Did you know….
At SCPS, we approach literacy in several ways to ensure students are supported in developing the necessary building blocks for learning. These approaches are outlined below:
Oral Language
Oral language helps children become successful readers and strong communicators. The programs we use to teach this include:
Cracking the Code Kindergarten. A program which teaches a broad range of phonological awareness skills.
Letters and Sounds Kindergarten – Year 3. A phonics program that builds children’s speaking, listening and reading skills by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. It is set out in six overlapping phases.
Heggerty Pre-primary – Year 2. A program of daily lessons that provide a high level of explicit modelling and student engagement. Each level focuses on different phonemic awareness skills.
Intervention strategies include screenings of Kindergarten students and new students in PP-2, small group/individual intervention and assessments, Speech Pathology student sessions and professional learning for staff.
Reading and Writing
We have whole-school approaches to teaching spelling to improve reading (decoding) and writing (application) skills. The programs we use to support this include:
Letters and Sounds – Kindergarten – Year 3
Support for Spelling – Year 3 – 6. A program that gradually builds on students’ spelling vocabulary by introducing patterns and conventions and continually practising those already learnt.
Talk for Writing – Kindergarten – Year 6. A teaching framework based on the principles of how children learn through imitating language orally, then reading and analysing, and finally writing their own words.
Talk for Reading – Kindergarten – Year 6. A program that aims to develop children into efficient, effective, thoughtful and strategic readers, through deepening their thinking with a critical mind.
Literacy Pro -Year 3 – 6. A program that measures reading comprehension and provides data to teachers, identifies books to promote reading growth and motivates students to continue reading.
Intervention strategies include the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1, and in Year 2 – 6 if required, small group/individual intervention and assessments and professional learning for staff. Letters and Sounds is used in intervention groups if students have not completed Phase 5 at the end of Year 3.
Comprehension Skills
We have whole-school approaches to teaching oral and reading comprehension skills, and for vocabulary development. The programs we use to support this include:
Talk for Writing – Kindergarten – Year 6
Talk for Reading – Kindergarten – Year 6
Literacy Spine – Teachers read to students for a period of time each day to extend their students language use and comprehension.
Literacy Pro – Year 3 – 6
If you have any questions regarding literacy and your child, or any of these programs, please do not hesitate to speak to their teacher for more information.
