Literacy Learning

Kae McCaull, Head of Primary

There is a poem about reading that I love. It goes like this,

For me, this poem captures the amazing and imaginative qualities of being able to lose yourself in a book. The written word can transport us to another place to think about new ideas and introduce us to places and people we may otherwise never know.

Creating and reading written and visual texts is one of the primary ways that we exercise our God-given imagination and creativity to share ideas, experiences and stories with one another. The ability to read and write allows us to enjoy and benefit from other’s knowledge and imagination and to share our own.

Above all this, our God has chosen to speak with us through his son Jesus. In our time in history, this is communicated through God’s written word, the Bible. To be able to read and understand the Bible for ourselves is a privilege that people in past generations have not always enjoyed.

The Science of Reading
Over recent years, three very extensive studies have been undertaken into how children learn to read. In 2000, the USA conducted ‘The National Reading Panel’; in 2005, Australia conducted the ‘National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy’; and in 2006, the UK undertook an ‘Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading’. Interestingly, all three studies arrived at the same findings about the fundamental elements of learning to read. This research, along with many other studies, now forms a body of research known as the Science of Reading. 

The research behind the science of reading identifies five fundamental elements of reading that must be explicitly taught for students to become competent readers.

Phonemic awareness
The ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.

Phonics
The relationship between the sounds of the spoken language (phonemes) and the letters (graphemes) or groups of letters or syllables of the written language.

Fluency
Both the pace at which we read and the smoothness with which we read. It involves skills like pausing at the correct places and using appropriate expression.

Vocabulary
The words students know, understand, and use.

Comprehension
The strategies and skills students possess to understand the words they are reading and how they connect to form ideas and messages.

When we use the term literacy in an educational context, we are not just talking about reading. Literacy learning involves reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, grammar, and speaking and listening. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? 

It is! That is why we dedicate a significant part of every primary school day at Kuyper to explicit literacy learning and weave literacy skills into all the subjects taught from Kindergarten to Year 12.

Our reading programs at Kuyper are designed to cover all five of the fundamental elements of reading. They are taught in an explicit and systematic way, progressively building on easier skills to develop more complex skills. 

Reading and writing are very complex skills, and children will need several years of practice to develop into proficient readers and writers. In this area, parent partnership is a tremendous benefit to your children. The more reading practice students can do at both home and school, the more we help them develop a mastery of lifelong literacy skills that support all their future learning in whatever subjects they are studying. 

Reading is an incredible skill we have the privilege of teaching our children. Next week, I will discuss the specific ways parents can support their children’s literacy learning at home.