English News
English News - Week 3
Soundwaves Spelling - Years 3-6
This year all classes years 3-6 will be utilising the Sound Waves Spelling program. Sound Waves follows a logical and thorough scope and sequence.
The program is organised around the 44 phonemes (sounds) of Australian English and the graphemes (a letter or letter combination) used to represent them in written language.
Students have access to their focus list words and activities online.
Over the next few weeks Years 3-6 will be covering units:
Kim Hill
3-6 Coordinator
K-2 English Update
The current K-2 curriculum has had a big shift in its approach to reading and writing and it has been written with decades of research and evidence. Reading instruction uses what we call the big five:
- Phonemic awareness
- Phonics
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
Systematic phonics instruction is at the core of this approach to reading. Evidence has proven that with this type of teaching students' ability to comprehend texts when reading is significantly improved. When students learn in the earlier years to read using the alphabetic code their ability to read words accurately and more fluently then leads to successful comprehension.
The Year 1 and 2 teachers have been busy beginning their phonics lessons this year. See below the sounds they have been focusing on in class:
Year 1
Week 1:
- Revising vowels a,e,i,o,u
- CVC words: Example: fun jam web zip dog
Week 2:
- Revising consonants
- CVC words: Example: win bed jug vet van
Next week we will be focusing on CVCC words: Example: sent, wind, hand, camp
Year 2
Week 1:
Practising the routines of phonics lessons and the new activities they will be using in Year 2. Example: chatterbox cards, phoneme phones. phonemic awareness drills, fluency partner reading.
Week 2: Reviewing the long ai phoneme: graphemes: ai, ay, a_e:
Example: gate, playing, raining, snake, plate.
Next week we will be focusing on three new graphemes for the ai sound (a, ea, eigh) Example: baby, paper, steak, weight.
Kindergarten is currently focusing on a program that is based around oral language and listening skills, phonological awareness and oral blending and segmenting. This will then lead into their phonics program that will commence around week 5.
🎯 Keep your eye out for information in regards to a parent phonics information night that will be held in Week 4. I will be sending out information on Compass next week on how to book a seat for that session. This will be particularly helpful for Kindergarten parents who would like to see the process of phonics and our reading program at St Patricks and Year 1 and 2 parents who would like a refresher or who may have missed out last year.
Kate Gill
Coordinator K-2