Literacy is one of the school’s key priorities. We looked at a number of different software packages, and felt that LiteracyPlanet has by far the most comprehensive offering to support our literacy objectives.
The most important use of LiteracyPlanet at Victory Heights is for intervention groups. Several of the school’s students within each year group are making below the expected rate of progress or at risk of doing so, and have SEN, EAL or receive some other form of learning support.
Teachers have found that LiteracyPlanet has helped these students to boost their progress when they were previously at risk of falling behind. It presents an interesting and engaging medium for learning that engages students and helps them to understand difficult concepts more easily, particularly for spelling, grammar and punctuation.
According to Matt Hawley, Assistant Head Teacher, one of the most useful aspects to the programme for teachers is being able to lock students into individual activities or focus areas, such as ‘Year 5 Spelling’ or ‘Year 2 Grammar’.
“This means that you can ensure that children are working on the areas that you know they need to in order to plug gaps and aid their progression,” he says.
Students particularly enjoy the gamified elements and the self-guided mode of the programme known as ‘Quest’. Incentives and rewards for completing tasks and doing well, like earning credits to redeem items for their avatar, motivate them to continue and complete more work. “Many students comment that they don’t feel like they are doing work. It feels like a game, so they carry on and don’t want to stop. Before they know it, they have learnt a lot of skills they can apply in lessons,” says Mr Hawley.
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Many students comment that they don’t feel like they are doing work. It feels like a game, so they carry on and don’t want to stop. Before they know it, they have learnt a lot of skills they can apply in lessons.
Matt Hawley, Assistant Head Teacher
This means that you can ensure that children are working on the areas that you know they need to in order to plug gaps and aid their progression
Matt Hawley, Assistant Head Teacher