English

At Kinglake West Primary School we follow a structured literacy approach, backed by the Science of Reading. Students participate in 15 hours of Literacy instruction per week. 

 Our English program includes the following:

• Phonological awareness 
• Systematic, synthetic phonics instruction
• Fluency 
• Spelling, grammar and syntax instruction
• Exposure to rich natural language texts which build background knowledge about topics linked to the curriculum and our world
• Vocabulary instruction
• Comprehension - including literal, inferential and analytical text analysis

In year P-2,  we use decodable texts so that the books children read, contain letters and sounds they have been taught. We build these skills over the first three years of school, until our students are able to confidently read. 

In years 3 to 6, the focus shifts from decoding to reading to deeply understand. Our students are immersed in a broad variety of rich texts. They also explore spelling, grammar and syntax more closely, enabling them to become skilled writers. 

KNOWLEDGE RICH CURRIUCLUM

A knowledge-rich curriculum is structured to support reading comprehension – and literacy more broadly – by building language competence and deep knowledge, which enables students to understand and engage with more complex subject texts as they progress through their schooling (Hirsch, 2016; Wexler, 2019). 

A knowledge-rich curriculum provides students with multiple opportunities to develop comprehension skills.

Our Core Knowledge units are delivered through our Literacy program, with links made to other areas of the curriculum. Students will then inquire from a place of knowledge.

Intervention Programs

Kinglake West Primary School offers intervention programs for students in P-6 with a focus on developing phonological awareness, decoding strategies and increased comprehension skills.