Curriculum Update

Reading at Home

Literacy can come in many forms of communication such as reading, writing, drawing, conversations and more. There has been a large amount of research to support the importance of engaging students in reading to develop and enhance literacy skills. Oral language skills also play an important role in developing a child’s vocabulary and understanding. Some of the ways to engage your child in literacy: 

• Reading road signs, store names etc. • Following recipes 

• Writing shopping lists • Reading instructions together 

• Talking about the events of the day 

• Going for a day out to the zoo, park and writing or drawing about it 

• Talking about family photos • Playing vocabulary games such as ‘I spy’ 

• Singing rhymes together 

• Sharing of fun ideas for story writing and drawing creative characters with a list of        describing words. 

Library Books and Home Reading

 We have an amazing variety of books available in the school library for students to borrow during their weekly visit. Students in Foundation to Grade 2 can borrow up to two books per week. The students in Grade 3 to 6 may choose to borrow up to 4 books each week. Every student will need to bring along a bag to keep these books protected after borrowing. 

Each day students will bring a short story home to reinforce the reading skills taught in the classroom. The Foundation students will have a take home book from the Little Learners Stage 1 books related to the sounds being introduced in class. In Grade 1 & 2 the home readers will be changed over each day with students selecting one to two books of their choice. The books will be written in their reading logbook. Please record any comments in this book after listening to your child read. It is encouraged that students read for at least 15-20 minutes daily in Grade 3 to 6. This can be recorded in their student diaries. 

You can help with your child’s reading by listening to them read aloud, discussing the story and drawing on information from illustrations. Asking your child to retell the story in their own words is a great way to develop their comprehension skills. 

Thank you for your continued support and partnership in your child’s learning journey. Kristy Monaghan 

Literacy Leader