Literacy

"Civilisation is not inherited; its advance depends on the ability of each generation to fully communicate and teach its children the recorded wisdom of past ages. Teaching language to children is therefore the highest profession in every age." - Romalda Spalding

Our Philosophy

At Araluen PS, our philosophy toward teaching literacy follows a logical approach to language combined with explicit, sequential instruction, to establish knowledge about how our written language works. We incorporate multi-sensory instruction which requires active participation from students and high expectations from teachers.

Literacy

Our core literacy learning starts with Little Learners Love Literacy. This is a sequential, explicit program backed by research. The teaching focuses on phonemic awareness, the alphabetic code (phonics), vocabulary, and linking the teaching of reading, spelling, and writing.

It is well-researched and documented that students who excel in the sub-skills of reading often excel academically and emotionally, so at Araluen Primary School each student’s progress in reading is of the utmost importance to staff. Improved reading fluency has direct links to improved cognition, thinking and expression. The basic ability to decode and begin reading occurs as students learn to spell, say, and write words. To promote a deeper level and love of reading, a wide variety of texts are available in our school and classroom libraries for both investigation and personal reading.

Classroom Program

Students follow a regular classroom program with a minimum of 5 hours of literacy instruction a week to practice and apply their learning to equip them with the literacy tools necessary for their future studies.

Literacy Tutoring Program

Our tutoring program enables our Tutor to work with our students in small groups or one-to-one. This resource is available to students three times a week who need further support or extension in their learning.