Literacy & Numeracy

Literacy is a key focus of our Site Improvement Plan (SIP) where all teachers are collectively working on the development and implementation of key strategies to address reading, vocabulary development and comprehension of complex text types.

These classes are highly specialised and support students in developing the knowledge and skills to interpret and use language confidently across all Learning Areas. Students will also increase their phonological skills to assist their reading and will also focus on writing and speaking in order to understand, analyse and evaluate information to make meaning.

Students will develop skills to:

• Comprehend texts:
  • Through reading, listening and viewing
  • Responding to specific texts according to individual reading levels
  • interpreting and analysing identified texts
• Progress grammar knowledge:
  • Enhance knowledge of sentence structure
• Advance word knowledge:
  • Increase understanding of vocabulary
• Improve Reading:
  • Through guiding reading activities

Assessment:
Students will undertake Running Records assessments which will be used as a diagnostic tool to support the customisation of students learning.  NAPLAN and PAT data will also be accessed to support individual planning and literacy development.

Students will develop mastery of numeracy skills to their individual highest level.  “Numeracy encompasses the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that students need to use mathematics in a wide range of situations. It involves students recognising and understanding the role of mathematics in the world and having the dispositions and capacities to use mathematical knowledge and skills purposefully.” (Australian Curriculum – General Capability of Numeracy).

Students will progress through the Big Ideas in Number which is developed on the following 6 key elements:

• Trusting the Count: developing flexible mental objects for the numbers 0 to 10
• Place value: moving beyond counting by ones, the structure of the base 10 numeration system
• Additive to Multiplicative thinking: moving from a count of equal groups (eg, 1 six, 2 sixes, 3 sixes, 4 sixes, …) to a constant number of groups (eg, 6 ones, 6 twos, 6 threes, 6 fours, 6 fives …), the key to understanding rational number and developing efficient mental and written computation strategies in later years
• Partitioning: the missing link in building common fraction and decimal knowledge, understanding and confidence
• Proportional reasoning: extending what is known about multiplication and division beyond rule-based procedures to solve problems involving fractions, decimals, per cent, ratio, rate and proportion
• Generalising: skills and strategies to support equivalence, recognition of number properties and patterns, and the use of algebraic

Assessment:
Students will complete diagnostic numeracy assessments which will be used to support the customisation of students learning.  NAPLAN and PAT data will also be accessed to support individual planning.