Teaching & Learning  

Thank-you to all the families for attending the 3 Way Conferences last week.  

 It provided an opportunity for Parent/carers, teachers and students to have an open and supportive discussion about your child’s learning.    Students celebrated their  achievements and discussed learning goals.  We know that children’s education is enhanced when we work together in a positive partnership, so thank-you.

Creating routines for home practice is essential.  We strive to establish a love of reading and setting aside a designated time at home for this important.  The younger students have set tasks including learning high frequency words, how to decode words by learning letter sounds and how to retell a stories events or facts.   It is important that our older students continue to engage with text at home.  They borrow books from the library and some provided with home readers.    

Home reading is the single most effective way to accelerate a child's academic success, vocabulary growth, and long-term literacy skills.  Reading exposes children to hundreds of thousand of words they rarley hear in everyday speech, vastly improving their verbal skills.   Characters in books teach children empathy, exposing them to different viewpoints and helping them manage complex feelings.

Best Practices for Effective Home Reading

To maximize the impact of home reading sessions, consider implementing these evidence-based techniques developed by educational institutions like the South Australian Department for Education and early literacy specialists:

1. Dedicate Consistent, Distraction-Free Time

• Aim for exactly 15 minutes of daily reading.
• Turn off televisions, computers, and smartphones to maintain absolute focus.

• Offer a light snack before starting so your child is energized and alert.

   

2. Master the "Pause, Prompt, Praise" Strategy

When your child stumbles on an unfamiliar word while reading aloud, follow the research-backed routine:

• Pause: Wait for 3 to 5 seconds. Do not jump in immediately. Give them time to think and decode the letters on their own.
• Prompt: Offer a helpful hint if they remain stuck. Ask them to "stretch out the sounds slowly" or look at picture clues for context.
• Praise: Provide enthusiastic, specific encouragement when they try to decode the word, regardless of whether they get it right on the first try

3. Ask Meaningful, Open-Ended Questions

• Before opening the book, look at the cover image and ask your child to predict what the story will be about.
• During the story, ask predictive questions like, "Why do you think the character did that?" or "What do you think will happen next?"
• After finishing, encourage them to summarize the main plot points in their own words.