At Joseph Locke Primary School we use Literacy Tree across Years 2–6 to teach reading, writing, oracy and grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) as a single, connected journey.
Literacy Tree puts high-quality literature at the heart of learning. Each unit is built around carefully chosen texts – diverse in voice and theme – so pupils encounter rich language, engaging ideas and meaningful contexts for writing. Lessons weave reading, modelled writing, talk and explicit GPS teaching together so pupils practise the full range of English skills within inspiring classroom experiences.
Because more than half our pupils speak English as an additional language, Literacy Tree’s focus on vocabulary development and structured talk is especially valuable: teachers explicitly teach new words, give pupils repeated opportunities to use them and use oracy activities to build confidence before writing. Units also include sequenced opportunities for drafting, revising and editing so pupils learn writing as a process, not a one-off task.
In practice this looks like:
- whole-class reading and discussion of a core text to develop comprehension and vocabulary;
- short, modelled writing stages that demonstrate planning, drafting and editing;
- oracy tasks (paired talk, sentence stems, presentations) to rehearse ideas and vocabulary;
- targeted GPS teaching linked directly to the text and current writing purpose.
The result is a cohesive, school-wide approach: pupils leave each year more fluent readers, more confident speakers and more capable writers who can use grammar and vocabulary with purpose.
