Our Strategic Plan clearly identifies the importance of, and our commitment to, developing the Literacy skills of all our students.
When studying English, students develop knowledge, understanding and skills across the 3 interrelated strands of Language, Literature and Literacy. Each strand contributes its own distinctive goals, body of knowledge, history of ideas and interests, and each focuses on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in the language modes of listening, speaking, reading, viewing and writing.
Our daily literacy block runs for 2 hours each Monday – Friday and we integrate Literacy and Numeracy into our Hands on Learning sessions on Friday.
We always endeavour to provide our students with authentic, rich and purposeful learning opportunities within Literacy, so they develop strong real-life connections and applications of their learning.
The essential components of the Literacy Program are:
- A daily 2 hour literacy session
- Small group explicit teaching at point of need
- Strong partnership between school and home. Parents are encouraged to assist with the literacy program in each classroom and assist children to complete take home tasks.
- Home Reading as an essential part of our school’s reading program.
Phonics / Spelling Program
Implemented across the whole school is Sound Waves, a systematic synthetic spelling program based on phonemic awareness. Sound Waves covers the four key areas of instruction required for reading and spelling success: phonemic awareness, synthetic phonics, morphology and etymology.
Students learn strategies to decode and encode the written word, and important concepts such as rhyming, tense, prefixes, suffixes, Greek and Latin roots, ultimately leading to a genuine understanding of the mechanics of our language.
The explicit teaching is always followed by targeted practice. Students consolidate their understanding of the lesson content by completing the corresponding Student Book activities. In the early years students also apply this knowledge by reading the Decodable Readers.
Writing Program
We teach students writing using the Talk for Writing process of “Imitation – Innovation – Invention”. Quality writing is created by first expanding and developing students’ oral language skills and then teaching the necessary steps for exceptional sentence, paragraph and text construction.
Students learn to orally recite and act out popular stories through listening and reading. Students are taught to use the underlying structure of the original text to create their own version on a different topic. Over time, they move towards independent writing as they create texts about their own topics.
VCOP gives students the confidence and the understanding to develop control of a higher level writers voice. The VCOP student writing pathways are used by our students to monitor their progress and set learning goals for writing.
Reading Program
At Dederang Primary, we foster a love of reading through the Reader’s Workshop approach, which provides authentic reading experiences tailored to each child’s strengths and needs.
In Reader’s Workshop, students:
- Read for meaning and comprehension
- Explore a wide range of beloved books, authors, and genres
- Select books that match their reading level and interests
- Self-monitor for understanding and use strategies to enhance comprehension
- Engage in sustained, meaningful reading
- Discuss books with peers, developing deep thinking and conversation skills
Literacy Pro is our ebook library. Students begin with an online, adaptive assessment to measure their reading comprehension. The assessment determines the level of text complexity a student can read and understand in the form of a student Lexile.
Once a student has their Lexile level, they:
- Search for books they CAN read in their Lexile reading range in our classroom library or ebook library
- Use interest categories to help them find a book they WANT to read.
Speaking & Listening
Oral language is an essential part of learning at Dederang Primary School. We provide both formal and informal opportunities for students to develop their speaking and listening skills across the curriculum.
From Foundation onwards, students engage in ‘Turn and Talk’, a strategy used across the school to encourage discussion and active listening. They also learn:
- The importance of positive body language when communicating
- How to adjust their voice and tone for different situations
- Strategies for effective discussions and presentations
Students participate in structured speaking and listening tasks, receiving peer and teacher feedback to help them refine their communication skills. These experiences build confidence and equip students with the ability to express themselves clearly in a range of settings.
By integrating these approaches, we ensure that every child at Dederang Primary develops the literacy skills they need to thrive academically and beyond.
Teacher-Student Conferences
A key part of our reading and writing program is individual teacher-student conferences, where teachers provide personalised feedback and guide students on their next steps in learning. These conferences allow teachers to track progress, address specific challenges, and support students in setting reading goals that help them grow as independent readers.