020 8687 1157 MENU Home Curriculum Literacy Support ‘You cannot build your vocabulary unless you meet new words, and to meet them you must read’ Rudolf Flesch and Abraham Lass. At Harris Academy Morden, we believe that literacy is an essential skill to enable students to read and write as experts in every subject across the curriculum. These skills are essential to understand the world around us and therefore, the better we are at these skills, the more successful we can expect to be in life. We recognise that improving literacy can have an impact on students’ self-esteem, motivation, behaviour and attainment and that reading, particularly reading for pleasure, has a direct impact on cognitive and social-communicative development. It has been shown that reading improves health and wellbeing, as well as compassion and empathy for others. Our goal is to develop each student’s potential to the point where they are reading at, or above, their chronological age. As an Academy, we: •Promote and celebrate reading for enjoyment •Explicitly teach vocabulary appropriate to each subject area •Use effective strategies to support comprehension and vocabulary acquisition •Promote oracy in the classroom to enable quality written work •Provide tailored intervention where needed Literacy Intervention Programmes Students at Harris Academy Morden are tested for reading age and spelling age at least annually. This, along with evidence from teachers about progress in lessons, allows staff to create a literacy profile for each child. Students identified as needing additional support, will be targeted for one of the following intervention programmes. Bedrock Vocabulary at HAMD Students complete two lessons every week between Monday to Sunday. Bedrock Vocabulary is an online literacy and vocabulary curriculum, designed by English teachers to explicitly teach students of all abilities the academic words they need to succeed in school and beyond. Using a range of fiction and non-fiction texts, the programme exposes students to language and information which not only bridges gaps in their general knowledge but also provides them with the valuable cultural capital they need to understand the world around them. At Harris, Bedrock is done as part of our homework programme and students in years 7-10, are expected to complete two lessons every week. As a parent, you also have access to the work your child is doing on Bedrock. Using the access code provided by the school, you can access your child’s account to understand their progress. You can see the words they are learning each week and can weave them into family conversations to ensure even more language practise. Parents, please contact your child’s English teacher if you have not received your access code. Also, please support your child’s learning by encouraging them to complete their two Bedrock lessons every week. Students, have you completed your lessons? If not, what are you waiting for? Go on, log on to www.bedrockvocabulary.com, sign in to your account and do your lessons. Literacy across the Curriculum At Harris Academy Morden we are committed to empowering students by widening their vocabulary. We understand the link between confident, fluent reading and confident, articulate speaking and so we use Bedrock Vocabulary which is a computerised programme that explicitly teaches vocabulary through a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. This year we are introducing the teaching of Tier 2 vocabulary in lessons twice a week to enhance our students’ ability to be effective orators and confident writers. At HAMD, we have an Academy wide active marking code which is used to identify technical errors within each students’ written work. Students respond to these codes consistently and teachers use them to determine common misconceptions that need addressing thereby improving their Literacy skills. Extra-Curricular Literacy Activities Throughout the year, there are many more literacy opportunities for both staff and students to participate in. As well as World Book Day, termly reading and writing competitions and creative writing challenges organised by external agencies will also be available to promote literacy across the academy. Debate Mate club is very popular with our KS3 students. At this club they are taught skills in public speaking, grace under pressure and critical thinking. There is also ‘Bridging the Gap’ club on Wednesdays for students who need support with basic literacy skills. The Library The Library is central to what we do in the Literacy Department. It is a functional and highly resourced space for students to access before school, during break and lunch and after school. In the library, students can access a catalogue of new exciting books from different genres. They can trade in old books, buy new books or exchange books. Most students use the library for quiet reading and for completing homework. Click here for more details on the different literacy programmes at HAMD. Curriculum Curriculum Overview Recovery Curriculum Subjects Curriculum Organisation Literacy Support Numeracy Support English as an Additional Language (E.A.L.) SMSC, PSHE, RSE & Citizenship Character Education Homework Most Able Programme (M.A.P.) Raising Attainment and Progress (R.A.P.) Options Process Head of School: Mr Sparks Harris Academy Morden, Lilleshall Road, Morden, Surrey, SM4 6DU 020 8687 1157Email UsFind Us Useful Links Harris Federation Uniform Supplier Improve Your Literacy Improve Your Numeracy Merton School Sport Partnership DfE performance table Ofsted Report Harris Careers Education Privacy Policy Cookie Usage Sitemap High Visibility Version Website Design By Cleverbox * Cookie Policy: We use cookies on this site to improve your user experience. MORE INFORMATION ALLOW ALL COOKIES MANAGE PREFERENCES