Literacy Support

I have started this piece many times over the past few days. I have chopped and changed and tweaked and scrapped everything that I have written. I believe it is because we are in unprecedented times and because we are all feeling the pressures and anxiety that comes with this situation. The other reason I think this piece has been difficult to write is because, while I am not a parent, I can completely appreciate the challenges parents are facing during this time. Everyone is working hard to make sure our children are safe, coping and connected. Parents are trying to help their children with their learning in a way that they may never have experienced before. I am therefore careful to ensure that I am not writing anything that will ‘put extra pressure’ on you. We recognise that most parents are not teachers or literacy experts and we do not expect you to be. One of the positives that has come out of this situation, however, is the proliferation of materials that can support student literacy learning at home. Below I have outlined some useful video resources for parents that you might like to make use of/view that could help you not just during this period but throughout your child’s schooling.

The first is a video made by a teacher on reading at home. As you know, we always ask that students read each night at home. This may be that they read a specific take-home book or a book from the Library or a book online. In the video below, Kathryn discusses reading strategies that you can use at home to help build your child’s comprehension. These strategies could be used for when you read a book aloud to your child or when they read a book to you. We continue to encourage daily reading during this time of remote online learning.

https://www.facebook.com/kittyklaw85/videos/10163246352930290/

This second video is made by Matt Glover, who we welcomed to St. Columba’s as a consultant last year. He has made a number of videos to support parents. The first is about spelling. You may notice the spelling attempts that your child is making during their time at home completing the writing/spelling tasks set by there teachers. There is often confusion from parents about when/if/how they can help their child with the editing process/correct spelling mistakes during writing at home. Matt provides guidance and theory in relation to supporting spelling development at home (he discusses this in the context of writing).

https://safeyoutube.net/w/8U96

The third video collection is created by Gail Boushey of the Daily 5 and CAFE. It is a series to help students develop stamina in their reading. Reading stamina is essentially defined as the ability to read for a prolonged period of time with sustained concentration. Gail has created videos for students to develop this stamina over time. Ideally, we want to build at least 30 minutes of reading stamina. If you are keen to build your child’s stamina, then you can use these videos. All you need is a few books and a computer (as she runs a short virtual lesson).

https://www.thedailycafe.com/content/reading-home-students

As I said at the beginning of this piece, we know that this is not an easy time to be a parent. If you can, continue to guide your child/ren in reading each day and encourage writing for any purpose (letters, emails, shopping lists, books, diary/journal entries etc.) during this time. From a school perspective, we will continue to try to provide meaningful literacy experiences for students, start to create videos to help support student’s literacy skills and in phase two of online learning, we will hold ZOOM sessions, some of which will be guided reading or other literacy-based instruction. It has been said many times before but we are all in this together and never has this been more apparent than now.

Family Padlet for Remote Online Learning

Please note that a 'Family Padlet for Remote Online Learning' has been added to our school website. This padlet contains information about the resources we are utilizing as a school during this time and suggested apps/resources you may like to use at home in addition to the daily tasks set by teachers. The padlet is not static and evolving regularly. We will continue to add to it as new resources/subscriptions become available.

As stated above the padlet can be accessed through our school website or you may use the link provided below.

https://padlet.com/bdobric/cwgeuusx2u4cluhh

Parent Help Sheet for Online Learning at Home

Prep News

Online learning