Literacy
Literacy @ SKPS
At St Kilda Primary School, we are dedicated to providing a literacy education that not only supports children in developing the essential skills needed for reading but also to equip students with the tools to effectively engage with information and communicate confidently across all areas of their learning. Our goal is to help students build the necessary tools to engage with and access information in a meaningful way, encouraging lifelong learning and curiosity.
We follow the Simple View of Reading, which emphasises that learning to read and understand language involves two critical abilities: decoding (correctly identifying words) and comprehension (understanding their meaning). To master these skills, students must also develop a broad range of specific abilities, including the ability to speak, listen, write, and read effectively in different contexts.
Research has consistently shown that the most effective literacy instruction addresses six key areas, often referred to as the ‘Big Six Skills’ of reading. These are:
- Oral Language
- Phonological Awareness
- Phonics
- Vocabulary
- Fluency
- Comprehension
These skills are interdependent, and we believe they provide the foundation for successful reading development. Our approach is informed by decades of research, providing a solid evidence-based framework for literacy instruction.
Our Approach to Literacy
At St Kilda Primary, we teach reading through Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP). We use the Little Learners Love Literacy Program in the Junior Years (Prep to Year 2) to explicitly teach sound-letter correspondences in a structured, step-by-step approach. As students master the alphabetic code, they gradually expand their vocabulary and begin engaging with different text types through a gradual release model.
In Years 3-6, our focus shifts to novel studies, where students explore a range of texts aligned with our Integrated Curriculum units. This approach not only supports vocabulary development and knowledge building but also allows students to apply their growing literacy skills in a purposeful, meaningful way. The goal is to deepen their comprehension, strengthen their fluency, and help them make connections between the texts and the world around them.
Explicit Instruction
We believe in the power of explicit teaching to accelerate literacy development. Lessons are carefully designed to meet students at their developmental level, with clear, direct instruction that outlines the lesson goals. We provide explicit models to demonstrate how to approach literacy tasks, ensuring students understand exactly what is expected of them. This type of focused instruction leads to greater success in decoding, comprehension, writing and overall literacy achievement than practice alone.
At St Kilda Primary School, we believe that literacy is the foundation for all learning. By combining reading, writing, speaking and listening in an integrated and systematic way, we ensure that every student has the skills they need to succeed academically and engage confidently with the world around them. Our aim is to foster a lifelong love of language, where students are not just capable readers, writers, and speakers, but also passionate learners and communicators.