Literacy

Literacy learning develops learners’ ability to think critically and to communicate and express themselves orally, visually and in writing. 

At Ruahine School our learners engage in literacy learning that is purposeful, structured, meaningful and balanced.

Our teaching and learning of Literacy focuses on:

*Developing children’s PHONEMIC AWARENESS and PRINT (sounds, letters, words, punctuation = visual information) knowledge – this frees up their working memory to enable more complex literacy learning.

*Explicit and systematic teaching of ‘THE CODE’ for spelling that supports reading and writing.

*Developing CORE STRATEGIES for reading and writing that support a SELF-EXTENDING SYSTEM (using knowledge and strategies that support their ongoing literacy learning).  Learners use visual, sentence structure and meaning information as they read to monitor, problem solve and search for information. They learn about the english language in a structured and purposeful way.

*Deepening comprehension by learning to ask QUESTIONS and to APPLY NEW KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDINGS so that literacy learning is purposeful and meaningful.

*RESPONDING TO TEXT – We provide children with opportunities to discuss and respond to texts and visual images.  Teachers and learners use TALK MOVES to facilitate productive discussions. Learners question, explain, justify, revoice, prompt, actively listen and provide wait time.

Our SCHOOL LIBRARY supports a love of reading and is used extensively across the school at learning and at break times.