluation and review

Impact on standards

 Year of entry

Entry End of Y7

End of Y8

End of Y9

2011 13.18%      2010 17.57% 5.88%    2009 15.09% 6.22% 6.03%  2008 14.76% 4.05% 1.86% 2.54%

% of learners below levelof functional literacy

School CSI Performance over time (2007–11)