Speaking and Listening

The children will plan, rehearse and make presentations for different purposes, including situations outside of the classroom such as speaking at assembly. They will be encouraged and guided in adjusting their speaking according to the purpose and audience.

The children will build on their ability to provide succinct accounts of personal experiences or events.

When listening in a range of situations, they will continue to build on their skills of identifying the main idea and relevant supporting detail.

The children will be involved in many activities that will provide opportunities to foster the above, such as general discussions, recounts, drama activities and presentation of work.

Reading

This year, at Black Rock Primary School we will be continuing the CAFÉ reading approach. CAFÉ focuses upon Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Extending vocabulary.

In the classroom, CAFÉ gives the children the opportunity to read, interpret and respond to a wide range of written and electronic material in different formats. Activities are completed through individual, partner, small group and whole class reading. Children are encouraged to monitor their reading goals with their classroom teacher.

Writing

At Black Rock Primary School, we use the Big Write and VCOP (Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation) methodology to guide our teaching of writing. VCOP is based on the premise that ‘if they can’t say it, they can’t write it’. Learning is scaffolded in the classroom to allow children to become articulate thinkers and speakers, who in turn become articulate writers. It is a differentiated approach, allowing teachers to cater for varying needs. After completing a ‘Big Write’ children mark their own work using a criterion scale. This empowers the children by allowing them to analyse where their skill set lies, and specifically what steps they need to take in order to further their writing.

Word Study

A word study program focussing on phonics, vocabulary, and spelling strategies will be taught from Year One to Year Six at Black Rock Primary School. Word study involves active exploration of words by examining, manipulating, comparing and categorising. It also offers students the opportunity to make their own discoveries about how words work. When students understand the spelling and meaning of words, they become more excited about words and are more confident to apply these correct strategies in their reading and writing.

The students are assessed at the beginning of the year and their errors are examined. After this, the students are taught at their point of need.

Specialist Overview

Specialist Overview for Term 1