Learning and Teaching
Term 3 is set to be an exciting and purposeful term for literacy at School of the Good Shepherd. Across Prep to Year 6, our students will be immersed in engaging, evidence-based literacy learning designed to build confident readers, capable writers and effective communicators.Our literacy program aligns with the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 and the MACS Vision for Instruction, ensuring every child receives high-quality, explicit teaching based on the latest educational research.
At SoGS Every Day Begins with Literacy
This term, every class from Prep to Year 6 will begin each day with literacy learning.
Research tells us that students learn best when they tackle challenging thinking tasks early in the day, when attention and concentration are at their highest. Beginning with literacy also creates consistent classroom routines and gives every child the best opportunity to develop the essential skills that support success across every learning area.
Reading and writing are the foundation for learning in Mathematics, Inquiry, Religious Education and every other subject. The stronger a student's literacy skills become, the greater their confidence and achievement across the curriculum.
Building Strong Reading Foundations
Students in Prep to Year 2 will continue daily learning through the UFLI Foundations synthetic phonics program.
UFLI is an evidence-based program that provides explicit, systematic instruction in:
- letter-sound relationships
- decoding unfamiliar words
- blending and segmenting sounds
- high-frequency words
reading accuracy and fluency.
Research shows that around 95% of children can learn to read successfully when taught using explicit, systematic phonics instruction.
Throughout the term, students will continue to develop rich vocabulary, strong decoding skills, reading fluency and comprehension through explicit, evidence-based instruction. As these foundational skills become more automatic, students will gain greater confidence as independent readers, enabling them to read with increased accuracy, understand increasingly complex texts and develop a lifelong love of reading.
As students become more fluent readers, they are able to devote more brain power to understanding and enjoying what they read rather than simply working out the words.
Learning to Write with Confidence
Across Prep to Year 2, writing instruction focuses on building strong foundations at the sentence level.
Students will explicitly learn how to:
- construct complete sentences
- apply correct grammar
- use punctuation accurately
- expand vocabulary
- write imaginative and informative texts.
An important part of our literacy approach is helping students transfer their phonics knowledge into their writing. As children learn new spelling patterns and decoding strategies, they apply these skills when writing independently, strengthening both reading and spelling development.
Deep Reading Through Novel Studies
Students in Years 3–6 will participate in rich novel studies using engaging, high-quality literature supported by Ochre Education resources, which are used by schools across Victoria.
These carefully designed units include explicit teaching that helps students build vocabulary, deepen comprehension and develop critical thinking.
This term our students will enjoy:
Year 3 – Charlotte's Web: A timeless story celebrating friendship, kindness, courage and compassion.
Year 4 – Storm Boy: Students will explore themes of family, belonging, connection to Country, friendship and caring for the environment.
…and The Wild Robot: This engaging novel explores empathy, resilience, identity, adaptation and the relationship between technology and nature.
Year 5 – The Grandest Bookshop in the World: Inspired by the remarkable story of Melbourne's famous Cole's Book Arcade, students will discover themes of imagination, perseverance, entrepreneurship and the joy of books. The Year 5s are even planning an excursion to visit the Arcade!
Year 6 – Once by Morris Gleitzman: Students will thoughtfully explore themes of hope, courage, resilience, humanity and the impact of war through this powerful historical novel.
Throughout these units, students will continue developing:
- sophisticated vocabulary
- reading fluency
- comprehension strategies
- discussion skills
- analytical thinking
Writing Across Years 3–6
Writing this term will focus on producing high-quality informative and narrative texts.
Students will explicitly learn how to:
- plan their ideas
- organise texts effectively
- improve sentence structure
- expand vocabulary
- edit and revise their work
write for different audiences and purposes.
Year 6 students will also begin learning persuasive writing in preparation for secondary school.
Library News:
Library Borrowing Timetable Changes
Please note that our library sessions will now run on a fortnightly basis. This change has been made to maximise classroom learning time while still ensuring students have regular opportunities to borrow and enjoy books.
To help your child make the most of their library visit, it is more important than ever that they remember to bring their library bag on their scheduled library day. This helps protect borrowed books and ensures students can borrow new books without delay.
Please check the school calendar for your child's library days and session times.
Save the dates for Term 3
WEEK 7
Book Week is one of the highlights of our year and we can't wait to celebrate reading together!
This year's Children's Book Week theme is:
Symphony of Stories
Students can look forward to an exciting week of literacy celebrations, including:
>Book Week Parade
> Scholastic Book Fair in the Library
> Becoming an Author — every student will experience the full writing process by: Planning, drafting, , editing, revising conferencing and then publishing their very own book to share in ONE WEEK!
>Meet the Author Celebration — families will be invited to visit our school and enjoy reading our students' published books together.
More information will be shared closer to the event.
The Book Fair is coming to SoGS in August!
Save the dates for Monday 24 August - Monday 31 August for our annual Book Fair!
Every family that places an order through Book Club will receive a SPOTLIGHT voucher for building their Book Week costumes, and there is a SPIDER-MAN movie ticket give away for families to enter! This is in additional to our usual $5 discount and Rewards, all outlined below.
