Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak and listen in a way that lets us communicate effectively and make sense of the world. At St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School we aim to provide all students with the opportunity to write with purpose, read for meaning and develop skills for speaking and listening.
Literacy skills are the foundation for learning in all areas of the curriculum. At St. Anthony’s we teach the content outlined in the Victorian Curriculum for English. This provides a set of common standards which schools use to plan student learning, assess student progress and report to parents. While the Victorian Curriculum sets out content for each year level, we understand that Literacy learning is both developmental and sequential. Students learn at different rates and new learning builds on previous learning. Our planning for teaching in English reflects this and meets the students at their point of need.
At St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School we aim:
- Give students a purpose for learning outlined in clear learning intentions and success criteria
- teach using a structured approach where previous learning is regularly reviewed and new learning builds on current knowledge and understanding
- move students from being supported and scaffolded with new learning to being able to independently apply this learning in a range of contexts
- use an integrated approach to demonstrate how Literacy skills are essential to learning in all subject areas
- explicitly teach phonemic awareness, phonic knowledge (for reading and spelling), grammar, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension strategies, as well as skills for planning, revising and editing writing for a range of purposes
- plan opportunities for students to build their speaking and listening skills through classroom dialogue, both formal and informal
- regularly assess students’ progress and analyse the data collected to plan targeted teaching
At St. Anthony’s we work towards these aims using contemporary teaching and learning practices based on current, evidence based knowledge from ongoing professional learning. Learning in English should be engaging and offer opportunities for students to experience success. As a result, our students should be able to apply literacy skills to all aspects of their everyday lives independently and with confidence.