Literacy

Structured Literacy

In the early years at Bayfield reading, writing and spelling is taught using the principles of Structured Literacy. The Structured Literacy approach:

• Is based on the science of how ALL children learn to read, write and spell

• Literacy skills are taught in a structured, cumulative, diagnostic and engaging way 

• Uses a Scope (what is being taught) and Sequence (the order in which it is taught)

• For teachers, it involves lots of deliberate practise, constant review and new learning every day.

For more information please see the parent information slideshow

Other Components Of Our Reading Programmes

• Shared reading: teachers intentionally model and teach reading skills and strategies. One text is typically used for a week and modelling and discussion takes place with a larger group.

• Reading to students

• Independent reading: students have opportunities to practise reading and apply skills and strategies

• Reading across the curriculum: reading/writing links made across the curriculum and deliberate teaching to shift children towards ‘reading to learn’

• Across all year levels, students are developing and enriching their oral language and vocabulary which are integral for success in reading.

Writing programmes at Bayfield include

Shared writing involves the teacher and a group of students (often the whole class) working together to plan and construct a text (or part of one). Shared writing helps students to develop more complex ideas, language and critical awareness as writers. It reinforces information about specific text forms and writing goals. 

The teacher: 

• Demonstrates and talks through the process of constructing the text

• Gives explicit instructions about how to use relevant writing strategies – model, explain, prompt 

• The children contribute their ideas and expertise 

Guided writing is an opportunity to work with a small group of students that may have similar learning needs or interests. 

• Generally involves working on a model developed during shared writing

• Students construct their own texts individually

• The teacher supports the students in finding the best way to meet their learning goal

Independent writing 

• Students have opportunities to write for a specific purpose often based on the shared writing lesson

• Students have opportunities to write for their own purposes