Reading at VUSC

Reading at Victoria University Secondary College in 2023

All Year 7-9 students at VUSC take part in reading for 10 minutes at the beginning of every lesson in all subjects except Mathematics. All teachers ensure students are engaged in the reading of fiction or non-fiction texts during this time - these books must be hard copies. Our Enhanced Literacy teachers will specifically support students in selecting ‘Just Right books’; books which are just challenging enough for your child. They will discover the types of books, fiction and non-fiction, which interest students and ensure that students have access to these.

There are also class texts which students will be expected to read in preparation for English classes. English teachers will set specific tasks on these set texts.

For example, in Term 1, students have been studying the following texts:

Year 7 students are starting with non-fiction texts on GAMES - reviews and information text (Teachers will provide these short texts)
Year 8 students are studying the film The Giver, but will also have short dystopian texts to analyse.
Year 9 are studying the text Homeland Calling, and Year 9 Deep Learning will also be studying Macbeth.

You can encourage your children to closely read these set texts, in addition to their own reading selections.

What is Enhanced Literacy?

Students will be working in the following four streams in their Enhanced Literacy classes:

Enhanced Literacy (the majority of students will be in the standard Enhanced Literacy classes)
English as an Additional Language (students who have moved from another country to Australia and have been enrolled in an Australian school for 7 or less years/International students who need additional support to improve their reading skills)
Literature (this class is targeted at students who are above their reading level)
Multi Literacy (this program is targeted at students who need additional support in reading, so they can establish skills at their expected level).

Literacy Enhancement classes have targeted reading lessons focused on building students’ reading comprehension skills and growing their awareness of the range of books/genres available to them. Teachers will also use these sessions to conduct reading conferences and track the reading progress of their students through their reading/writing journals.

The learning focus in Literacy Enhancement is on expanding vocabulary and improving reading comprehension. This is a year long course. Students will learn the skills that are demanded in reading, comprehending and responding to texts; this may be a mini lesson or a number of lessons depending on the area of learning. Critical reading strategies will also be explicitly taught with a variety of texts from a variety of genres, both fictional and non-fictional, so that students are well equipped to read and understand any type of text, in readiness for senior school and their future pathway.

Students will also participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge, a state-wide challenge which asks students to read a range of books throughout the year. Students will be asked to read the following amounts of books (many students will read more) throughout the year to complete the Reading Challenge:

Year 7 - 15 books
Year 8 - 18 books
Year 9 - 20 books

Booklists and more information can be found at: https://vprc.eduweb.vic.gov.au/searchbooklist

How can parents support their children at home?

Students are expected to read for at least half an hour each night, and they can choose the books they read as long as they have selected a ‘Just Right Book’; a book which is of interest and appropriately challenging to the student’s reading level. As previously mentioned, they will also need time at home to read the class texts set for English.

What are the benefits of reading?

Students who read:

Less than 1 min/day read 8,000 words/year
4.6 mins/day read 282,000 words/year
20 mins/day read 1.8million words/year

Students who read more than 20 minutes a day have a greater chance of accessing learning across all subject areas, and successfully developing as academic learners. The words and ideas encountered when reading become background knowledge for other subjects.

Families are also encouraged to join their local Brimbank Library, which can provide additional books for students to select from.

https://www.brimbanklibraries.vic.gov.au/

Online reading can also be accessed at home, and audiobooks may be an option for more reluctant readers. The ABC app is free and students can access these readings at home on their phones or devices https://www.abc.net.au/radio/listenapp

The following site will also allow you to access audio books freely, as the ABC app is limited in selections - you can search for online books and portals here:

https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/free-audiobooks

Questions about Literacy Enhancement can be forwarded to Ms Athena Vass, Literacy leader at athena.vass@education.vic.gov.au.