Fifth and sixth classes
Strand:
Receptiveness to language
Strand unit:
Oral language: developing receptiveness to oral language
The child should be enabled to
- experience from the teacher a growing elaboration and sophistication in the use of vocabulary and sentence structure
- listen to expressions, reactions, opinions and interpretations and retell or summarise them
- listen to radio broadcasts and discuss what has been learned
- follow detailed instructions or directions from others in order to test their accuracy
- take part in games in which unseen objects are identified from descriptions given by other pupils
- be continually aware of the importance of gesture, facial expression, audibility and clarity of enunciation in communicating with others
- use mime to convey ideas, reactions, emotions, desires and attitudes
- interpret mood, attitude, emotion and atmosphere in video extracts, advertisements, paintings and photographs
- listen to or watch sound tapes, videos and films and discuss how sound effects enhance the content
- listen to authors reading and discussing their own work.
Strand unit:
Reading: developing strategies
The child should be enabled to
- achieve proficiency in word identification by refining the different word identification skills
grapho/phonic, syntactic and contextual - improve his/her ability to recognise and understand words by using root words, prefixes, suffixes, syllabication
- engage with an increasing range of narrative, expository and representational text
- become self-reliant, confident, independent readers, having time in class for sustained, silent reading.
Strand unit:
Writing: creating and fostering the impulse to write
The child should be enabled to
- experience a classroom environment that encourages writing
class library
writing corner
displays of writing for visitors
anthologies of his/her writing
anthologies of the writing of others
books written by him/her and others
captioned charts, pictures and posters - observe the teacher model a wide variety of writing genres
narrative
expository
letters
poems
project work
fiction - express and communicate reactions to reading experiences
- experience interesting and relevant writing challenges
- write for an increasingly varied audience
- receive and give constructive responses to writing
- see his/her writing valued
class anthologies
displays of personal writing
printed examples of writing
writing exhibitions - experience a level of success in writing that will be an incentive to continue writing.
Strand:
Competence and confidence in using language
Strand unit:
Oral language: developing competence and confidence in using oral language
The child should be enabled to
- acquire the ability to give detailed instructions and directions
- converse freely and confidently on a range of topics
- give and take turns in an environment where tolerance for the views of others is fostered
- practise and use improvisational drama to acquire a facility in performing more elaborate social functions
welcoming visitors
showing them the work of the class
making formal introductions
proposing a vote of thanks
expressing sympathy
making a complaint - discuss the positive and negative effects of jargon, slang and cliché, and express examples of them in his/her own language
- understand the functions and know the names of the parts of speech
noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, conjunction, preposition, article, interjection - learn about and name the basic properties of nouns and verbs
common, proper, gender, case, tense, voice, person, number - become familiar with compound and complex sentences, and know and understand the terms 'phrase' and 'clause'
- explore the possibilities of language and sentence structure in expressing increasingly complex thoughts
- discuss the meaning, effect and diversity of local words and expressions
- hear accents and dialects other than his/her own on tape and on video and discuss them
- use improvisational drama to learn how local idiom, accent and dialect can influence the effect of language in particular situations.
Strand unit:
Reading: reading for pleasure and information
The child should be enabled to
- read widely as an independent reader from a more challenging range of reading material, including stories, poems, myths, legends, novels and non-fiction texts appropriate to his/her age and reading ability
- engage with books in group or in whole-class settings
- learn about the structure and appreciate the function of the component parts of a newspaper
editorial, news, feature, review, sport, obituary, crossword, advertisement, schedule of radio and television programmes - participate in organised visits to the public library and avail of the mobile library service
- read to satisfy personal interests.
Strand unit:
Writing: developing competence, confidence and the ability to write independently
The child should be enabled to
- write regularly on chosen topics
- write for a sustained length of time
- engage in the writing of one piece over a period
a week, a number of weeks, a term - experience varied and consistent oral language activity as part of the pre-writing process
- observe the teacher improving writing
drafting, revising, editing - write independently through a process of drafting, revising, editing and publishing
- write, without re-drafting, on a given or chosen topic within certain time constraints
- observe the conventions of grammar, punctuation and spelling in his/her writing
- use dictionaries and thesauruses to extend and develop vocabulary and spelling
- explore the possibilities of syntax and sentence structure in reading and writing
- choose a register of language appropriate to subject and audience
writing to a friend
writing for a display
writing to seek information - choose a form and quality of presentation appropriate to the audience
- help others with editing their writing
- take part in co-operative writing activities
projects
writing and publishing a class newspaper
writing and publishing compilations of stories and poetry- write fluently and relevantly in other areas of the curriculum
- develop a legible, fluent, personal style of handwriting
- develop skills in the use of information technology.
