Woy Woy South to focus on reading

Woy Woy South Public School Year 2 through to Year 6 teachers have been involved in professional development activities this year related to a new program that has been trialled over the past few years in schools across the state.

The program, called Focus on Reading, aims to provide professional learning support to classroom teachers by increasing teacher knowledge about how to develop fluent readers and develop comprehension and vocabulary skills based on effective evidence-based research.

The program involves explicit teaching of critical aspects of reading.

Students' reading progress is monitored against a set of standards provided by the Department of Education.

"Evaluations on the Focus on Reading program in other schools found that the program had provided teachers with a deeper understanding of comprehension strategies and the links to comprehension, vocabulary knowledge and text reading, a deeper understanding of effective teaching and reading and a deeper understanding of the nature and needs of literacy learners in Years 2 to 6," said Woy Woy South Public School principal Mr Terry Greedy.

"Teaching staff in these schools were all extremely positive about the impact of Focus on Reading on students' outcomes, with the majority stating that the program brought about improvements in areas relating to students' engagement with and capability in literacy.

"Implementation of the Focus on Reading program will be a gradual process.

"Over the next two years, various aspects will be incorporated into teaching and learning programs across the primary grades.

"Student learning outcomes will be monitored during this period to identify specific areas where further refinement is required.

"The Focus on Reading program is the first program introduced by the Department of Education that has provided primary classroom teachers with a specific program on which to base their literacy teaching.

"Having a specific program to follow will ensure students across each primary grade will receive the same quality instruction.

"It will also allow greater opportunities for teachers on each grade to collaborate with their colleagues when planning and programming literacy sessions," said Mr Greedy.

Newsletter, 21 May 2013

Terry Greedy, Woy Woy South Public School