At Allendale Primary School we understand how vital literacy skills are to support all learning and use evidence-based methods to ensure all students succeed and thrive in this area. Our teaching aligns with the WA Education Department’s “Teaching For Impact” document which outlines what effective teachers believe, what they know, and what they do to have high impact on student outcomes.
Explicit and systematic teaching of fundamental knowledge and skills is the pillar of our approach at Allendale. We aim to provide the best possible environment for all students to develop the ability to read, write and understand the rules that govern the English language.
Overview
English at Allendale Primary School consists of a curriculum divided into the following components:
- Phonological and phonemic awareness
- Reading
- Genre and sentence level writing
- Grammar Punctuation
- Handwriting
- Spelling
Teaching students to become effective readers involves developing mastery in 6 key areas:
1. Phonological Awareness
2. Phonics
3. Sight Words
4. Fluency
5. Vocabulary
6. Comprehension
The English Block
All Allendale students participate in a structured, fast paced, high impact English block every day from 9am to 11am. The uninterrupted 120-minute period of explicit and direct instruction includes timed sessions of a Daily Review, explicit systematic synthetic phonics teaching (Kindy – Year 2), Spelling Mastery, Vocabulary and Reading with little structural variance across the school. This is coupled with a consistent gradual release model for teaching new English content.
Assessment
Assessment plays an important role to inform teacher planning in the classroom. In addition, assessment provides feedback on learning to the student, influences whole school decision making and planning and provides information for parents and the wider community on progress and achievement. Allendale has a comprehensive assessment schedule that is used every term to assist teachers to make accurate and informed judgments about your child’s performance.
Intervention
At Allendale, we run a strong intervention program through MultiLit. MiniLit has been chosen for students in Year 1 and 2, while MacqLit is being utilised for students in Year 3 – 6. Students are identified by classroom teachers to participate in their designated year level program, with testing then taking place to ensure suitability. EA’s have been trained in the programs and have a specific timetable catered to allow them to teach three lessons to each group per week, encompassing approximately 40 students.