BOROONDARA PARK PRESS

Team Foundation News

Phonics Plus in Foundation

 

This year, Boroondara Park Primary has implemented Phonics Plus, a new explicitly taught, systematic and synthetic phonics program, across all Foundation, Grade 1, and Grade 2 classrooms. This program aligns with the updated English Curriculum 2.0 and is designed to build strong foundational literacy skills in a structured and engaging way.

Each morning, students participate in a focused 25-minute Phonics Plus lesson. These sessions cover a range of literacy components, including dictation, high-frequency words, spelling patterns, morphology, and handwriting. The structure and delivery of each lesson are designed to maximise student engagement and support consistent skill development.

Lesson Structure

Classroom Setup Every Phonics Plus session takes place on the classroom floor, in front of the whiteboard. Students bring their individual whiteboards, markers, and erasers with them, and position themselves facing the teacher. Their materials are placed on the floor in front of them with the erasers and markers on top of their whiteboards. This simple but effective setup reduces distractions and ensures students are fully focused on the lesson.

Lesson Components

Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondence (GPC) Each lesson begins with a review of grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs). GPC is the relationship between phonemes (sounds) and the graphemes (letters or letter combinations) that represent them in writing. Mastery of GPCs is critical for both reading and spelling. For example, the /k/ sound can be written as c (in cat), k (in kite), or ck (in duck). Students practice blending sounds to read words and segmenting them to spell.

 

High-Frequency Words Students then review high-frequency words that have previously been introduced, such as had, the, and was. They are instructed to draw three horizontal lines on their whiteboards—each representing a sound in the word. As they hear each sound, they write the corresponding letter, reinforcing phonemic awareness and spelling skills.

 

Handwriting An important element of Phonics Plus is handwriting. Students are explicitly taught how to correctly form each letter of the alphabet in both upper and lowercase using the Victorian Cursive font. They learn the starting point, exit point, writing direction, and correct sizing of each letter. Multiple opportunities for guided practice are provided each week to help students build fluency and confidence in their writing.

 

Phonic and Word Knowledge Students explore key elements of phonological awareness:

  • Rhyming Words – Students listen to word endings to identify rhyming pairs, such as stray and hay.
  • Alliteration – They are also taught to listen for initial sounds in words that begin the same way, e.g., short and show.
  • Syllables – Students practice identifying syllables by clapping out the beats in compound words like cobweb, washtub, and chestnut, which all contain two syllables.

 

Dictation In the final part of the lesson, students engage in dictation activities. They are shown simple sentences made up of words they have already learned. Through this activity, they practise writing complete sentences using capital letters, finger spaces, and full stops. Dictation also reinforces their phonics knowledge as they sound out and write unfamiliar words independently. This component has significantly supported students’ writing development, promoting confidence and accuracy in their spelling and sentence construction.

 

The introduction of Phonics Plus has already made a noticeable impact on the reading and writing development of our Foundation students. As they progress through Grades One and Two, these essential skills will continue to be strengthened and refined. From my observations, the benefits of this program will provide a strong foundation that supports students’ future learning across all areas. And truly, there’s nothing better than setting children up for lifelong success!

 

Term 3 - Final Echi Echidna Adventures🥹

Week 4 Adventures

Amariah began her Echi adventures by taking Echi to the exciting indoor trampoline park called Bounce! Echi and Amariah played in the colourful ball pit and bounced on the trampolines. Amariah showed Echi how to bounce really high in the air. Echi had so much fun! Next Amariah took Echi back to her home and they had a rest by watching TV together. They enjoyed snuggling up on the couch and keeping warm by wrapping themselves up in a warm, fluffy blanket. Echi's favourite show was Peppa Pig. He enjoyed seeing Peppa's pet guinea pig!  Thank you so much Amariah for sharing your lovely adventures with FKJ! We enjoyed hearing all about the fun activities that you and Echi experienced!

 

 

 

 

Week 5 Adventures

In week 5 Daniel was the last person in FKJ to spend a week with Echi. First Daniel showed Echi how to write the letters of the alphabet. Echi was very impressed with Daniel's writing! Next Daniel and Echi did some crafting.  Daniel showed Echi how to cut, paint and glue objects together. Daniel and Echi then did some sporting activities. They climbed, scooted, swung and flew together! What adventures you two had together! The next activity was watching a group of people film a movie. Echi was so excited to watch how a film was made. Daniel also made sure that Echi was well looked after. He shared some delicious food with Echi. They ate rice, chips, spicy cabbage, toast and mini pizzas together! Yummy!

Thank you so much, Daniel, for sharing such a fun week with Echi and for telling your classmates all about your adventures. It was wonderful to hear everything you did with our furry friend!

 

 

Thank you FKJ for taking good care of Echi this year. He had so many fun adventures and will remember these for many years! 

 

It's now Echi's rest period. He is off on a holiday to see his Mum and Dad in Gippsland. They live near the beach and Echi can't wait for the weather to warm up so that he can sit in the sun and regain his energy, ready for his adventures in 2026!

 

Team Foundation Teacher

Kirstin Jones