Learning and Teaching

Learning and Teaching

Our Learning and Teaching School Annual Improvement goal is focused on enhancing students' reading and spelling skills. We are implementing targeted strategies and resources to strengthen foundational literacy, aiming to foster confident and capable readers and writers. This commitment ensures all students have the tools they need to succeed academically and beyond. We appreciate your partnership in supporting your child's literacy development at home, below are some ways that you can assist in supporting your child’s reading development.

Understanding the Basics:

• Reading isn't natural: Unlike spoken language, reading requires explicit instruction. It's about connecting sounds to letters.
• Key components:
• Phonemic Awareness: This is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. It's purely auditory.
• Phonics: This involves understanding the relationship between sounds and the letters that represent them (graphemes). It's about connecting sounds to print.
• Fluency: This is the ability to read accurately, quickly, and with expression.
• Vocabulary: Knowing the meaning of words is essential for understanding what you read.
• Comprehension: This is the ultimate goal: understanding the meaning of text.

How You Can Help at Home:

• Phonemic Awareness Activities:
• Play sound games: "I spy" with sounds ("I spy something that starts with /b/").
• Practice segmenting (breaking words into sounds): "Cat" is /c/ /a/ /t/.
• Practice blending (putting sounds together): /s/ /a/ /t/ makes "sat."
• Practice manipulating sounds: "Change the /c/ in 'cat' to /b/'—what word do you have?" (bat).
• Phonics Practice:
• Help your child learn letter sounds. Focus on the sounds letters make, not just their names.
• Practice sounding out words: Encourage your child to say each sound in a word and then blend them together.
• Read simple, decodable books: These books use words with predictable sound-letter patterns.
• Build Vocabulary:
• Read aloud to your child regularly.
• Talk about new words and their meanings.
• Use rich language in everyday conversations.
• Develop Comprehension:
• Ask questions about the stories you read together: "What happened? Why?"
• Talk about the characters and their feelings.
• Encourage your child to make connections between the story and their own experiences.
• Make Reading Enjoyable:
• Read together every day.
• Let your child choose books that interest them.
• Create a print-rich environment at home.

Important Considerations:

• Be patient: Learning to read takes time and practice.
• Keep it positive: Encourage your child's efforts and celebrate their progress.

Warm regards

Jas

Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching