Literacy Overview

During Term Two, learners are immersing themselves in a variety of texts with a focus on exploring their literary features (setting, characters, plot, theme, illustrations, vocabulary and  language). This will aid in the students’ understanding and development of the various strategies that author’s use to inform, engage and persuade an audience. 

Through this exploration students will form a detailed and well supported opinion on the overall appeal of the text. They will transfer this into creating a range of book reviews on a range of texts that persuade, entertain and inform their audience. To support their writing, students will be exposed to a variety of reviews with a focus on exploring their features, word choice and voice when delivering a persuasive and informative review. They will learn persuasive techniques and how to apply these to create an impact with their audience.

The teachers will continue to implement the whole school CAFÉ approach to reading. There will be different focuses throughout the reading lessons, while students also have their own individual goals. Through the use of the whole school writing approach of VOICES the learners will be assisted in their writing process, particularly in relation to ‘having clear and focused content’, literary elements and convincing the reader through persuasive devices and specific word choice. Through our Spelling Inquiry Program the learners are consistently encouraged to expand their vocabulary. They can identify misspelled words in their writing, and then examine each words’ etymology and spelling patterns, developing a deep understanding of origin and other important elements relevant to their spelling words. To compliment our focus on review writing, students will immerse themselves in building a deeper understanding of how synonyms can have varying shades of meaning.

Please note, during this term the Premier’s Reading Challenge will also be running and this will be a wonderful opportunity for the students to delve into a range of genres, authors and series. The challenge can be accessed through their online login, where students are encouraged to read books from the challenge and log these as they read. If you wish to support your child’s learning at home in the area of Literacy this term, you can encourage your child to read regularly from the Premier’s Reading Challenge list, discussing their books with them and asking questions to determine your child’s understanding of the text. You may also like to read reviews together and discuss the effectiveness of the language and information provided by the author and whether the review had an effect on your interest in the product being reviewed.