Literacy Intervention

I think it’s fair to say that reading touches nearly every aspect of our daily lives and is arguably the most important skill your child will need in their lifetime.

Hello, my name is Tanya Vanderkley and my role at Woodmans Hill is the Literacy Intervention Officer.  I facilitate small group literacy session for students most at risk of falling behind.

I’m really passionate about the literacy program as it saddens and frustrates me that students are finishing school without the basic foundations of reading and writing.

Students arrive at Secondary school with varied literacy skills, so at Woodmans Hill, we undertake a series of literacy based assessments which include reading (decoding ability and fluency), comprehension and writing structures.

In today’s world, reading is the key to independence.  We use the ability to read in all areas of our life, including – communication – text messages (talking to someone on the phone appears to be a thing of the past). So being able to read, keeps you connected to family and friends.

• filling out a job application
• applying for a rental property
• insurance, Medicare, Centrelink, ambulance, government documents, reading a menu and ordering at a restaurant.

So, so many situations/settings in our daily lives.

Key points that the literacy program involves are:

Phonological awareness       – Syllables, sounds, segmenting, blending of sounds.  The                                                                   very basis of where reading/writing begins

Letter/Sound knowledge     – Phonics, Identifying letter structures, forming letters onto                                                                paper legibly

Spelling and Vocabulary      -  Focus on 50-100 high frequency words

Fluency                                      -  to be able to decode at a nice clear and steady pace

To implement these skills, I facilitate small group lessons 2-4 students at any one time. I like to see each individual group 3-4 times per week.

So in a nutshell my role at Woodmans Hill is to build the students confidence, self-esteem and key literacy skills. My goal is to start building the students’ confidence, fill some gaps in their learning so that they engage in lessons and feel more confident and capable to access the curriculum.