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Literacy in English gives students access to the understanding, knowledge, and skills that they need to participate fully in the social, cultural, political, and economic life of New Zealand and the wider world.
To be successful participants our students need to be effective oral, written, and visual communicators who are able to think critically and in depth.
Our New Zealand English Curriculum is structured around two interconnected strands, each encompassing the oral, written, and visual forms of the language. The strands differentiate between the modes in which students are primarily:
· Making meaning of ideas or information they receive (Listening, Reading, and Viewing);
· Creating meaning for themselves or others (Speaking, Writing, and Presenting).
Literacy Goals at V.A.S:
- to provide high quality and equitable teaching and learning opportunities to enable our students to achieve to the best of their ability in literacy education
- to enable all students to develop skills and understandings in reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and presenting, for everyday living and as a foundation for further learning
- to recognise students as individuals, cater for their individual needs and raise student achievement in literacy
Assessment in Literacy
Writing:
A writing sample is taken with all students in Years 1 to 6 whereby the surface and deeper features are analysed to determine student needs.
At Victoria Avenue school we use National Exemplars and Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning (asTTle) to help teachers analysis of students’ writing in Years 1 – 6. This involves the teachers looking at:
Deeper Features of the writing:
- Audience / purpose
- Content / ideas
- Structure
- Language
Surface Features of the Writing:
- Spelling
- Punctuation
- Grammar
- Layout
Spelling:
Teachers at all year levels monitor student performance in spelling.
However, this year we introduced the Supplementary Spelling Assessments (SSpA), which are standardised tests to identify strengths and weaknesses in spelling for students in Year 4 to 6. This test is administered in March and the results are reported at the parent interview in Term 2.
Reading:
Information on student achievement in ‘reading’ is collected both formally and informally. Teachers formally collect and record information about what students have learned, and also observe informally what students know and are able to do. What teachers record, see and know about students’ reading will all be used to plan and motivate students to take their next learning steps.
Reading Assessment Tools:
Year 1-2 - PM Reading Assessment
Year 3 - STAR Supplementary Test of Achievement in Reading
Year 4-6 - Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) Comprehension
Year 4-6 – Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) Vocabulary
Year 3-6 – Probe - Prose Reading Observation Behaviour and Evaluation of Comprehension
Year 4-6 – Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning (asTTle)
Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT):
These are standardised tests developedspecifically for use in New Zealand schools. We administer these tests each year.
PAT Reading Comprehension (Year 4-6): Estimates a student’s current performance in the comprehension of prose material.
PAT Reading Vocabulary (Year 4-6): Estimates a student’s current level of understanding of the meaning of common English words.
PM Benchmark Reading Kit (Year 1-2):
Teachers use the PM Benchmark Kit to assess students’ reading abilites using seen and unseen texts.
PROBE Prose Reading Observation Behaviour and Evaluation of Comprehension (Year 3-6):
PROBE determines the reading accuracy and comprehension of students Year 3 to Year 6.
asTTle Reading (Year 4-6):
asTTle Reading is an assessment tool developed for the Ministry of Education by the University of Auckland, and enables teachers to track the progress and achievement of both individual students and groups of students against national standards.
STAR Supplementary Test of Achievement in Reading (Year 3)
At V.A.S Year 3 students are tested on STAR twice a year, Term 1 & 3.
STAR helps teachers to:
• identify those needing extra help
• group children by ability and needs
• diagnose areas of difficulty
• evaluate programmes.
Four subtests of STAR:
• word recognition
• sentence comprehension
• paragraph comprehension
• vocabulary range
Literacy Support Programmes:
At V.A.S we offer a number of programmes for students who need extra
Literacy support. These include:
- Reading Recovery- provides daily one to one teaching with a specially trained teacher for children making the slowest progress in literacy learning after a year at school. It is supplementary to classroom instruction.
- Rainbow Reading – is a audio-facilitated reading programme consisting of a series of books, at seven colour-coded levels, with accompanying audio support and activities. A programme which improves students' enjoyment, confidence and competence in reading.
- Individual tuition - by the Literacy Leader
Online Computer Programmes:
- ABC Reading Eggs (Year 1) - ABC Reading Eggs is an online programme that helps students master the basics of reading. This programme has been developed by a highly experienced team of educational teachers and writers. The ABC Reading Eggs programme focuses on a core reading curriculum of phonics and sight words using skills and strategies essential for sustained reading success. It completely supports what children learn at school and will assist their reading development. Students can use the Reading eggs programme at home as well as at school.
