What is Oracy?
‘The ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language.’ Voice 21.
Children of all ages have the right to be heard, they have a right to express themselves and above all they have a right to be understood. At St Joseph the Worker we are passionate about giving children a voice and supporting them as they develop into resilient, compelling citizens of an ever-changing world.
Oracy in our Curriculum
In our school, Oracy is a powerful tool for learning. By teaching children to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them.
‘Reading and writing float on a sea of talk’ Voice 21.
If we think about this idea we realise that on a really basic level, for children to be able to read and write they need knowledge of words. Children begin their learning of words from a very young age, exposing them to a broad range of words is an essential stepping stone into facilitating their growth as talented readers and writers.
As adults we always talk about our ideas before acting on them, at our school we aim to give children the opportunity to do this in a wide range of contexts.
Currently, Oracy is taught through one guided reading session per week as we begin our efforts to embed Oracy within our curriculum. Guided reading allow us to explore many different types of texts and topics, it is an amazing gateway for children to develop their speaking and listening skills in response to varied stimuli.
What does it look like?
At St. Joseph the Worker we are just beginning our Oracy journey with our fellow pioneers at Voice 21. We have a strong vision for where we would like our journey to go.
A St. Joseph the Worker an Oracy focussed child will:
- engage with others’ ideas.
- develop their own arguments
- reason together
- listen to understand
- change people’s minds and allow their own mind to change
- tell compelling stories
- express themselves
- speak up for what they believe in.
As a team, children and adults alike, we will work together to develop our own and each other’s skills in speaking and listening as a way of bettering the futures of the children we teach and nurture as they move through our school.
‘A loving, Christian family striving to achieve excellence.’
