Transition from Year 6 to Year 7 English

These materials have been designed to help pupils make a successful start at secondary school. The transition unit for literacy/English looks at:

• Authors and texts - one unit involving ten lessons at the end of Year 6 and a second unit of six lessons at the beginning of Year 7

The unit uses teaching objectives drawn from the primary and Key Stage 3 Frameworks for teaching literacy/English. The Year 6 unit sets out to provide useful information about pupils' attainment in a manageable form by passing on information on pupils' strengths and weaknesses in certain aspects of the curriculum. The assessments and targets arising from the units can also be used to inform the teaching programmes developed for local literacy and numeracy summer schools.

The transition unit is intended to ensure that:

• pupils experience a lesson structure they are familiar with and understand
• there is a consistency in teaching approach that will help pupils to respond to new people in new surroundings
• pupils are able to build on their early successes and demonstrate what they know, understand and can do in the context of the work they did in Year 6
• teachers are better informed about pupils’ strengths and weaknesses and can use the lessons to confirm their assessments and plan teaching programmes that meet the needs of their pupils
• there is greater continuity and progression and less repetition of work

An alternative version of the Y6 unit is also available. It provides novels and materials suitable for classes containing both Y5 and Y6 children.