Literacy and Numeracy 

Numeracy 

This week we look at the wonderful learning tool (and source of great fun!) that is board games. 

Being in and out of lockdowns is really tough, however having more time for board games is a massive positive! 

Many board games provide great opportunities to improve basic numeracy. It is a little bit like hiding veggies in pasta sauce. The good stuff is in there but no one has to know about it.

Here are some fun games with hidden goodies: 

• Yahtzee
• Monopoly
• Scrabble
• Card games like Rummy and blackjack/21
• Snakes and ladders

Joke: Why did the student wear glasses in maths class? Because it improves di-vision!

Puzzle: In how many ways can 75 be written as the sum of at least two whole numbers all of which are consecutive? Note: Consecutive numbers are one after the other, eg 6, 7 and 8 are consecutive. 

Solution to last puzzle:  There would be 3 boys and 4 girls.

Literacy 

"Progress in reading is like climbing a mountain. The better your reading skills, the higher you are. The higher you are, the further you can see. And the further you can see, the more sense you can make of the world."

Across the College, we are looking at ways to improve and build on the implementation of literacy strategies in all classrooms. Research is beginning to confirm the logical idea that students learn less when they are not in regular class, and the Grattan Institute (2020) recommends schools expand successful literacy programs. One successful program that can be completed is - you guessed it - reading for pleasure at home! Last issue we mentioned reading for pleasure at home, and some feedback indicated that practical strategies for how to encourage that would be appreciated, so here goes:

Firstly, I cannot recommend the school Library website enough. They currently have topic guides available for a range of classes. These topic guides includes audiobooks, movies, and online copies of texts that students are using this term. 

Secondly, ClickView. The clickview website is available through Compass and students have access via their school email. ClickView contains documentaries, movies, and clips for all year levels, and they have an excellent Closed Caption option, which is a great way to build reading skills passively while also enjoying a movie. It has a more comprehensive range than the individual streaming websites currently available, without the subscription fee, and their catalogue is constantly being modernised. 

Thirdly, reading should have a 'high profile' at home. This means that students need to view reading as important. This includes strategies like: 

• parents modelling good reading habits
• reading before going to bed
• having conversations about stories
• listening to informative podcasts
• discussing a page or article in the newspaper each day

All of these strategies help to build reading skills through raising its profile.

Finally, other results from the survey indicated that students and parents may not be confident in where to go to ask for support in literacy. Please contact me! My name is Denholm Pickering, my email address is denholm.pickering@education.vic.gov.au, and I work across both campuses. My number is 9599 5637. 

That's it from Literacy - look after yourselves and each other!