Committed to improving student outcomes
Our Literacy program
St Kilda Park Primary School is committed to improving student outcomes in Literacy from Foundation to Year 6. We use a strategic and comprehensive approach designed to ensure that all children have the best opportunity to experience successful literacy achievement. Our program incorporates Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking.
Developing a love of writing
Writing
Our 2021-2024 School Strategic Plan outlines Writing as a focus area for development. We support our Writing learning through the 6 + 1 Traits to Writing which is an approach that models what strong writing incorporates. Through a common language from Foundation to Year 6, teachers and students set realistic and achievable goals. Mentor texts are used to demonstrate what good writers do and students are supported to build up their skills one trait at a time. The traits are listed below:
- IDEAS – the meaning and development of the message
- ORGANISATION – the internal structure of the piece
- VOICE – the tone of the piece – the personal stamp the writer brings to it
- WORD CHOICE – the specific vocabulary the writer uses to convey meaning
- SENTENCE FLUENCY – the way the words and phrases flow throughout the text
- CONVENTIONS – the mechanical correctness of the piece
- +1 PRESENTATION – the overall appearance of the work
Students are involved in daily writing activities.
Creating life-long readers
Reading
At SKiPPS we use a variety of structures and programs when teaching Reading. These include: Guided Reading, CAFÉ/Daily 5, Literature Circles and class novel studies, all supported by computer programs such as Teach Your Monster to Read, Literacy Planet, Sunshine Online etc.
Students are participating in reading tasks daily and this is supported through a Home Reading program. When students are learning to read, we follow an explicit synthetic phonic approach allowing students to build an awareness and confidence with letter sounds and success through reading decodable books. As the letter and sound awareness develops, we introduce other phonological awareness strategies such as rhyme, syllables and blending, building up to reading books that incorporate common words and words that include spelling patterns taught.
All classrooms are equipped with new classroom libraries, providing a large range of rich literature for all students throughout the school.
An emphasis on spelling, grammar and punctuation
Spelling
Student development in spelling is emphasised daily with SMART Spelling lessons. SMART Spelling incorporates both the systematic teaching of spelling each week and also personal words. SMART teaches in patterns as much as possible, teachers choose a range of words (from simple to complex), students are then guided to choose from that list, to meet different needs. Teachers use their strong professional knowledge they gain in the course to give meaningful feedback to students about their spelling in writing, teaching at the point of need.