Strand:
Developing cognitive abilities through language
Strand unit:
Oral language: developing cognitive abilities through oral language
The child should be enabled to
- discuss issues of major concern
- discuss ideas and concepts encountered in other areas of the curriculum
- use a discussion of the familiar as the basis of a more formal or objective grasp of a topic or concept
- use the basic key questions and checking questions as a means of extending knowledge
- listen to a presentation on a particular topic, decide through discussion which are the most appropriate questions to ask, and then prioritise them
- argue points of view from the perspective of agreement and disagreement through informal discussion and in the context of formal debates
- justify and defend particular opinions or attitudes and try to persuade others to support a particular point of view
- respond to arguments presented by the teacher
- discuss the value, truth or relevance of popular ideas, causes and proverbs
- explore and express conflicts of opinion through improvisational drama
- explore historical contexts through improvisational drama.
Strand unit:
Reading: developing interests, attitudes, information retrieval skills and the ability to think
The child should be enabled to
- listen to, read, learn, recite and respond to a challenging range of poetry
- have access to a wide range of reading material in the classroom and/or school library
magazines, newspapers, fiction and nonfiction books, books written by other pupils, collections of material related to hobbies and interests, reference material, poetry anthologies - continue to keep a record of personal reading in various forms
- use comprehension skills such as analysing, confirming, evaluating, synthesising and correlating to aid deduction, problemsolving and prediction
- develop study skills such as skimming, scanning, note-taking and summarising
- retrieve and interpret information presented in a variety of ways
flowchart, table, diagram, list, web
survey, question, read, recall and review (SQ3R)- support arguments and opinions with evidence from the text
- read and interpret different kinds of functional text
forms, menus, timetables, recipes - explore appropriate non-fiction texts for various purposes
furthering a personal interest
pursuing a topic raised in class
completing a project - use information retrieval strategies in cross-curricular settings
- distinguish between fact and opinion, and bias and objectivity, in text and in the media
- use the school, classroom and public libraries to develop greater insight into book location, classification and organisation
- find information relevant to his/her purpose in non-fiction texts, graphs and pictorial and diagrammatic data, and through the use of information technology
graphical and electronic media.
Strand unit:
Writing: clarifying thought through writing
The child should be enabled to
- write in a wide variety of genres
narrative prose
poetry
instructions
diaries
learning logs
reports
letters
summaries
forms
recipes - examine the characteristics that differentiate written and oral language
- write for a particular purpose and with a particular audience in mind
- reflect on and analyse ideas through writing
- refine ideas and their expression through drafting and re-drafting
- express and communicate new learning
- relate new ideas to previous learning
- use notes to summarise reading material and write an account from the notes
- sketch an ordered summary of ideas and draft a writing assignment based on it
- argue the case in writing for a particular point of view
- argue the case in writing for a point of view with which he/she disagrees
- explore the use of compound and complex sentences in expressing thought.
Strand:
Emotional and imaginative development through language
Strand unit:
Oral language: developing emotional and imaginative life through oral language
The child should be enabled to
- discuss with others his/her reactions to everyday experiences and to local, national and world events
- discuss the concerns of other children
- discuss ideas, concepts and images encountered in literature
- discuss personal reading and writing
- express individual responses to poems and literature and discuss different interpretations
- discuss plays, films and television programmes
- experience and enjoy playful aspects of language
experimenting with sequences of words
discussing the origins and effects of unusual words
hearing and reading aloud humorous literature
telling riddles and jokes
playing word association games.
Strand unit:
Reading: responding to text
The child should be enabled to
- hear the teacher model a response to poems, fiction, plays and parts of plays
- respond to poetry and fiction through discussion, writing, drama, the visual arts and dance
- relate personal experience to the ideas and emotions conveyed in the text
- appreciate issues in fiction
the development of character
sense of time and place - examine similarities and differences in various types of text
- continue to share response to an ever-increasing variety of texts with the wider community of readers
- browse through, handle, discuss, recommend and select books for independent reading
- develop individuality as a reader by experiencing success and the enhancement of self-esteem through reading
- read aloud from a personal choice of texts to entertain and inform an audience
- listen to books or extracts from books and poetry read aloud or presented on tape, radio or television.
Strand unit:
Writing: developing emotional and imaginative life through writing
The child should be enabled to
- analyse in writing his/her reactions to personal experiences
- express in writing reactions to the experiences of others
- write stories and poems
- write longer stories or a series of related stories in book form
- keep a personal diary
- express a personal reaction to ideas, emotions and images encountered in literature
- express and analyse his/her reactions to poems
- analyse different interpretations of poems in writing
- write about the relationship between poems and personal experience
- write short plays based on activity in improvisational drama
- express in writing reactions to music, artwork, films, television programmes and videos.