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Oracy
Introduction to Oracy
This year, Our Lady of Lourdes has introduced 'Oracy' and started to weave it into the curriculum.
In short, Oracy is being able to express yourself well. It's about having the vocabulary to say what you want to say and the ability to structure your thoughts so that they make sense to others. Oracy is a very important life skill, proven to raise attainment not only in children's writing but across the curriculum and beyond.
The children have learnt various skills in exploratory talk, presentational talk and even debate. They have been picking these skills up quickly, using them beautifully and we have seen a great deal of improvement in articulation and communication around the school.
For obvious reasons, this is the perfect time to introduce ways in which the children can bring their Oracy home. On this page, you will find various resources to use and challenges set for practising Oracy at home. Enjoy!
Hello From Miss Gill
Pre-reading for all Oracy tasks:
Resources for Exploratory Talk:
Exploratory Talk Challenge 1 – Have a discussion about these talking points
Information:
So that there is a lot to talk about, there are always rather a lot of Talking Points. Some groups become so involved that they never get to the end of the list – and this is good! High quality talk always takes time.
Top Tips:
Use your sentence starters to build, challenge (with respect), clarify and probe each other’s ideas to come to a shared agreement. Remember, if you cannot agree, this is not a bad thing! Remember to reflect on it positively. ‘We found it hard to agree about....’
What to Do:
Use the ‘Sentence Starters’ and ‘Ground Rules’ documents for your Key Stage to have a discussion about these talking points. You can do this in one big discussion afternoon or choose 3 per day if you would prefer to spread the discussion out. Send in your most interesting answers to the office for the attention of Miss Gill.
Resources for Presentational Talk:
Presentational Talk Challenge 1 – Perform your own version of ‘Smiling is Infectious’
Information:
Presentational talk is all about being confident and relaxed! There is no one way to perform poetry. Bring your own personality to it and HAVE FUN!
Top Tips:
Be confident! Have a look at the ‘steps to success for presentational talk’ document. Start by rehearsing 2 lines at a time (like we did with the snowball poem in class) and go over them until you have got them the way you want them. You can record yourself as you go.
What to Do:
- Read over the poem out loud a few times to get the ‘flow’ of it.
- Use the steps to success to think about good presentation.
- Keep practising until you have learnt it off by heart – this can take a while! If you would prefer to split it into 2 or share the lines with your family members that is fine, too!
- Record your final poem and email it to the office for the attention of Miss Gill.
OLOL Staff Presentation Challenge
