English Department
The English Language curriculum at our school aims to nurture confident communicators, critical thinkers and self-directed learners through meaningful and engaging learning experiences. By learning drama, exploratory talk, multiliteracies, reading and digital learning experiences, students develop strong language skills while growing in confidence, creativity, and collaboration.
Curriculum Framework
The English Language Syllabus 2020 for the Primary level focuses on the development, reinforcement and extension of language skills in the primary years through an enjoyment of the language and the promotion of extensive reading; and leveraging oracy, reading and writing skills to develop knowledge and independent use of the language.
The intent of the ELS 2020 is to develop 21st century skills and emerging competencies in our students and nurture them to be empathetic communicators, discerning readers and creative inquirers.
KEY EL Programmes in BVPS
Speaking @ BVPS
Oracy lessons are crucial to foster effective communication skills. Through structured activities and discussions, students learn to articulate thoughts, listen actively, and engage in meaningful dialogues. These skills extend beyond classrooms, preparing students for success in diverse real-world scenarios, developing them as empathetic communicators.
ACTION! Drama in the Curriculum
Drama is incorporated into the EL curriculum to teach oracy in BVPS. Students take on the role of different characters and learn critical inventive thinking skills such as articulating their thoughts clearly, looking at situations from different perspectives and formulating decisions. Additionally, their command of the language and social emotional learning are further enhanced through the use of thinking routines. In our school, we explore various platforms to provide opportunities for our students to hone their drama skills.
News and Views
News and Views is one such platform in which our P5 and P6 classes showcase their talents through live drama and video performances. Through these performances, the classes will also be incorporating the learning of values and skills that will help them to be self-directed learners, confident leaders and caring citizens.
Digital Storytelling
As part of our ongoing efforts to help our students acquire and develop oral communication skills; accurate pronunciation, appropriate intonation, read expressively and speak with confidence, our P1 to P3 students use a novel digital story book platform, Moo-O, that allows them to be the characters of the story they are reading. Students can record a video of them in action and the video clip can be easily shared with their teachers, classmates, friends and families. Not only does this help our students to have an interactive learning experience, they get to have fun reading, acting and performing as well.
Reading @ BVPS
In order to instil the love for reading and encourage reading widely, here at Bukit View, we have a range of activities to keep our students engaged. Our reading programme strives to foster a passion for reading by immersing students in captivating literary journeys through diverse text selections which prompts the exploration of worlds and perspectives as a discerning reader. Through interactive activities inspired by books, students embark on exciting real-life adventures, forging a profound connection with literature and igniting a lifelong love for reading.
DEAR BVPS
DEAR BVPS or Drop Everything and Read is a pre-assembly activity done every morning before the start of morning assembly where students will read their English or Mother Tongue storybooks while waiting for school to start at 7.30 a.m. DEAR empowers students with daily moments of immersive reading which not only enhances literacy skills, expands vocabulary, and nurtures imagination, but also cultivates a lifelong love for reading, improves focus, and provides a valuable escape into different worlds.
Read for Books at BVPS
Read for Books at BVPS is a charity book drive organised by National Library Board (NLB) National Reading Movement, aimed at celebrating and sharing the joy, and gift of reading with the less privileged. Our BVPS family has been a part of this worthy cause since 2017. Participating in this charity book drive imbues the act of reading with purpose. It connects our students’ passion for literature with a sense of community and empathy, creating a fulfilling and meaningful reading experience that contributes to a greater good.
Recess Storytelling Time
Every term, our P4 to P6 English Monitors take turns to conduct storytelling sessions during recess to bring the stories to life for their schoolmates. The sessions give them a chance to express themselves creatively and confidently and allow their friends to experience an exciting life through the world of books. Apart from the student storytellers, our School Leaders and teachers also take on active roles as our Mystery Storytellers which never fail to leave our students in awe and excited to read the book!
Morning Reading Programme
Our Morning Reading programme, conducted from Monday to Thursday mornings from 7.15 a.m. to 7.30 a.m., aims to guide and support a selected group of P1 and P2 students to be confident readers. Our young readers, who are paired with their P4 and P6 tutors, enjoy a variety of fun and interactive activities during the sessions to help build their reading skills and language proficiency.
Extensive Reading
To promote extensive reading in English Language (EL), our students subscribe to newspapers that are used by our teachers as additional reading resources during lessons to build on their language skills and general knowledge. Our P3 and P4 students subscribe to the Little Red Dot, while our P5 and P6 students subscribe to What’s Up. By incorporating these publications in class, we hope to not only enhance students’ awareness of current issues, but to also nurture discerning readers who can make informed decisions and engage with the world around them.
Writing @ BVPS
In Bukit View, we provide students with interesting, shared experiences that will provide them with the content to engage in rich discussions before embarking on the writing process. These experiences serve as a practical context for students to apply acquired language skills to effectively use vocabulary, structure, and style to convey their thoughts in writing.
Nurturing Diverse Learners
Talent Development in English - BV ACEs
Our Bukit View Accomplished Communicators of English (BV ACEs) Programme aims to develop in students the proficiency to generate, analyse, organise, and express ideas coherently, creatively and critically with discernment. Our selected P4 and P5 students will acquire skills and techniques that will enable them to produce a variety of texts for different purposes, audiences, contexts and cultures, and develop positive dispositions which will enable them to engage effectively and confidently when communicating and collaborating with others.
Literacy Support Programmes
Our Literacy Support Programmes, namely the Learning Support Programme for English (LSP), the School-based Dyslexia Remediation (SDR) programme, Reading Remediation Programme (RRP), as well as our after-school Remediation Programme aim to provide targeted intervention that addresses specific learning gaps or challenges faced by our students. Conducted in small groups, we hope to provide personalised instruction and support that will equip our students with the necessary skills and strategies to build their confidence in their academic abilities.
Competitions Platforms in English
Competitions offer a dynamic platform to hone students' language skills as the competitive setting sharpens their critical thinking and encourages them to refine their grammar, vocabulary, and articulation which nurtures growth in the students’ English language proficiency. Thus, here at Bukit View, we provide students with the opportunity to hone their skills and unleash their creativity through various competition platforms for the different language skills.