Y2 English

Reading
By the beginning of Year 2, pupils should be able to read all common graphemes. They should be able to read unfamiliar words containing these graphemes, accurately and without undue hesitation, by sounding them out in books that are matched closely to each pupil's level of word reading knowledge. They should also be able to read many common words containing GPCs taught so far [for example, shout, hand, stop, or dream], without needing to blend the sounds out loud first. Pupils' reading of common exception words [for example, you, could, many, or people], should be secure. Pupils will increase their fluency by being able to read these words easily and automatically. Finally, pupils should be able to retell some familiar stories that have been read to and discussed with them or that they have acted out during year 1.
 
Throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage One, we teach daily phonics sessions to develop children's skills in reading and spelling. We follow Letters and Sounds, a detailed and systematic programme for teaching high quality phonics published by the Department for Education and Skills. 

Reading – word reading
Statutory requirements
Pupils should be taught to:

  • continue to apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words until automatic decoding has become embedded and reading is fluent
  • read accurately by blending the sounds in words that contain the graphemes taught so far, especially recognising alternative sounds for graphemes
  • read accurately words of two or more syllables that contain the same graphemes as above
  • read words containing common suffixes
  • read further common exception words, noting unusual correspondences between spelling and sound and where these occur in the word
  • read most words quickly and accurately, without overt sounding and blending, when they have been frequently encountered
  • read aloud books closely matched to their improving phonic knowledge, sounding out unfamiliar words accurately, automatically and without undue hesitation
  • re-read these books to build up their fluency and confidence in word reading.
Reading- Comprehension
Develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
  • listening to, discussing and expressing views about a wide range of contemporary and classic poetry, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently
  • discussing the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related
  • becoming increasingly familiar with and retelling a wider range of stories, fairy stories and traditional tales
  • being introduced to non-fiction books that are structured in different ways
  • recognising simple recurring literary language in stories and poetry
  • discussing and clarifying the meanings of words, linking new meanings to known vocabulary
  • discussing their favourite words and phrases
  • continuing to build up a repertoire of poems learnt by heart, appreciating these and reciting some, with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear
Understand both the books that they can already read accurately and fluently and those that they listen to by:
  • drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary provided by the teacher
  • checking that the text makes sense to them as they read and correcting inaccurate reading
  • making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
  • answering and asking questions
  • predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
Participate in discussion about books, poems and other works that are read to them and those that they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say.

Explain and discuss their understanding of books, poems and other material, both those that they listen to and those that they read for themselves.


Writing
Writing: Composition

Pupils should understand, through being shown these, the skills and processes essential to writing: that is, thinking aloud as they collect ideas, drafting, and re-reading to check their meaning is clear. Drama and role-play can contribute to the quality of pupils' writing by providing opportunities for pupils to develop and order their ideas through playing roles and improvising scenes in various settings. Pupils might draw on and use new vocabulary from their reading, their discussions about it (one-to-one and as a whole class) and from their wider experiences.

Statutory requirements
Pupils should be taught to:
Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by:
  • writing narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional)
  • writing about real events
  • writing poetry
  • writing for different purposes
Consider what they are going to write before beginning by:
  • planning or saying out loud what they are going to write about
  • writing down ideas and/or key words, including new vocabulary
  • encapsulating what they want to say, sentence by sentence
Make simple additions, revisions and corrections to their own writing by:
  • evaluating their writing with the teacher and other pupils
  • re-reading to check that their writing makes sense and that verbs to indicate time are used correctly and consistently, including verbs in the continuous form
  • proof-reading to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation [for example, ends of sentences punctuated correctly]
  • read aloud what they have written with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear
Writing- transcription
In Year 2, pupils move towards more word-specific knowledge of spelling, including homophones. The process of spelling should be emphasised: that is, that spelling involves segmenting spoken words into phonemes and then representing all the phonemes by graphemes in the right order. Pupils should do this both for single-syllable and multi-syllabic words.
 
Statutory requirements
 
Pupils should be taught to:
Spell by:
  • segmenting spoken words into phonemes and representing these by graphemes, spelling many correctly
  • learning new ways of spelling phonemes for which one or more spellings are already known, and learn some words with each spelling, including a few common homophones
  • learning to spell common exception words
  • learning to spell more words with contracted forms
  • learning the possessive apostrophe (singular) [for example, the girl's book]
  • distinguishing between homophones and near-homophones
Add suffixes to spell longer words, including –ment, –ness, –ful, –less, –ly

Apply spelling rules and guidance, as listed in English Appendix 1

Write from memory simple sentences dictated by the teacher that include words using the GPCs, common exception words and punctuation taught so far.
 
Writing: Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
Pupils should be taught to:
Develop their understanding of the concepts set out in English Appendix 2 by:

Learning how to use both familiar and new punctuation correctly (see English Appendix 2), including full stops, capital letters, exclamation marks, question marks, commas for lists and apostrophes for contracted forms and the possessive (singular)

Learn how to use:
  • sentences with different forms: statements, questions, exclamations, commands
  • expanded noun phrases to describe and specify (e.g. the blue butterfly)
  • the present and past tenses correctly and consistently including the progressive form
  • subordination (using when, if, that or because) and co-ordination (using or, and or but)
  • the grammar in Y2 in English Appendix 2
  • some features of written Standard English
  • use and understand the grammatical terminology in English Appendix 2 in discussing their writing
Writing- Handwriting
Pupils should revise and practise correct letter formation frequently. They should be taught to write with a joined style as soon as they can form letters securely with the correct orientation.  Link to Handwriting Resource Book.

Statutory requirements
Pupils should be taught to:
  • form lower-case letters of the correct size relative to one another
  • start using some of the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined
  • write capital letters and digits of the correct size, orientation and relationship to one another and to lower case letters
  • use spacing between words that reflects the size of the letters.