Active and effective participation in Australian society is enhanced by the ability to speak, listen, read, view and write with confidence, purpose and enjoyment in a wide range of contexts. Competence in English enables students to learn about the role of language in their own lives as well as in their own and other cultures. Learning in English is primarily concerned with making meaning by interacting with and reflecting on texts, language, people and the world. This learning is central to students’ intellectual, social and emotional development and has an essential role in all Key Learning Areas. Becoming literate is the right of every student gives hope for success for the future and is the key to life-long learning.
At OLOR we see the teaching of literacy as integral to the mission of extending the Kingdom of God. We share a responsibility to prepare students for responsible citizenship in the local, national and international communities, including an understanding of the value and dignity of the human person, of political rights, religious freedom and human welfare. We want our students to be able to critically evaluate what they read, view and hear and respond in meaningful and purposeful ways in line with our core Catholic beliefs and values. We see the following values as being most relevant to literacy:
Justice
Hope
Joy
A sense of wonder
Our work in the area of literacy is based upon the following principles through which our children will develop and refine their abilities to speak, listen, read, view, write and represent with purpose, effect and confidence for a wide range of audiences and purposes. The dimensions of the Quality Teaching Framework are reflected in these guiding principles.
Assessment drives the learning cycle, and our starting point is always the analysed needs to the group of learners
· English K-6 outlines the general content taught, and therefore guides learning development, but the decision about what to teach individuals always begins with what each child can do.
· Every time children participate in literacy experiences teachers are assessing their strengths and needs to determine their next step. (Assessment for learning)
· Teachers plan specific assessment tasks where they can assess children against pre-determined criteria. This information may be used for reporting to parents. (Assessment of learning)
· Children are involved in the assessment process whenever possible, through self and peer assessment. (Assessment as learning)
· Certain standardised tests are used to asses students at various stages throughout their literacy learning in primary school – Letter ID etc (Kinder), Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement (lowest 20% of Year 1), BST (Year 3 and Year 5), South Australian Spelling Test (Years 1-6).
· Teachers with children experiencing difficulty in literacy collaborate with the Literacy Facilitator, Reading Recovery Teacher, Learning Support Teacher, Assistant Principal and/or Principal to plan for their specific needs.
Uninterrupted time for learning is essential for focused teaching of literacy. The context for this teaching will often not only be English but also other Key Learning Areas
· In most classes (especially in K-2) the first two hours of the day are set aside for focused literacy teaching. There are no interruptions to classes during this time. Where interruptions are unavoidable, all efforts are made to avoid interruptions to K-2 classes.
· The reading and writing texts used in the Literacy Block are, whenever possible, part of the Inquiry Unit under investigation.
· The diocesan guidelines re. indicative hours are 30-36% for English (8-9 hours per week), and varying hours for the integrated KLA’s (1.5-2.5hours in each S & T and HSIE, 75 mins in PDH, and 2.5hours in RE), part of which are covered within the 2 hour literacy block each day as part of the Inquiry Unit.
Reading, writing, talking and listening are all interrelated aspects of becoming literate and as such are taught through an interactive problem-solving approach
· The teaching of specific English skills (grammar, phonics, spelling etc) are taught within authentic reading writing, speaking or listening experiences not in isolation.
· The scope and sequence outlined in the BOS English syllabus informs the teaching of those specific skills at OLOR.
· Consistency across grades and between grades is co-ordinated with regular grade planning meetings, coaching debriefings and team meetings and all literacy blocks follow a similar structure.
Learners need planned, regular opportunities to have the skills of reading, writing, talking and listening explicitly demonstrated or modelled to them (TO)
· Modelled reading, writing, speaking and listening experiences are part of the daily practice in every classroom.
· Children are grouped into needs-based groups for this instruction, particularly in reading and writing.
Learners engage in learning processes with an expert guide (WITH)
· Regular opportunities are provided for every child in a small group setting to practise their developing skills in reading and writing, with the close support of the teacher (Guided Reading, Reciprocal Reading, Readers’ Circle, Joint Construction of texts, Guided and Interactive Writing).
· Some classes engage in buddy writing between older, more capable students and younger students.
· Classroom helpers are trained through an eight hour Literacy course, to ensure they can offer the best support possible to students.
Learners engage in learning processes independently (BY)
· Children have daily opportunities for independent writing and reading, and speaking and listening experiences.
· Every child participates in silent reading every day, at a time worked out at the class level.
Optimal learning occurs when children are engaged in rich, real and relevant learning experiences
· Whenever possible teachers engage children in authentic literacy experiences with real purposes and audiences.
Honest and authentic feedback is integral to the learning process, as it encourages learners and gives direction for future learning
· Teachers provide children with regular written and/or oral feedback which is timely and specific – noting what they did well, and what their next step is.
· Children are given time, and are expected to read written feedback and some students will write written responses to this.
· True celebration of children’s achievement is encouraged.
Self-reflection on the quality of learning is a vital part of the learning process.
· Rubrics are one tool for outlining criteria for quality. Rubrics, whenever possible are developed with the children. This “assessment as learning” is a powerful part of the learning process.
· Children are encouraged to reflect in a variety of ways - a mind map; a letter to the teacher describing what they’ve learned; “Connect/Extend/Challenge; Inside/Outside Circle; sentence completion... 'the most interesting thing about … so far has been...' , 'the biggest challenge now is...’; a pictorial representation; a cartoon; response to a simile ....'How is the story you are writing like a Bass Strait ferry (Sunday, a barbecue) ...?' ; a list of questions about the topic...'Write down five questions you have now about…’.
Mistakes are a natural part of learning, and teachers help children feel comfortable to take a risk and know that we learn from our mistakes
· We know that Learning = Support + Challenge – Fear so all attempts are encouraged, and we focus on what is right, and frame positively what is yet to be learned.
· Risk taking is encouraged, and teachers try to utilise open ended questions as much as possible with no one right answer.
· Children are encouraged to explain their reasoning/thinking so teachers can acknowledge what children have done well.
· When writing the “have-a-go” strategy used ‘mindfully’ to reflect the learner’s growing understanding of how words work is encouraged at all levels.
· Teachers acknowledge their own mistakes.
Learners need to be guided to become critical users and makers of new technologies and associated literacy’s
· Teachers use a range of texts including multi-modal texts to teach children how to “read” and “view” these texts.
· Children are taught how to judge the “quality” of websites.
Parents/caregivers are partners in supporting children’s literacy development
· We recognise that parents have a wealth of valuable knowledge about their children’s early literacy development, which we can build on once this is shared.
· We provide opportunities for all parents/caregivers to participate in the school’s literacy program.
· We provide parents with accurate, ongoing information about their children’s literacy development.
· We liaise with parents/caregivers in order to meet the individual needs, interests and abilities of their children.
· We keep parents up-to-date with literacy learning practices at school through the annual K-2 Parent Literacy Course and through other relevant Educational Get-togethers.