Literacy

Our Literacy block each day is divided into two one-hour sessions: Core Literacy and Applied Literacy.

In Core Literacy, students learn the essential skills needed to read and write, including:

• Letter knowledge
• Phonics – Sounds-Write program
• Phonemic awareness – the ability to segment, blend and manipulate sounds
• High-frequency words – learning to read and spell commonly used words
• Phonological awareness - hear and manipulate sounds in spoken language
• Reading decodable texts
• Paired Fluency – reading at an appropriate speed with accuracy

• Handwriting

   

Applied Literacy focuses on exposing students to rich texts and developing their writing skills. Sentence structure and vocabulary are taught explicitly, and students apply their growing skills and knowledge through the Information, Narrative, and Persuasive genres.

Year 1 and 2 Take Home Readers 

We are excited to share our take-home reading routine for Year 1 and 2 students to support your child’s reading development at home. Take Home Readers need to be returned to school everyday as students will be reading them in class. All books will be changed every Monday.

Initial Code Readers- Students who are working on the Initial Code will take home:

• Two decodable books each week. 

Extended Code Readers- Students who have mastered the Initial Code and are working on the Extended Code will take home:

• Two Extended Code books
• One non-fiction book
• One free-choice book

Students who are bringing home a non-fiction text to support their growing reading skills and knowledge are encouraged to practise decoding words independently, however your support may be needed with more complex vocabulary and unfamiliar concepts. This is a great opportunity to explore your child’s interests and enjoy learning about the world together.

All students will have a reading log, where they will write the names of their books for the week. We kindly ask parents and carers to listen to their child read 3–4 times per week and initial the days in the reading log once your child has read.

We understand how busy family life can be, so reading 3–4 days a week is our goal. If you are able to read more often, that’s wonderful!

Thank you for your continued support in helping your child develop strong reading skills. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher.

TIPS TO HELP YOUR CHILD

To support your child at home, you can help them by:

·    Ask, “What do you think this book will be about?” before reading, and ask them to say why they think this.

·    Help them decode unfamiliar words by saying, “Can you say the sounds and blend to read the word? I can help you if you need.”

·    Give them the definition of any new vocabulary words – avoid asking them to guess what it means.

·    Talk about the pictures, diagrams, or labels

·    Ask questions like, “What’s something new you learned?” or “Why do you think that’s important”

·    Link the information to real-life experiences (e.g. visits to the zoo, weather, animals, machines, family holidays)