Content overview
Strategy 7: Differentiate by the feedback given
Feedback given to pupils should be varied according to their ability to act on the feedback.
For example, if a pupil who is less proficient at Writing has tried hard and produces work with a number of misspellings or grammatical mistakes, feedback can be given on what they did well, and only 2 or 3 common misspellings or mistakes highlighted. The pupil should respond to this feedback because the suggested improvement is achievable for them. If a stronger pupil writes well and makes 2 mistakes, the teacher can tell them the lines in which the mistakes are, and perhaps the kind of mistakes they are, and ask them to find and correct them. The pupil should be able to respond to the extra challenge built in to this feedback.
The same principle applies to giving feedback on pupils’ spoken language.
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5. Glossary of terms in Year 4
Each lesson in the Scheme of Work includes a Learning Outline with guidance for delivering a lesson. Teachers may find useful the following explanations of important terms used in Learning Outlines.
Term in Year 3
Scheme of Work Meaning
brainstorm (vb) This is when pupils work with one or more other pupils to put all their ideas together. They should be able to give all their ideas without worrying about accuracy. It may be listing, categorising etc.
coordinating conjunction
These are words which connect sentences or parts of sentences together, such as but, so. They are also known as cohesive devices.
differentiation (n) Differentiation is the variety of teaching techniques and lesson adaptations that teachers use to teach a class with diverse learning needs.
discourse skills (n) Discourse is any speech or writing that is longer than a sentence, e.g. a conversation. At this level, pupils are beginning to use more language at this level, so teachers will support pupils in developing these skills in Year 4.
drill (vb) Drilling is where the pupils hear a word, phrase or sentence and repeat it. Often the teacher says the words and pupils repeat it a few times, but the word may be recorded and pupils may repeat more/fewer times, individually/in pairs/groups. This gives practice in pronunciation and helps pupils remember. It can be done in different fun ways.
elicit (vb) This technique is where the teacher gets the information, answer, language from pupils, rather than telling them. It will help the teacher see what pupils know and makes pupils more active in their learning and language use.
fast finishers (n) Pupils who are able to work at a faster pace on a specific task than the majority of pupils in a class. They are therefore ready to move on to the next task sooner than the majority of pupils because they finish earlier than the others.
feedback (n) / feed back (vb)
This is the response given to something a pupil does. It can be in writing or it can be spoken, and it can be given by the teacher or peers.
Feedback should always be motivating, formative and constructive (i.e. it should show the pupils what they did well and how they can improve in a child-friendly way).
gapped text (adj) This is a text which has missing words or phrases. Pupils should read and decide which words or phrases to complete the text. This is also known as ‘fill in the blanks’ activity.
gist(n) Listening or reading for global/general understanding.
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Term in Year 3
Scheme of Work Meaning
Letter / word jumble (n) This kind of activity is where pupils have words for a sentence in a mixed-up order, and should re-order them to form a correct sentence, focussing on sentence structure and form. This can also be done with letters to make a word, and will support spelling skills.
mingling activity (n) When pupils mingle, they move around the classroom and talk to several different pupils. They may choose who they speak to, or they may have to speak to a certain number of pupils to complete a task, e.g. Find six pupils in the class who have a pet cat.
monitor (v) Teachers monitor when they walk around the classroom to see and watch pupils. This is to check that they know what to do, that they are doing what they should be doing, to answer any questions and, importantly, to check their work and give individual support and feedback.
peer-assessment (n) This is when pupils give feedback to other pupils on specific aspects of their learning, such as a specific aspect of the quality of their speaking. The feedback can take the form of two things that were good (stars) and one area for improvement (wish).
phoneme (n) Phonemes are the sounds that make up words in spoken language.
post-lesson (adj) Activity at the end of a lesson to review and consolidate the learning.
pre-lesson (adj) Activity at the beginning of a lesson to activate pupils’ prior knowledge.
pre-teach (vb) Sometimes teachers need to teach pupils key language before they listen or read a text or do a speaking or writing activity. This will help them understand the text and/or achieve the activity objectives.
prior knowledge (n) Knowledge and skills which pupils already have. Pupils possibly acquired from previous lessons or previous years.
realia (n) These are the ‘real thing’, used in the classroom as props to help pupils learn and remember language. For example, the teacher shows an apple to teach the word ‘apple’, rather than using a picture.
self-assessment (n) This is when pupils are asked to assess themselves on specific aspects of their learning. For example, learning diaries kept by pupils can reveal areas that need clarification or specific skills that need further development.
target language (n) This is the language teachers want pupils to use and learn in the lesson.
TPR activity (n) TPR = Total Physical Response. This is a way of teaching which combines movement and language to help pupils learn more deeply. It also lets teachers check understanding. Pupils listen and mime only, or they can mime and repeat at the same time.
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Each lesson in the Scheme of Work contains specific Content and Learning Standards. Teachers may find useful the following explanations of some of the terms used.