Page 48 - The East Sussex Way

Appendix 3: Do it Now - Vocabulary and Reading

Two suggestions for immediate action to support literacy through
primary to secondary transition.

1. Planned and explicit vocabulary teaching

Schools should provide a variety of opportunities to use new
vocabulary, explore its various meanings, manipulate the words and,
most importantly, revisit them on a regular basis. Research suggests
that between 8 and 10 exposures of a new word are necessary for
pupils to recognise a word and have a good understanding of its
meaning (Nation, 1990).

With teachers grappling with the constraints of an already full
curriculum, vocabulary tasks should be short but effective, providing
variety and engagement and easily integrated into the school day.

As part of a robust vocabulary system, the introduction and
exploration of key academic vocabulary used regularly across
all subjects in secondary school will need to be integrated into
vocabulary teaching at primary level. The words below have been
chosen as they are relevant to many different contexts across the
curriculum. Year 6 and 7 teachers should collaborate to adapt the list
as needed.

• analyse • create • identify
• assess • describe • infer
• cause • deÞ ne • inß uence
• classify • explain • signiÞ cant
• compare • evaluate • similar
• concluding • factor • state
• correlation • group • summarise

2. Planned and explicit reading opportunities

The Oxford Language Report (OUP, 2021) has exposed the critical
word gap that has the potential to damage the progress of pupils at
the vulnerable point between primary and secondary. In response,
The East Sussex Way will set out some of the ways that pupils can
‘master the most crucial of academic tools for our pupils: reading’
(Quigley, 2018). In the meantime, it is recommended that schools:

 Decide who is going to lead and implement
strategies to support reading throughout the Year 6/7
transition.
 Review their reading culture and diet, including
progression of reading and the diversity and range
of texts used to include Þ ction, non-Þ ction across the
curriculum and poetry.
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