School Tour

english

Literacy

At Scoresby Primary School an evidence-based approach informs our teaching and learning practices.  We use an informed, explicit and systematic approach to teaching fundamental concepts and skills.  Consistent teaching and learning approaches across the school ensures that we are providing a learning environment that builds upon each student’s learning consecutively across the learning levels.

At SPS we are committed to teaching fundamental Literacy skills daily.  We provide students with opportunities to develop skills in the English modes of Reading and Viewing, Writing and Speaking and Listening through the strands of Language, Literacy and Literacy, aligned with the Victorian Curriculum.  Our practices are aligned with the Science of Reading reflecting the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0.

The staff at SPS use a structured and explicit approach to teach Literacy reflected in the Scarboroughs Reading Rope and summarised into the Big 6:

  1. Oral Language – The ability to speak and listen, to communicate a message and to understand what is said.
  2. Phonemic Awareness – The ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words.
  3. Phonics – The ability to decode words using knowledge of letter-sound relationships- decoding strategies include syllabification, segmenting and blending sounds together to read words.
  4. Fluency – Reading with appropriate pace and accuracy ensures words/texts are understood, usually requiring words read in a minute. The better the fluency, the greater the comprehension.
  5. Vocabulary – Knowing the meaning of a wide variety of words and the structure of written language- word origins (etymology).
  6. Comprehension – Understanding the meaning and intent of the word/ text- With appropriate pace comes greater comprehension and understanding of information.

Writing

Our Writer’s Workshop Approach

Here at Scoresby Primary School we acknowledge that writing is a complex process. As of 2022 Scoresby Primary School will be following the 6+ 1 Traits of writing by Ruth Culham.

This approach provides a common language throughout the school when teaching and learning about writing, and helps students break down the task and understand it better. The teaching of writing is broken down into the 6+1 Traits of Writing Voice, Organisation, Ideas, Conventions, Expanding Vocabulary, Sentence Fluency and Presentation.

As well as learning about different genres, students are also provided with the opportunity for free choice writing on a regular basis.

Speaking and Listening

At Scoresby PS we provide many formal and informal ways for students to develop their oral language across all areas of the curriculum.

Starting from Prep, students are introduced to ‘Turn and talk’, a strategy that is used across the school to model and practise discussion skills. Students are taught explicitly about the importance of displaying positive body language when speaking and listening, as well as how to change their voice to suit the occasion. Students participate in formal speaking and listening tasks during which they receive peer and teacher feedback about their skills. This helps students develop an understanding of their strengths in these areas as well as to develop their future goals.