English Language Department

English Language Department

Objectives

• To nurture critical thinkers, confident speakers and compelling writers

• To help students acquire the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing through various curricular and co-curricular programmes and activities.

• To listen to, read and view a wide range of multimodal texts.

• To speak, write and make presentations to suit purpose, audience, context and culture.

• To interact effectively with people.

• To think through, interpret and evaluate a range of texts.

Programmes:

• The Guided Reading Programme for P1 and P2 students aims to nurture a love for reading through exposure to books of different genres and text types that are age appropriate. Students will get to read a series of books throughout the year, as each title is rotated amongst the classes. At the end of the programme, each student will have two books to keep.

• Literature Appreciation Programme for P3 to P5 students

To further promote students’ love of reading in the middle primary, the P3 to P5 students will study and explore a curated selection of books in an in-depth manner and complete choice activities related to the literary items discussed. Books are specially selected for its rich language and its context that expose our young readers to a different world from their own. The Literature Appreciation Programme includes specially designed choice activities which allow teachers to help students hone their comprehension skills and literature appreciation.

• What’s Up newspaper

To help encourage our students to become informed global citizens, the school subscribes to the What’s Up newspaper which is issued to the P3 to P6 students on a monthly basis. Teachers use the articles in What’s Up to engage the students, help them think critically and express their opinions respectfully whilst also listening to the perspectives and viewpoints of others.

• Writer’s Workshop at SACPS

The EL department has customised a writing programme to suit the developmental needs of our students from Primary 3 to Primary 6.

In a single cycle of writing, students are taught a variety of writing skills through mini-lessons. They will have one-to-one conferencing with their teachers to get individualised feedback on their writing. When they complete a piece, they are taught to edit and prepare their pieces for publishing. This part of the writing process is introduced to give our young writers a larger audience, motivating them to write more and write better.

• Thematic R.E.A.D @ the Library

To help encourage the reading culture in school, the school library rolls out different themes organised by the different departments each month with accompanying activities at the library. This is done so that reading will continue to be an appealing activity to students.

• SACPS Language Voyagers

SACPS Language Voyagers is a year-long language expedition which aims to encourage greater interest in the English language through a variety of fun quizzes. Every term, interesting language quizzes which have been specially designed for each level are conducted in class. These word puzzles trigger our students’ creative thinking and word association skills while exposing them to a variety of idioms and proverbs.

• Writers’ Guild (P5)

Writers’ Guild is the school’s in-house creative writing programme that was begun in 2022. The programme aims to help Primary 5 students who show a flair and passion for writing to further enhance their writing ability.

Through our programme, we hope to nurture creative, critical and compelling writers by providing a safe space for them to discover, experiment and refine their own unique writing styles. Students will not only learn various creative writing techniques under the guidance of our Teacher Mentors, but will also be exposed to various genres of writing. The programme culminates in a Capstone Project, where students produce a final writing piece on a given topic.

Events:

• Fifty Fabulous Days (P1)
  

At the end of Term 1, the EL Department organises the Fifty Fabulous Days picnic to celebrate the end of the first term for the Primary 1 students. Parents are invited to this event so that they will have an understanding of what school is like for their daughters through a Shared Book Reading, poetry recitations and a publishing party of stories written by the students for parents and peers to celebrate their first term in school.

• Mum & Me Day (P2) 
  

  • Mum & Me Day is an event the EL department organises at the end of Term 2 for Primary 2 students and their mothers to bond together as Mother’s Day is celebrated in the month of May. Mothers will not only get to interact with their daughters and to enjoy a Readers’ Theatre presentation, but they will also get to have special one-on-one time with their daughters.

• English Language Day
  

  • At SACPS, English Language Day features a host of exciting activities which aim to promote a love for the English language. English Language Day allows our students to be immersed in a language-rich environment and allow informal yet engaging learning to take place, helping our students understand that English is more than an examinable subject and that opportunities to learn and grow to be better English users are all around them.

• Languages and Arts Festival

Alternating with English Week celebrations, the Languages and Arts Festival is held biennially. The fun-filled fiesta sees Primary 1 to Primary 4 students put aside their textbooks and worksheets to tinker with the languages and arts. As part of the Languages and Arts Festival, the English Department has planned activities like poetry writing, enhanced Readers Theatre, Speech and Drama, as well as a Phonics Carnival which aim to allow students to develop a love for the language through a variety of experiences and activities.