Curriculum

Primary Years Program at GGLPS

GGLPS teaches the Australian curriculum using the Primary Years Program (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate as a framework to impart this. There are many different aspects to the Teaching and Learning program of the school and these are some of the rich learning experiences in which the students are involved.

Learning to Read

A group of teachers are spending their Saturday mornings connecting with Kathy Collins in the USA via Zoom. Kathy is known for her understanding of how children learn to read, and she has written a number of books about the process of learning to read. Speaking with Kathy has helped us to continue to grow in our understanding of how we can support children to read.  

One of the first changes that we have made is to correct the language we are using in school. We now understand that readers are people… people who read. To reflect this students will now be changing their take-home books in the Reading Room.    

We are growing our learning of reading through Reader’s Workshop. During workshop time, students experience and practise the skills of reading being:

• Decoding – recognising letters and letter combinations (graphemes) that make the sounds in words (phonemes). As students come to know these letter-sound relationships, they can apply them to reading and writing words.
• Comprehension – understanding what is being read. As students read more complex texts, they have to grow more complex skills to apply to gaining meaning.
• Fluency – the ability to read speed, accuracy and appropriate expression;

These skills form the mechanics of reading and are important in growing a reader. 

While the mechanics are important, they don’t create a reader for life. We aim to give our students the joy of reading together, being read to and reading by themselves. We aim to give them the opportunity to discuss and understand together as a reading community. We aim to allow students to understand themselves as readers – the authors and genres they enjoy. Through these positive experiences, we aim to grow readers for life. 

Jayne Zadow                                                                                                                                               PYP Coordinator