English
At Findon Primary School, the teaching and learning of English is a priority, with the aim of creating confident communicators, creative thinkers and informed citizens.
The English curriculum consists of three language modes:
Reading and Viewing: involves students understanding, interpreting, critically analysing, reflecting upon, and enjoying written and visual, print and non-print texts, as well as development of knowledge about a range of strategies for reading.
Writing: involves students in the active process of conceiving, planning, composing, editing and publishing a range of texts.
Speaking and Listening: refers to the various formal and informal ways oral language is used to convey and receive meaning as well as the development and demonstration of knowledge about the appropriate oral language for particular audiences and occasions, including body language and voice.
More information on the English curriculum can be found here:
https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/english/english/introduction/structure
At Findon Primary School, the teaching of Phonics is enhanced through Write2Read. In Foundation to Year Two, the focus is on the explicit teaching of the 70 phonograms of the English language, manipulating these phonograms when reading and writing, and simple spelling rules. In Year Three to Year Six, students are explicitly taught more complex spelling rules and how to use these when independently reading and writing.
The teaching of reading and writing is enhanced through the implementation of the Workshop Model. This Department of Education and Training approach to teaching reading and writing allows for student centred learning to occur and encourages the development of independence in reading and writing through a regular and predictable approach.
From Foundation to Year Six, teaching of writing is also centred around the 6+1 Traits of Writing. These are: Ideas, Voice, Word Choice, Organisation, Sentence Fluency, Conventions and Presentation. This model allows students to understand the components that make a ‘good’ piece of writing and provides consistent language to critically reflect on themselves as writers.
Students also take part in explicit vocabulary instruction where they are exposed to rich language. This involves the explicit teaching of carefully planned words in a variety of ways such as definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and pictures, practising the use of focus words through games and everyday conversation. The aim of developing students’ vocabulary is to improve their comprehension when reading and ability to accurately communicate their ideas and thoughts when writing and speaking.