At Hope Academy International, we have developed a program that draws upon the framework and standards of both the British Curriculum and the Ugandan Curriculum. Our aim is to provide an engaging and stimulating learning experience for students to promote their knowledge, understanding, and skills. In P3, children will enhance their reading fluency and be able to retell familiar stories that they have encountered in P1 and P2. The teacher’s focus will be on developing accurate and speedy word-reading skills. Additionally, the children will have opportunities to listen to and discuss various types of literature, including stories, poems, plays, and informational books.
Our program follows the Oxford University Press Read, Write, Inc Literacy and Language scheme. This scheme offers a structured and systematic approach to teaching literacy, aiming to create fluent readers, confident speakers, and proficient writers. The scheme employs a unique step-by-step approach through whole class shared reading, enabling children to comprehend every text and develop the confidence to write ambitiously and accurately. Our P3 English program engages children through drama and discussion, fostering vocabulary development and enriching their comprehension, writing, and spoken language skills.
Word Reading
Students will learn and apply phonics knowledge to decode words, blend sounds, and recognize alternative sound options. They will read accurately, including words with multiple syllables. Children will also learn to read common exception words, noting any unusual correspondences between spelling and sound. Through practice, they will become proficient in reading words quickly and accurately without needing to sound them out. They will also develop fluency and confidence by reading aloud books that align with their improving phonic knowledge.
Reading Comprehension
Students will develop a love for reading and expand their vocabulary and understanding. They will engage in listening, discussing, and expressing views about a wide range of contemporary and classic stories, poetry, and non-fiction texts. They will discuss the sequence of events in books and comprehend and practice retelling various stories effectively. Recognizing literary language and clarifying word meanings will also be emphasized. Children will continue building a collection of poems memorized by heart, appreciating and reciting them with appropriate intonation. They will understand the texts they read independently or listen to by drawing on prior knowledge, checking for understanding, making inferences, and participating in discussions about the material.
Writing – Transcription
Students will focus on spelling skills with transcription. They will learn to break down spoken words into individual sounds and represent them with appropriate graphemes. They will learn alternative spellings for known phonemes and expand their knowledge of common exception words. Contracted forms, possessive apostrophes, and distinguishing between homophones will also be covered. Children will also practice adding suffixes to spell longer words and apply spelling rules. Additionally, they will write simple sentences dictated by the teacher, common exception words, and punctuation taught thus far.
Writing Composition
Students will develop positive attitudes towards writing and build their writing stamina. They will write narratives based on personal experiences and fictional stories, as well as non-fiction pieces and poetry. Before writing, they will engage in planning and organizing their thoughts, including key ideas and new vocabulary. Children will learn to make additions, revisions, and corrections to their writing, evaluating their work with the help of teachers and peers. Proofreading for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors will also be emphasized. They will also practice reading their writing aloud with appropriate intonation to ensure clarity of meaning.
Vocabulary, Spelling, and Grammar
Students will learn to use punctuation correctly, including full stops, capital letters, exclamation marks, question marks, commas for lists, and apostrophes for contracted forms and possessives. They will develop an understanding of present and past tenses, including the progressive form. The module will also cover subordination and coordination in sentences using appropriate conjunctions.
Handwriting
Students will learn to form lowercase letters correctly in relation to one another. They will begin using diagonal and horizontal strokes to join letters while also understanding which letters are best left unjoined when adjacent to each other. Writing capital letters and digits accurately in terms of size, orientation, and relationship to lowercase letters will be practiced. Additionally, children will be taught to use appropriate spacing between words, considering the size of the letters.
Terminology
By the end of P3, children will become familiar with various terms, including nouns, noun phrases, statements, questions, exclamations, commands, compounds, suffixes, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, tenses (past, present), apostrophes, commas, and more.