This is one of a series of thought pieces from the Literacy and English team at Education Scotland. In this one, Marion Cochrane discusses the Primary One Literacy Assessment and Action Resource (POLAAR) launched by Education Scotland in August, 2014.
POLAAR is designed to help practitioners to identify P1 learners who are most at risk of developing later difficulties with reading and writing. It is based on a staged model of intervention, ‘observe-action-observe’ which helps identify next steps in learning.
Five or six months into the school year, now will be the time that practitioners will be aware of those learners in P1 who would benefit from additional support. POLAAR can provide a structured approach which practitioners can use to help those learners.
Between the 11th and the 21st January, the literacy team will be hosting a conversation about POLAAR on the literacy blether. This is an opportunity for practitioners, whether they are new to POLAAR or have used it for some time, to discuss how the approach works and how it has benefitted learners. This will also be a great chance for practitioners to ask questions.
Get involved and join the conversation!
Please watch the video and explore the resource consider your own practice and what happens in your establishment.
Some questions to consider…
- Do you think this resource is something you could use to help learners in P1 or if you have used it already, did you find it useful?
- Have you considered using the Literacy Environment Assessment with the whole school?
- What difference do you think it makes to learners if you have a literacy rich environment?
- We will be hosting the conversation on our Literacy community from 11th January to 21st January, 2016.
Join us here to find out more
Find out how to get or update your Glow membership – How do I get a Glow login?