An online classroom to boost SPaG skills

Tuesday, 05 November 2013

Can improving spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG) help struggling learners to rebuild their confidence and achieve more?

The importance of spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG) to young people’s learning is often a topic of debate.

Nonetheless, strong SPaG skills are sought-after by employers and they’re certainly back on the agenda for schools. From this year, for the first time, GCSE pupils in England will be given extra marks in some subjects for correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.

With a topic that’s sometimes viewed as ‘boring’, how do schools improve SPaG skills with struggling learners in particular?

SPaG doesn't have to be dull

To capture hard-to-reach pupils’ interest in learning they need to be engaged and enthused by the process.

vision2learn for schools is a fun online classroom to engage the senses and help visual learners learn faster. Our online GCSE resources are designed with hard-to-reach learners in mind. Subjects include Religious Studies, Child Development, Leisure and Tourism and IGCSE English.

All of these resources contain keyword spellings and sound files to help with SPaG, as well as a number of other interactive features, including:

• Clear learning goals and motivation tips to help pupils get ready to learn
• Short, readable text which helps learners grasp GCSE concepts quickly
• New progress tracking features help teachers pinpoint areas for improvement with a laser sharp focus
• Videos explaining key points.

Boosting literacy skills and confidence at Fernhill School

Fernhill School in Hampshire has been working with vision2learn for schools since 2012. A group of year 11 pupils at the school are currently in their second year studying towards a GCSE Leisure and Tourism qualification online.

Studying for the Leisure and Tourism GCSE has had a marked effect on the students’ literacy skills in particular. Their teacher Chris Beeken, comments:

“The group improved literacy skills through the Leisure and Tourism GCSE online content, particularly using the keyword and SPaG support tools. These two skillsets are crucial as they can be applied across all elements of the curriculum. Hopefully the fact that they are now rebuilding their confidence to learn will give them an opportunity to succeed in other subjects at GCSE, such as English and maths.”

Taking a fresh approach to spelling, punctuation and grammar has helped these pupils at Fernhill School to gain strong, transferable skills that they can use in other subjects and in the wider world beyond school.

Chris adds: “Essentially what vision2learn has helped us achieve is an effective intervention for a group of troubled pupils. Not only are they still studying in Year 11, they now have the confidence to believe that their education is worth more. They have a chance.”

Is your school looking for a new way to approach GCSE achievement? vision2learn for schools could help – contact us today.