English

InitiaLit 

By the end of the year, children will have an understanding of the following:

• Words are made up of small sounds
• Sounds are represented by letters
• Knowledge of letters and sounds helps us to read
• A sound can be represented by one letter or two letters (digraph)
• Some sounds can be spelled in more than one way, e.g. /k/ (c, k, ck)
• Some words have tricky bits that we need to just know )the, said, are)
• Every word needs a vowel sound spelled with a vowel letter.

By the end of the year, children will be able to:

• Orally blend and segment words with two, three and four sounds
• Read regular words by sounding them out from left to right, working towards fluency as the year progresses
• Spell regular words accurately by applying letter-sound knowledge
• Confidently work out an unknown word for reading and spelling, using letter sound knowledge
• Read a bank of tricky words
• Read sentences using the sounds and letters and tricky words that have been taught
• Write a dictated sentence
• Identify medial vowel sounds
• Apply letter-sound knowledge to simple writing tasks when composing their own sentences
• Read a decodable text accurately with words containing the letter-sound correspondences taught, answering questions orally to demonstrate understanding of text.

Writing

During writing this Semester, students will continue to build upon their understanding of speaking and writing in full sentences. The foundation to writing is oral language so first and foremost, students will be encouraged to verbalise their sentence before they begin to write. 

Our oral language focus this sees students 

• Describing the concept of a sentence: a complete thought that makes sense
• Identifying the difference between a sentence and a fragment (an incomplete thought/group of words)
• Generating simple sentences that make sense.
• Generating complex sentences that include places, people, objects, times etc.

Daily writing will assist students to construct sentences that

• Begin with capital letters
• End with full stops
• Make sense
• Include finger spaces between words

Students will work towards 

• Writing a simple sentence
  • Adding a conjunction (and, so, but)
  • Adding who? where? and when? details to expand simple sentences 
    •  She walked → One sunny day, a little girl walked up a mountain. 
    • It crawled → In the afternoon, a mouse crawled into the large bush.
  • Using adjectives to add more detail. 
    • The large dog jumped on the bed.
• Identify sentence types: statements, questions

Handwriting lessons will take place several times a week to ensure that letters are being formed with consistent sizing and correct orientation. Correct orientation ensures that the students hand position when writing a sound finishes at the place where the next letter is about to begin ensuring their writing can flow. 

Reading

We continue to read many different text types and genres during shared stories, exposing students to structures of narratives through ‘read aloud,’ role play, story tables and story boards. Teachers ‘think aloud’ to students; modelling how good readers use expression when reading and discuss the comprehension strategies readers use to understand what they have read. Teachers question and provide time for discussion, encouraging students to ‘notice’ and ‘wonder’ to ensure they understand that reading is an active process. Non-Fiction texts are also modelled and linked in with HASS to ensure our reading programs are comprehensive and balanced and that children understand that ‘we read different text differently’. It is vital that students read for enjoyment and we love sharing stories, the wonderings, extending and getting lost in our imagining and the fun we can create during story and reading time.

Oral Language

Students are provided with many opportunities throughout the day to practice their oral language skills. From partner talk, small group and whole class discussions, to practising the correct pronunciation of sounds and words. Reception classes are constantly using their oral language skills to talk about and share their learning and understandings.  We will continue to further develop student’s bank of vocabulary through word investigations, word walls and our inquiries.