literacy

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At Preston South Primary School, we endeavour to ignite a passion for Reading and Writing, so our students can be lifelong ‘literate learners’. 

Literacy is taught through the key knowledge and skills as outlined in the Victorian Curriculum English learning area. 

Supported by our strong knowledge of the Science of Reading, students at Preston South are taught how to read using a structured literacy approach which incorporates, oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. 

Students are provided with a systematic phonics program, starting in Foundation, which follows a careful learning progression and provides numerous, deliberate opportunities for practise. The use of ‘decodable’ texts supports our students to practise their phonics skills and by the end of Year 2 most students should no longer require these texts. Our student’s love of reading is constantly nurtured as we continually focus on their understanding of rich vocabulary and deep comprehension skills all through school. 

Students are engaged in daily Reading and Writing sessions, which are taught during the Literacy Block each morning.  Students are provided with continual opportunities to develop their Speaking and Listening skills (oral language) during this block, as well as in all areas of our teaching and learning program. Teachers work collaboratively in teams to plan comprehensive differentiated programs and lessons that support students to progress along the learning continuum using the Victorian Curriculum’s age standardised levelled achievement standards as key indicators of progress.

Teachers use the Preston South Primary School Instructional Model which incorporates a range of purposeful tasks to ensure that students have multiple exposures to a range of literacy skills. 

A consistent Writing process is also embedded across the school which involves, Generating Ideas, Planning, Drafting, Revising, Editing and Publishing. Handwriting and Spelling are also abilities that teachers also place an emphasis on to ultimately improve the quality and quantity that our students are writing on a daily basis.

Students are empowered to ‘think about their thinking’ (also known as their metacognition) as they read and write so they can monitor their thinking processes, understanding and creative ideas to make the necessary adjustments as required. Students are also encouraged to read and write about a variety of topics and engage in a range of text types and genres including digital mediums and print publications.

Throughout all year levels, independent reading and writing opportunities are provided which help to support reading and writing stamina that nurture a deeper level of knowledge building.