- Lexia (used at all levels)- is a web-enabled reading programme. Students using Lexia work independently through 5 levels of reading skill development in addition to their regular classroom lessons. This programme is used with students from Year 2 -6.
- Spellodrome (Year 2-6) – Spellodrome is an online spelling programme that students can access at home and at school. It supports students’ individual literacy development and creates a fun and stimulating environment for the enhancement of critical spelling awareness.
Helping with Literacy at Home:
Reading:
Learning to read between the lines
Readers who successfully "read between the lines" are able to pick up clues that the author leaves in the text. They also connect their own life experiences to what they are reading.
This type of reading requires that the reader act like a detective. She needs to make logical conclusions about the meaning of the text by using evidence. This evidence can take two forms – clues left by the author and experiences from the reader's own life.
Help develop reading comprehension by reading and discussing what your child reads
One way to help your child can improve his reading comprehension is to read what he is reading yourself. Once you have some knowledge of the texts your child is reading, try opening up a conversation with questions or statement starters like:
• I wonder why...
• Why do you think...?
• What do you think will happen...?
• This reminds me of ...
• What do you think the author means by...?
• This is similar to...
• I'm confused about ...
Questions and statements such as these will stimulate deeper levels of understanding of the reading material and may open the door to some rich conversation between you and your child.
Spelling:
Year 0-2
Find different ways to help your child write their name
Encourage your child to join in when you write lists, letters, birthday cards give lots of praise
Enjoy your child’s attempts at writing and spelling when you write with your child try to use lower case [not capital letters] except at the beginning of a sentence
Name look at words together when you’re out shopping, on television, or reading together learn songs and rhymes together read books together tell and share stories in English or your home language.
Year 1 students need to be using ‘Reading Eggs’ the online spelling/ phonics programme daily.
Year 3-6
Encouraging them to look closely at words and talking to them about words.
Encouraging them to try new words.
Make sure they use ‘Spellodrome’ the online spelling programme daily.
Playing word games with them, such as: Hangman, Boggle, Scrabble
Helping your child to use a dictionary.
Encourage your child to read through their own writing and check for errors, building up his image of himself as a speller by praising near misses
Do praise new words that are learned.Encourage them to write to people who will want to know their news
Websites for Parents:
Strategies and suggestions to use at home in all areas of reading development including phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, fluency, comprehension and reading aloud.
Sites for Parents: www.sitesforparents.com
Literacy Matters: www.literacymatters.org
Reading Rockets: www.readingrockets.org
We Read: Literacy and Education for Life: www.weread.org
Family Education: www.familyeducation.com
Reading Success Lab: www.readingsuccesslab.com
Read To Me www.readtome.biz
For additional information with on-line games, stories and printable resources:
Reading Is Fundamental (Creating a Nation of Lifelong Readers): www.rif.org
Scholastic: www.scholastic.com
Public Broadcasting System: www.pbskids.org
Starfall: www.starfall.com
Literactive www.literactive.com
Grade Level Reading Lists/purchase books www.gradelevelreadinglists.org and www.rif.org/readingplanet/gamestation
Kid’s Domain www.kidsdomain.com
Primary Games www.primarygames.com
Read-Write-Think www.readwritethink.org
Making Words www.wordles.com
Chateau Meddybemps Fun and Games www.meddybemps.com/funandgames.html
Brainchild www.brainchild.com
Headsprout www.headsprout.com
Adrian Bruce Resources www.adrianbruce.com
TAKS Practice www.taks-reading.blogspot.com
Websites for Fluency Related Reading Activities: These include books online for your reader to enjoy!
Literactive www.literactive.com
Story Place www.storyplace.com
Wired for Books www.wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm
Book Hive www.bookhive.com
Children’s On-line Library www.aolschool.childrenselibrary.com
Absolute Whootie- Stories www.storiestogrowby.com
Book Pals www.bookpals.net
Poetry www.poetry4kids.com
Book Spot www.bookspot.com
Auckland Libraries http://www.aucklandcitylibraries.com
These sites will give you a wealth of information, ideas and activities for you and your reader. Enjoy! I hope you find these sites useful!
Jane Cameron
Literacy Leader
Deputy Principal
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