At St Mary’s we teach explicitly and systematically to lay the foundation for knowledge and skills in all aspects of literacy and to develop in all students the ability to speak, read and write with confidence.
We have developed through professional development over the years, our expertise in literacy instruction. Our approach is delivering strong growth in literacy, and we continue to embed and further develop these skills with the expectation of continued excellent growth in our student outcomes.
Foundation through to grade two, have exceeded previous growth. In junior school, the foundational skills of reading and writing must be embedded, which is leading to continued and sustained growth in the later years. The five key areas of reading are explicitly taught across all classes, which leads to successful readers.
The five key areas of reading:
- Phonological Awareness
- Phonics
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
Spelling is integral to our literacy sessions across the school and include activities that involve students spelling, blending and segmenting words. Spelling is taught systematically and explicitly across the school.
Strong literacy skills enable the students in the older classes the ability to engage in Inquiry Units, using their strong skills to learn about our world effectively. Reading and writing are still taught explicitly but are also used as tools to access other subject areas such as History, Geography, Science etc.