ENGLISH @ Langholm Academy
Welcome to the English Department
Welcome to the English Department at Langholm Academy. In this area, you will find documents to help you see the learning journey pupils will take from S1 to S4, as well as details of what they could experience in S5 and S6 if they choose to study English.
The English department is passionate about fostering a love of literature and language in all of their pupils.
Over their years with us, pupils will explore a wide range of literature including novels, short stories, poetry and plays, developing their analytical and evaluation skills.
They will read a wide range of non-fiction including broadsheet newspaper articles, essays, journals and diaries.
Being skilled in reading for understanding, analysis and evaluation is key across both the BGE and senior phases. Pupils will interact with a variety of texts to help them understand each question, analyse how language is used, identify key information and understand the opinions of the writer.
Pupils will be taught how to communicate effectively, both in writing and through speaking and listening activities throughout the course.
We also hope that pupils will nurture a love of reading through teacher and pupil recommendations, choice and opportunities to explore the wonderful world of books.
Here at Langholm, we celebrate books and reading through national events such as World Book Day and National Poetry Day. We encourage our pupils to enter national, U.K. and international writing competitions and our pupils have achieved success over the years.
We are passionate about broadening our pupils' horizons and, with that in mind, we invite published writers into school to work with pupils and develop their creativity while learning about the writing process.
We recommend that parents and caregivers consult the the Scottish Book Trust's reading lists to help them guide their young people to books that may interest them. The lists can be found here:
https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading-and-stories
The Importance of Reading for Pleasure
As reading is such an important skill for life, but also one of the greatest skils for discovering the world and their imagination, we promote reading for pleasure at Langholm Academy. All pupils in S1 and S2 have a weekly library lesson to explore the world of books and their own imagination.
Alongside our library periods, we encourage every young person to read as much as possible at home. The connection between reading and attainment cannot be denied and we would love families to help us promote reading.
The evidence on reading for pleasure
There is a growing body of evidence which illustrates the importance of reading for pleasure for both educational purposes as well as personal development (cited in Clark and Rumbold, 2006).
A growing number of studies show that promoting reading can have a major impact on children and adults and their future. Clark and Rumbold (2006) identify several main areas of the benefits to reading for pleasure:
• Reading attainment and writing ability
• Text comprehension and grammar
• Breadth of vocabulary
• Positive reading attitudes
• Greater self-confidence as a reader
• Pleasure in reading in later life
• General knowledge
• A better understanding of other cultures
• Community participation
• A greater insight into human nature and decision-making.
At Langholm we celebrate a reading culture through reading in Wellbeing and whole school events such as World Book Day and National Poetry Day.
For more information on these events visit:
https://www.worldbookday.com/
https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/
A pupil who reads for 20 minutes every school day will experience 1,800,000 words in a school year...
A pupil who reads for 5 minutes each school day will experience 282,000 words in the same period...
A pupil who reads for just 1 minute each school day will experience 8,000 words in that year...
READING CHANGES LIVES!
Contact the Department
For more information regarding the English department, please contact staff using the form provided.
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