Page 15 - The East Sussex Way

The assessment for the scheme of learning was an essay explaining
why European Christians went on Crusade. We hoped that as a result
of our vocabulary-driven teaching we would see pupils choosing,
for example, the tier 2 word ‘motivated’ rather than the tier 1 word
‘wanted’ in their essays, alongside the key tier 3 words related to the

subject material.

Impact

Many pupils opted to use the more sophisticated language of
explanation correctly. Assessment and pupil voice indicated that
pupils were able to recall the key vocabulary taught through oracy
strategies more conÞ dently than the vocabulary taught in a written
context.

Pupils in Year 7 are more conÞ dent in group and paired talk tasks and
these tasks are productive since pupils are familiar with routines and
expectations regarding their talk.

Next steps

To develop the scheme of learning still further, we will spend time at
the very beginning teaching pupils how to have productive group
discussions. This happened over time with practice, but making
expectations more explicit at the outset would establish set a clearer

standard.

We intend to make time to teach all key vocabulary across the
history curriculum through oracy and embed opportunities to use
academic language in speech before expecting pupils to use this
language in their writing.

Practical recommendations

First steps
Give them something to talk about

Embed talk-based starters and plenaries into lessons. For
example, play ‘secret picture’ to introduce to a visual
source or end a lesson with a game of Taboo.

Encourage teachers to Þ nd the controversy, hook, or
puzzle so that pupils can’t resist talking about it. For
example, a competitive game of image/key word
matching or asking pupils to Þ ll up ‘a woman’s mind

magniÞ ed’ to begin learning about the suffragettes. 10