Raising Readers

Reading at Home | “Reading for Fun”

Our literacy focus this year will be reading. While many of us read on different platforms and enjoy the different formats that reading is presented to us in, it’s important that we share our reading journeys with our learners at home too.

This fortnight’s focus is NAPLAN.

The acronym ‘NAPLAN’ stands for - National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy, and is used to assess all students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 across all Australian schools. It tests the types of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. The tests cover skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.

NAPLAN provides the measure through which governments, education authorities and schools can determine whether or not young Australians are meeting important educational outcomes. It also sets out educational goals for young Australians. These are:

Goal 1: Australian schooling promotes equity and excellence
Goal 2: All young Australians become
successful learners
confident and creative individuals
active and informed citizens

This year NAPLAN is being held from 11th - 21st May, with our College conducting NAPLAN online.

If you have a learner in year 7 or 9, have a conversation with them about NAPLAN and their experiences, as well as their expectations, as this conversation will help pivot your learners’ educational goals and outcomes.

Our goal is to raise readers for life. I’m really curious about your learner’s reading journey. If you have any suggestions, questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would love to know what you’re reading at home!

Keep Reading,

Ecehan B. Gulbayrak

ecehan.Gulbayrak@education.vic.gov.au

PS: I am currently reading - “Flock: First Nations Stories Then & Now” (2021), written by Ellen van Neerven. I have previously mentioned my appreciation of short stories and this book is a captivating anthology that showcases the power of storytelling.

Flock

is a compilation of short stories written by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, with a focus on raising

the voices of our First Nations peoples. A highly recommended read

Reading at Home | Turn on the subtitles!

Although the benefits of reading are well known, finding the motivation to read can be a struggle. It can be challenging to find the right book, let alone put aside time to sit down and enjoy it. Plus our friends are far more likely to want to talk about the latest show on TV or the new film on our streaming service. Perhaps it isn’t surprising then that a 13 year old child in Australia is likely to watch 150 minutes of television and spend 60 minutes on a computer every day*.

So how do we get our children reading? Well, there is a surprisingly simple compromise: turning on the subtitles.

Many families in our community may already be familiar with using subtitles for a variety of reasons, but it is not uncommon to encounter scoffing or groaning at the suggestion from people who are unaccustomed to them. Here are some frequent misconceptions regarding subtitles:

Subtitles are only needed when watching films in other languages.
Closed captions are only for Deaf or hard of hearing people.
Subtitles distract from the visuals of a film.

However there is growing evidence that using Same Language Subtitles (SLS) has a positive impact on improving language learning and reading skills. Our eyes are drawn to subtitles, whether we are beginning, struggling or good readers. The more we watch films with subtitles, the more accustomed we become to them. Reading skills become practised subconsciously!

So although watching TV or YouTube will never match the benefits of sitting down to read a book, turning on subtitles is a quick and easy way to turn TV time into reading time.

To find out more, please check out the Turn on the Subtitles campaign: https://turnonthesubtitles.org/

Keep reading,

Ms Simpson

*The Department of Health recommends limiting screen time to two hours per day for 5-17 year olds.