Foundation to Grade 2 inclusive
Reading
At Alexandra Primary School, we teach Literacy in F-2 through the Little Learners Love Literacy program. This program focuses on systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) as the main way to teach children to read and write. Students have a minimum of 25 minutes of explicit instruction in phonics from F-2.
Phonics is the understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds. Through Little Learners Love Literacy and an SSP approach, students are first taught the sounds of the letters, then how to blend sounds together to make words. Students are taught these in a specific sequence that allows them to develop mastery in “decoding.”
More information about Little Learners Love Literacy can be found on their website.
Writing
Students in F-2 are taught to accurately write all letters as the sounds are introduced. This progresses on to learning to write words and eventually sentences. Students are supported in their writing efforts through the Little Learners Love Literacy program. They are also taught to write for different purposes, e.g. to persuade, to entertain and to inform.
Grade 3 to Grade 6 inclusive
Reading
In Grades 3-6 at Alexandra Primary School, we continue to develop students’ decoding and word knowledge skills. By teaching students the morphology (meaning) behind word parts, students become more confident with understanding the meaning of the words they read.
The Big 6 of reading inform our practice – Oral Language, Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Fluency and Comprehension. More information about the ‘The Big 6’ can be found here.
Students participate in a range of activities to practise their reading skills including independent reading, conferencing with a teacher to set goals for their reading progress, partner reading, using interactive online tools and completing reading response activities.
Writing
In Grades 3-6, students learn the Writing Process:
- Pre-Writing/researching/Planning
- Drafting
- Revising
- Editing
- Publishing
They are also taught the 6+1 Traits of Writing: Ideas, Organisation, Conventions, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Publishing. We aim to develop students writing abilities to be able to write well for their intended audience and purpose.