Junior School classes participate in a morning Literacy block. During the Literacy block students engage in a variety of learning opportunities centered on building and strengthening students’ Literacy skills.
Foundation students listen to, read and view a variety of texts for enjoyment, including traditional oral texts, picture books, rhyming verses, poetry and nonfiction texts. They participate in shared reading, viewing and storytelling, and they share in the writing of simple sentences in sequence, based on letter and sound knowledge. Year 1 and Year 2 students are given the opportunity to develop skills taught in Foundation. They learn to predict, sequence and identify features of fiction and non-fiction texts. Students begin to investigate the purpose of texts and made personal connections to stories read. Students write texts for different purposes, including recounts, narratives, reports and procedures, and there is an increased focus on grammar and spelling. Students read aloud and express opinions and facts to an audience.
Senior School students are grouped for instruction, according to ability, to ensure point-of-need teaching. This allows each student the opportunity to engage in learning activities appropriate to their learning needs. Students participate in five sessions of explicit Literacy teaching each week. Literacy teaching in the Senior School is focused on comprehension strategy instruction and allows for specific and targeted teaching based on our students’ reading needs.
In addition to high-quality teaching, Year 3 and Year 5 students sit the VCAA National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Test each year and BHPS prides itself on achieving outstanding results. Years 2 – 6 students also sit the University of New South Wales ICAS English assessment each year. BHPS students achieve outstanding results in this independent assessment further evidencing our priority to high-quality Literacy teaching.
