Learning at St Columba's

Literacy

L: literacy - the ability to read and write.  

You may have seen this posted on our socials this week. At St Columba’s, we are committed and passionate about the learning and teaching of literacy. Being a PYP school, we align our philosophy with the IB. We do this through an evidenced-based teaching framework called the Daily 5 and the CAFE. This is a  balanced approach to teaching literacy. 

The Daily 5 comprises five areas of literacy; read to self, read to someone, listen to reading, work on writing and word inquiry. Students are actively engaged in reading, writing and spelling.  Carefully created, engaging learning experiences that connect to current units of inquiry are planned by year-level teachers so that students can focus on meaningful and engaging learning tasks.  While the students engage in these tasks independently or collaboratively with a peer, the teacher can work one-on-one or in small group settings supporting students with reading, writing and spelling.  

The CAFE is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary. Teachers identify students' reading goals, provide strategies, and explicitly teach reading in these four areas. You will see your child’s reading goal throughout the term in Seesaw and receive information about how to support your child at home. 

On the 26th of May, we will be holding a Literacy morning starting at 9 am.  We welcome you into the classroom to engage with your child and see what the Daily 5 looks like. 

Nicole Spence

PYP Coordinator