Literacy at Elwood Primary School
We have a strong focus on Literacy with a whole-school consistent approach to the teaching & learning of Language, Literacy, and Literature.
Our school uses regular staff collaboration and planning, a strong professional learning approach and a coaching culture to ensure all our staff are knowledgeable, responsive and cater for students Literacy needs.
Our teaching approaches in Reading and Writing are nuanced and informed by current research and science, whilst aligning with our student centred and relational learning beliefs.
The BIG SIX is taught explicitly within our Literacy sessions.
This includes well planned and sequenced lessons on:
*Oral Language
*Phonological Awareness
*Phonics
*Fluency
*Vocabulary
*Comprehension
PHONICS SSP
The Junior school deliver a Synthetic Systematic Program 5 times a week. The teachers explicitly teach the letter/sound relationships and follow PLD’s (Promoting Literacy Development) scope and sequence. Checks for understanding, immediate feedback and regular screening and tracking ensure our students build strong Literacy foundations.
SPELLING SSP
Our Senior School also follow PLD’s Spelling scope and sequence and explicitly teach complex letter patterns, suffixes, prefixes and morphology alongside building higher order vocabulary. Regular dictation supports transference of words into context. A screening and tracking cycle identifies gaps and extension opportunities.
READING:
The skills of Reading are taught explicitly with the support of Mentor Texts and high-quality literature in all our classes. Teachers begin sessions with a mini-lesson demonstrating and modelling specific skills from the BIG 6. Students are given time to practise this skill multiple times with teacher support .
Through regular screening and tracking, our teachers deliver high quality, targeted teaching to small strategy groups using a mix of decodable texts, passages and literature based on the individual needs of students.
WRITING:
All elements of Writing are explicitly modelled and taught to our students, including handwriting, text structure, grammar and punctuation and spelling.
Through the Workshop model, explicit teaching begins each lesson, and students are scaffolded to create their own texts and work through the Writing Cycle. Teachers conference one on one regularly and provide immediate feedback and set writing goals for each student. Allowing students ownership and choice when writing allows our students to showcase their writing skills and ensure the joy of writing is at the centre of our lessons.
