Teaching and Learning -                                        Gareth Snow

Literature in Action

This term, our classrooms will come alive with rich, engaging texts that form the backbone of our literacy learning. Across all year levels, students will explore high-quality literature as a vehicle for developing strong skills in grammar, vocabulary, sentence construction, writing, and comprehension.

Foundation

Our youngest learners will dive into beloved stories such as The Cranky Bear, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and The Gruffalo. These texts support early language development, oral storytelling, and foundational sentence work, while building excitement and confidence around reading.

Grade 1

Students in Grade 1 will explore Aesop’s Fables and Migaloo, using these texts to strengthen comprehension and begin identifying key messages, moral lessons, and descriptive language.

Grade 2

In Grade 2, students will enjoy Tiddler, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, and The Lorax. These engaging stories allow students to explore different perspectives, develop vocabulary, and build more complex sentence structures.

Grade 3

Grade 3 students will study The Iron Man, using this rich narrative to deepen comprehension, expand vocabulary, and develop structured paragraph writing.

Grade 4

Through The Wild Robot, Grade 4 students will explore themes of survival, adaptation, and connection, while strengthening their ability to write in a range of genres.

Grade 5

In Grade 5, Black Cockatoo and Dirrarn provide powerful opportunities to build cultural understanding and deepen students’ background knowledge, alongside developing more sophisticated writing and analytical skills.

Grade 6

Our senior students will engage with Can You See Me?, exploring complex themes and perspectives while refining their ability to analyse, interpret, and communicate ideas effectively.

Our Approach to Literacy

Across all year levels, these texts are carefully selected to support a structured and explicit approach to literacy. Through these units, students will:

• Build deep vocabulary knowledge
• Develop strong sentence-level writing skills
• Explore a range of genres and text types
• Strengthen reading comprehension strategies

• Expand their background knowledge to better understand the world

   

Our literature study forms a key part of a structured daily literacy block. Alongside these rich texts, students also participate in targeted, explicit instruction to build foundational skills:

• Foundation – Grade 2: Students engage in Little Learners, supporting early reading development through systematic phonics, decoding, and fluency.
• Grades 3 – 6: Students participate in Spelling Mastery, strengthening spelling knowledge, morphology, and word understanding.

By grounding our teaching in rich, shared texts, we ensure that all students have access to meaningful content and the knowledge they need to succeed as confident readers and writers.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mr Snow