Literacy

Reading at Cranbourne Primary

At Cranbourne Primary School, we believe that reading should not be left up to chance. To realise this, we use a range of strategies based on the latest research on the brain and learning. Collectively, these are referred to as the Science of Reading. This presents a strong and structured program to ensure every student leaves the school as a capable reading.

Some of the central elements of this approach include:

• Teaching young students that sentences are made of words and words are made of sounds (Phonological awareness)
• Explicitly teaching letter combinations and the corresponding sounds (grapheme-phoneme correspondences) using a structured Phonic approach (Little Learners Love Literacy)
• Vocabulary development, including oral language work at all levels, exposure to challenging texts and knowledge rich units
• Comprehension skills using contextual literature and knowledge-rich content

Using the strategies, the school has been able to improve reading results from below similar school levels

to signficantly above similar schools

We are continually developing this system, ensuring that no child slips through the cracks at Cranbourne Primary School!

Writing at Cranbourne Primary

At Cranbourne Primary School, we use a program called the Writing Revolution (or the Hochman Method). In this approach, students are taught the key components of writing, starting with a deep knowledge of quality sentences. Students are then given the skills to build these together into engaging compositions. This approach is embedded into a range of subject areas, and in the 1 year of implementation has already had a powerful positive impact on our Writing results, as demonstrated in NAPLAN results.

In one year, our results have moved from this:

to this

These evidence based approaches ensure that all students are provided the skills to demonstrate exceptional writing.

Intervention at Cranbourne Primary

At Cranbourne Primary School, we believe in early support for students who are at risk of falling behind in their literacy learning. Our teaching teams monitor student progress, and students needing additional support are provided this at regular intervals to catch them up. Our intervention is delivered by trained experts, and makes sure students are always able to access grade level content, before they fall too far behind. Our intervention operates at all year levels in the school, providing the opportunity for students transferring from other schools to gain success in our environment of high expectations.

English as an Additional Language (EAL)
English as an Additional Language (EAL) students come from a background where English is not the first language. It includes newly or recently arrived students from overseas, languages other than English background and students born in Australia. A student is defined as being from a language background other than English, if either the student, mother or father speaks another language beside English.

An EAL Curriculum has been developed to support the learning of English.  Teachers follow the Victorian Curriculum English scope and sequence, but will also refer to the EAL curriculum to ensure those students are being supported, and work is properly differentiated based on students’ language proficiency levels.

EAL students also have the opportunity to be included in specific EAL classes, where they will work in small groups, with a trained EAL teacher, to assist in their English acquisition. This is achieved through oral activities, role plays, games, and conversations, as well as addressing targeted literacy needs specific to the students in the group.