WHY CLOSING THE WORD GAP MATTERS comes from the Oxford University Press.

It finds that the vocabulary gap is high in primary and secondary schools. It argues that relatively little research has been carried out into language deficit as children move through secondary education.

Additionally, the teachers who took part in this survey often reported  that the vocabulary gap is a general problem, not specific to any one group of pupils such as those with English as an additional language.

The cause can be put down to a lack of opportunities to practise vocabulary in the home and not enough time spent reading for pleasure.

Other main findings

? Almost half of five and six-year-olds are at risk underperforming academically because they have a limited vocabulary.

? In the first year of secondary school, more than four in 10 students still do not know enough words to do well in school.

? 49 per cent of Year 1 pupils have a limited vocabulary that impacts on their learning.

There are many more in the full document.

What do effective schools do to address this problem?

1. Provide support/ intervention through speech therapists or one-on-one  teaching assistant time in primary school. In secondary school extra literacy lessons, extra resources and mentoring programmes are set up .
2. Ensure a whole class focus on vocabulary in both primary and secondary schools, along with dedicated reading time and literacy help resources.
3. Employ a whole-school literacy policy, which includes giving children access to quality texts with discussion about them. Reading  across the curriculum is valued. Things like word games clubs and specific reward systems have been encouraged.

Teachers are given specific training to help find ways to increase children’s literacy and vocabulary.

Improving Mathematics in Key Stages Two and Three: Evidence Review is published by the  Education Endowment Foundation.

There are useful key findings that will add to your discussion toolbox. Some appear to be common sense but it’s always good to have evidence to back your anecdotally based thoughts.

Here are a few to start off with:

• Calculators can enhance learning but they need to be taught how to use them properly and in a thoughtful way.
• Calculators in primary school aided a greater understanding of and fluency with arithmetic.
• Feedback and collaborative learning have positive effects on learning with the latter particularly so in secondary school.
• Discussion is a key element of mathematics teaching and learning but teachers need to actively structure these dialogues.
• Teaching thinking skills, metacognition and self-regulation can be effective in mathematics.
• Technology can be very effective, but it needs to be used properly.
• Homework: more effective at secondary than primary level.
• Subject (or ‘content’ in the report) knowledge referred to as CK on its own isn’t very effective. It needs to be translated into  PCK – Pedagogic Content Knowledge, to have the most impact. in other words, it’s not what you know but how you deliver it that makes a difference.

There’s a lot more. It runs to 200 pages. But worth looking at the main points.

The first piece from Jen is her reflection on a new marking policy in her school. Read her full article here.

There are comments that will resonate with a lot of teachers. For example:

“During my five years of teaching alone, I have adopted three different varieties of marking policies…”.

Jen discusses the different aspects of marking that she has come across and includes some examples of work.

There are some very useful further reading references.