Literacy Programs
Reading at Cranbourne West Primary School
At CWPS our English curriculum follows a structured literacy approach, which is the application of the Science of Reading, a research and evidence-based approach for teaching reading.
We move from ‘learning to read’ (Foundation- Year 2) to ‘reading to learn’ (Year 3- 6). Students are exposed to a solid foundation of knowledge through the Big 6 Ideas in reading development, Oral Language, Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension.
Our Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 students follow UFLI Foundations, an explicit and systematic program that teaches students the foundational skills necessary for proficient reading. It follows a carefully developed scope and sequence, designed to ensure students systematically acquire each skill needed and learn to apply each skill with automaticity and confidence. As well as whole class shared reading of rich literature, comprehension skills and reading fluency.
Our Year 3-6 students follow a structured reading approach including, Daily Review of previously taught content, explicitly taught phonics, spelling and morphology concepts, ‘Shared Reading’ of rich literature and the teaching of vocabulary, comprehension skills and reading fluency.
Writing at Cranbourne West Primary School
Powerful oral language is the window to writing. You can’t write, what you don’t know.
The principle of Talk for Writing is that if a child can tell a story, they will be able to write a story.
At Cranbourne West we use the Talk for Writing approach, developed by the author Pie Corbett. It is a whole school approach to develop our children as readers, writers, speakers and listeners. Talk for Writing fundamentally teaches children how to be writers – not just how to write. It enables children to read and write independently for a range of purposes and a variety of audiences. The approach moves from children being supported by the teacher, using shared writing and guided teaching, moving towards children writing independently and creatively. Talk for Writing starts with enjoying and sharing stories. By Using high quality texts, we want children to build up an extensive and rich vocabulary for use in their own writing.
Talk for Writing is an evidence-based whole school approach to teaching written expression. It supports all learners and learning styles. The methodology follows a three-tier pattern: Imitation, Innovation and Independent Application. During the imitation stage, children get to know a text really well by orally learning it, exploring it through drama and then reading it for vocabulary, comprehension and writer tools. The Innovation stage is grounded in the processes of shared writing, with a strong and systematic focus on securing the basics of handwriting, phonics/spelling and grammar in relation to what is needed for the text type being taught. The final stage, Independent Application, promotes children to draft, edit and publish their own independent versions.