Literacy

Welcome back to Term Two. The students have settled in well, and all communities are producing some fantastic work.

Firstly, thank-you for supporting the Book Fair we held. It was wonderful to see you all visiting the library before and after school and purchasing books for your family. The school earned a generous commission for all of our sales and we look forward to those new books being in the library. Thanks so much to Deb Ryan for being our amazing retail assistant and coming in early and staying late to open and close the Book Fair each day. 

The library will soon be open for the students to visit, with their community, to borrow books. Please ensure your child has a school library bag, to ensure the books stay clean while travelling to and from school. Any new students, or those students who have mis-placed their library bag, a new one can be purchased from the office. Alternatively, you may wish to buy a library bag from a retail store, eg Big W. 

The school has recently invested heavily in new take home books that your child will soon be bringing home. These books are intended to support your child's reading development. Below are some ideas and strategies to help support your child's reading skills. 

Foundation - 2

Your child is learning to read, we encourage you to read the take home book with and to your child. 

As you are reading

-point to the words

-notice the spaces that separate each word

-discuss the story, characters, and setting

-help your child sound out the words

-have you child practise re-reading the text without your help

-discuss any new words or unfamiliar events raised in the story

-remind your child to change their book every day.

Other sites that have free books which help support beginning readers are-

https://www.speldsa.org.au/phonic-books

https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/learners-resources/

Grade 3-6

Your child is gradually becoming a more independent reader, however they will still require an adult to be present as they read. As you are reading

-ask them questions about the characters, story line and sequence of events to ensure your child is understanding the story

-talk about unfamiliar vocabulary and events to ensure they understand the story

-help your child sound out new words

-point out the different punctuation in the text and it's explain its purpose

-ensure they read every night and change their book often

A site that has free books for older readers is-

https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/

This site also has the option of the books being read aloud to your child, instead of them reading along independently. 

Reading for 20 minutes every night will help support your child's reading development. Please remind your child to read every night. The image below illustrates how important that 20 minutes is every day. 

In addition to your child bringing home a take home book, there may be some home learning that you are able to support them with. This may involve some phonics work - learning about letters and the sounds they represent, or researching a particular topic, or completing a reading comprehension task. We ask for your support in ensuring this is completed and returned on the correct day.

Finally, every day at school your child is either reading to or with a teacher, or with their reading group. It is very important that your child attends school every day, so they can participate in their reading lessons. If your child is unwell, please keep them home, however, please ensure they are at school on all other days. If they are not at school, they are not learning how to read. And lots of days at home not learning isn't good for any student. If you are concerned about your child's attendance, please make an appointment to speak with their teacher for any advice.  

If you have any questions about your child's reading, please make an appointment to speak with their teacher, or contact me for any further information.

Narelle DeYoung