Early Literacy Support Strategy

[CrocodileKate]

Does anyone have any information regarding the ELS Strategy for year 1.
I understand that it begins after Christmas and carries on for a full term for those children that need it.
Does anyone know what sort if level a child would need to be at to be selected for this?

It picks up children who are not "special needs" but weaker than the national expected average (I think!) or certianlly does in our school.

Any idea what would be weaker than the national average?

I would guess still can't always hear inital/finial sounds in words, not recognise all 50 key words, can't always her rhyme.

This is a guess as I have only just moved into year 1 and we are not starting this programme until the spring term. MY guess it would pikc up childre who weaker with their phoentic knoweldge thus linking in reading and spelling. Am guessing your child has been picked up. It is a really good programme though having looked through it. Why not ask the teacher?

I haven't heard anything from the school about it at all. We have parents evening in a few weeks and will be asking what they think and hoping they put him on it.
He has really struggled with reading and learning the alphabet. Also struggles with writing although can write backwards pretty well.
Since going into year one though he has shown a real enthusiasm for trying to read and I want a way to encourage him.
Thanks for the information.

Anyone else able to help?

Anyone?

If you are keen to help him, try going right back to basics and work on his phonic knowledge. It is the keystone to all reading and it is essential to have a thorough grounding to enable children to read properly in the long term.

The Jolly phonics handbook is a good start, as is the DVD.

There is a lot of reserach that shows that guessing from pictures is bad for children, particularly boys, and anyway does not help later when there are no pictures!

Key words also become very difficult - the brain can only cope with a limited number and the ones they teach are mainly the basic words, and will not help in understanding a complicated piece of prose or science book in secondary school.

The ELSS is just more of the same - guessing and picture cues so will not help long term.

The National Literacy strategy is beng rewritten to remove any references to these unrelible strategies but it does not become compulsory until 2008 so until then teachers may be unaware of it if the head teacher does not bring it in earlier.

Good luck

Thankyou.
He has been learning using ORT and learning key words.
Will sort out some jolly phonics for him.

Can you point me in the direction of the rewrite?

Try this as a starting point reading

some interesting basic info here core papers

and order your own copy on DVD here

Thankyou very much.