Wagaman Primary School has a whole school literacy approach that encompasses reading and viewing, writing, listening and speaking. Skills are taught explicitly at each year level and follow the sequence of the Australian Curriculum. Literacy is integrated across all learning areas to create a meaningful environment which meets the needs of individual students.
Reading
Students participate in a variety of reading opportunities in all classes across the school. Literacy blocks include the explicit teaching of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Read Write Inc is a program used in our early years. It is an approach to teaching systematic synthetic phonics and is proven to create fluent, enthusiastic readers, confident speakers and willing writers. Read Write Inc helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling.
DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) are measures used across the school that help our teachers determine how students are performing on important reading skills.
All students at Wagaman Primary have access to Reading Eggs. This is an online reading program which makes learning to read interesting and engaging for children, with interactive reading games and activities. Students in Years 5 and 6 have access to Scholastic Literacy Pro, which measures reading comprehension, identifies books to promote reading growth, and motivates students to keep reading via quizzes and certificates.
Writing
At Wagaman Primary School, students develop both their ability and love of writing through carefully planned lessons and meaningful writing opportunities. Teachers provide targeted writing demonstrations highlighting the elements of good composition. Students collect and organise their ideas in writer’s notebooks, and key skills are developed and practised through daily writing. Choice writing is an essential part of our Literacy program as our students are unique writers and work through the writing process as authors. Good writing is celebrated and students’ work is published and shared across our school.
Writing is my favourite part of the day. I love choosing to write things I am passionate about and publishing my writing like a real author.
— Wagaman Primary Year 4 student
Speaking and Listening
Students have a variety of opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills as part of explicit English lessons and integrated into a variety of subject areas.
All classes present an assembly item each semester.
