Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (SPAG or GPS)

The grammar of our first language is learnt naturally and implicitly through interactions with other speakers and from reading. Explicit knowledge of grammar is, however, very important, as it gives us more conscious control and choice in our language. Building this knowledge is best achieved through a focus on grammar within the teaching of reading, writing and speaking. At WJS we make the teaching of SPAG an intrinsic part of all our lessons.

Once pupils are familiar with a grammatical concept we encourage them to apply and explore this concept in the grammar of their own speech and writing and to note where it is used by others. To achieve this, we do the following:

• Introduce, teach and model an objective for the week. This is linked to the text being explored.
• Embed and recap on previous knowledge through SPAG daily starters.
• SPAG objectives are explicitly embedded in shared writing in all areas across the curriculum.
• SPAG objectives are explored in texts and an intrinsic part of learning
• Children's 'Green Pen Prove It' for that week could be to show evidence of where they have met that objective in their work.
• We use mini-tests and termly whole school assessments to get children used to the analytical questions that they would get in a SATs assessment, and carry out detailed gap analysis to inform teaching.