Having considered the needs of the school in terms of the English curriculum it is important to address the features of school organisation that will best facilitate their fulfilment. This will entail a collaborative and consultative process involving the principal, the teachers and, where appropriate, parents and the board of management.
Planning for English should contribute to the overall school plan which will be reviewed by the board of management. Within the resources available to it the board will provide support for the development and implementation of the curriculum.
A member of staff, particularly in larger schools, may have a special interest or expertise in language and literature or in the teaching of language.
He/she may wish to take responsibility for the general organisation of the teaching of English in the school.
This could include functions such as
- overseeing the organisation of the library
- advising on the choice of a reading scheme
- suggesting books and anthologies to other members of staff
- organising book-related events for the school
- liaising with the public library
- helping to co-ordinate English with other areas of the curriculum
- co-ordinating the approach to the teaching of poetry
- co-ordinating the approach to the teaching of writing.
Library
The ready availability of a wide variety of suitable books is essential in all schools. Such a resource will cater for the needs of every area of the curriculum and should be provided through the establishment of a well-stocked school library in every school. It should be organised in such a way as to ensure that maximum use is made of the entire range of reading resources available and that these resources at all times meet the requirements of the school in general and of individual teachers and pupils.
In larger schools it will be possible to organise the school library in a central location. It is essential, however, that such a facility is complemented by well-stocked and regularly supplemented classroom libraries.
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| The teacher as one of a community of readers |
This is particularly important in the light of the stress the curriculum lays on the need for a variety of reading materials to complement the use of reading schemes. In some smaller schools it may not be possible to have a centrally located school library and in such cases library provision will be confined to classroom libraries only.
It is important also that the school gain the maximum advantage from any other available library sources in order to complement the provision based in the school, although these should never be relied on as the school's sole source of library provision.
The efficient organisation and monitoring of the library requires careful planning. Responsibility for it would normally be assumed by one or two members of staff but it also presents opportunities for the involvement of parents. Pupils should also have a role in the organisation and maintenance of the library. Through such experience they can be trained in book location skills and learn to use the system of arranging books in a public library to gain access to reading material.
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| Interviews with grandparents are a rich source for expository writing while fostering an understanding of life in the past |
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| Children should have access to books from the earliest years. |
Developing a reading culture in the school
Both school and classroom libraries have an important contribution to make in creating a school atmosphere in which books and reading are seen as valuable and pleasurable. Various other strategies can also be used to accomplish this, including
- organising book fairs and other book events, which can can be particularly valuable if parents are also involved
- inviting poets and writers to the school to read and speak to the children
- inviting local library staff to speak to the children.
The teaching of reading
In planning for the teaching of reading it is important that the school provides each child with a reading experience appropriate to his/her needs and abilities. Although the programme recognises a role for a structured reading scheme, such a scheme can be regarded as only one among a number of sources necessary to provide an adequate reading experience for the child. However, as a convenient source of graded reading material, as a support to the less able reader and as a focus for whole-class discussion and comprehension work, it is a useful resource. It is essential, however, that it is complemented by a wide range of other reading material encompassing a variety of narrative, expository and representational text. Other issues that need to be taken into consideration in organising the approach to reading would be:
- the need to co-ordinate the planning and work of the remedial teacher and the various other members of staff
- the need to ensure that the particular curriculum and organisational decisions on the teaching of reading are implemented
- the need for the principal or a member of staff to act in a liaison capacity to monitor any difficulties that might arise.
The role of parents in language development
Parents have a crucial role to play in children's language development. It is important that the school's planning should ensure that they are involved in this aspect of learning and that their contribution to it is fully acknowledged and maximised.
The child comes to school with considerable verbal facility that has been acquired through the interactive experience of the home. This will continue to be a major factor in the child's developmental process throughout the primary school years. Talking to adults, hearing them talk, hearing stories read and told and being encouraged to read, all have an influence on children's language development that supports and complements school experience.
Parents will also have an important role to play to the extent that they are involved in children's language development in school. It is important that the school devises strategies that will accomplish this in the most effective possible way.
This can be done through consultation with parents at certain stages of the planning process and could take account of issues such as
- the importance of oral language in the learning process
- the importance of involving children in purposeful language activity
- the importance of encouraging children to read
- the importance of early reading development and the strategies the school employs to enhance it
- paired reading activity
- story reading
- school policy on reading
- the school's approach to the teaching of writing
- responding to children's writing
- the organisation and supervision of the school library
- the organisation of book fairs and other language-related events
- visits by authors, storytellers, poets and drama groups
- the approach to assessment
- effective communication between teachers and parents.
Early identification and remediation of reading difficulties
It is essential that children with language and reading difficulties are identified as early as possible and given the necessary remedial support. It is generally recognised that if a child is going to encounter difficulty with reading the problem will have begun to manifest itself by the time he/she has reached senior infants. Through day-to-day observation the class teacher will readily recognise those children who need extra help but a school policy of formally assessing all children at this level has much to recommend it. It is then possible for the school to arrange the appropriate remedial help at the earliest possible juncture. If the school has access to a remedial teacher he/she can liaise with the class teacher and organise the assessment of children. When a child with reading difficulties has been identified an appropriate programme of remedial intervention should be put in place.
To ensure that this is done in the most effective and efficient way the school will have to address a number of issues:
- Will the children with reading difficulties be withdrawn from class for remedial help?
- If they are, how is the potential disruption in classroom organisation to be minimised?
- How can remedial provision be organised in order to minimise disruption to those children's engagement with the rest of the curriculum?
- Will the remedial teacher work with individual pupils or groups?
- Should the remedial teacher visit the classroom and work with individual pupils?
- How will the school's system of remedial intervention be evaluated?
- Should the remedial teacher teach the body of the class occasionally while the class teacher takes a small group of children with reading difficulties?
- How can parents be involved most effectively in supporting the child?
When such decisions are taken it is important that there is close cooperation between the remedial teacher and the class teacher to ensure that the children obtain the maximum benefit from the remedial programme in the shortest possible time.