Literacy
Parents and Literacy (PAL) Night
At Vermont Primary School, we value the important role parents play in supporting their child’s learning. Each year, we run the Parents and Literacy (PAL) Program to help families better understand how reading and writing are taught in the classroom and how they can provide support at home.
Whether you want to support your child's literacy at home or assist as a parent helper in the classroom, this session will equip you with valuable insights and practical strategies.
During this session, we will:
- Explain the methods we use to teach reading and writing and why we use them.
- Provide insight into your child’s classroom reading and writing experiences.
- Share practical strategies to help you support your child’s literacy development.
This year, our focus is on Foundation to Year 2, though parents of 4-year-old Kindergarten children and students in other year levels are also welcome.
Event Details
📅 Date: Thursday, 27th February 2025⏰ Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM📍 Location: Learning Centre, Vermont Primary School
If you’d like to attend, please register your interest using the link below.
Registrations close on Monday, 24th February 2025.
We look forward to seeing you there!
The Six Traits of Writing
The school year is underway, and all year levels have been exploring the Six Traits of Writing. The 6 Traits is a framework that helps students develop their writing skills in a structured and meaningful way. These traits are:
- Ideas – the heart of the writing, ensuring a clear and engaging message
- Organisation – the structure and flow that guides the reader
- Voice – the writer’s unique style and personality
- Word Choice – selecting precise and effective words
- Sentence Fluency – creating smooth and readable sentences
- Conventions – spelling, punctuation, and grammar for clarity
The Six Traits model was originally developed by educators who studied thousands of pieces of student writing, looking for common elements that made writing strong. It became a widely used approach in classrooms across the world, helping students understand what makes great writing and how they can improve their own work.
In the coming weeks, students will delve deeper into specific skills within each trait, helping them develop clear, engaging, and polished writing.
Families can support this at home by encouraging children to discuss their writing and share their ideas.
If you've been in the classrooms this year, you may have noticed that each one has a set of the Six Traits displayed, with smaller focuses underneath, highlighting the specific skills students are working on.
Fortnightly Segments
A common question during Parent Teacher Interviews, is ‘How can I help improve my child’s comprehension?’ Each week we will include a couple of simple questions that you could ask your child that may help improve their comprehension or open up a conversation about the book they are reading.
This fortnight’s reading comprehension questions are:
What character in the book is most like you? What are the characteristics that you share?
Compared to other books you’ve read, how would you rate this one? Would you recommend it to someone else? Why or why not?
Does this book give you any ideas for a story that you could write?
Writing Challenge
If your child enjoys their writing and is keen to write for enjoyment at home, below is a prompt that you could ask your child to write about.
You’re trapped on a desert island with