The teaching of literacy is a high priority at Donvale Primary School. The school has fully implemented the Victorian Early Years Literacy Program in Foundation – Year Four. We ensure all students have their literacy needs met through the provision of small group instruction, programs tailored to meet individual needs and regular assessment.
In the Early Years, student skills and knowledge are closely monitored and learning needs are addressed in small group learning programs. This continues as students work in Years 5 and 6 as they progress towards secondary education.
The Early Years program operates in the Foundation to Level 4 classrooms with the Literacy block comprising an hour of reading and an hour of writing each day. The reading session follows the Early Years model of whole class/small group/whole class format. During the whole class section a particular reading focus will be looked at; while in the small group component the teacher will conduct a guided reading session with one group while other groups are involved in a range of literacy activities. There will be time at the end of the session for all groups to come together to share their learning. The strength of the Early Years program is that it matches the appropriate text level to the students’ reading ability.
The Early Years writing program follows a similar format of whole class/small group/whole class. During the whole class section the teacher may involve the class in some modelled or shared writing; while in the small group component students may be engaged in interactive writing with the teacher and independent writing at their tables. Again there is time at the end of the session for students to share their writing with the whole class. Throughout their primary school years the students will develop their skills to enable them to write on a range of text types including information reports, procedural, persuasive and narrative.
Reading is such an important skill to develop that it takes a large chunk of primary school learning time. We need to develop this skill to function well in our society and there is the side benefit that many of us appreciate – that of escaping into the wonderful world of books. We continually develop children’s appreciation of literature by reading good literature and discussing the ideas, situations and people. This discussion helps later when they are reading to acquire knowledge about a particular topic or subject. We aim to firstly teach the technique and skill of reading and then increasingly work on thinking about what we read and relating it in a logical and clear manner either in a spoken response or a form of written work. As the level of skill develops to independent reading, children are expected to take more responsibility for choice of appropriate books and authors. They are supported in this during their Library sessions.
Research on this approach has found that children learn better when engaged in meaningful, active tasks. This program supports our many other Literacy Activities and gives a framework for each child’s learning.
These skills are encouraged throughout the school. Foundation students learn to share their ideas, comment and ask questions – these skills develop through to our level five and six students who are able to participate in formal debates. They create their arguments, develop the skills of rebuttal and learn to focus on the topic not their opinion. Oral presentations about themselves, Power Point presentations, work related topics and speaking to the whole school at our weekly Assembly all contribute to well spoken, confident public speakers.
Writer’s Notebook
Writer’s Notebooks are developing at Donvale as a worthwhile approach to teaching writing skills and genres. It is a way of addressing this area of the curriculum that uses the children’s interests and experiences as the stimulus for their writing. It was developed by well-known educational consultant Debra Sukarna. She uses a book of ‘seeds’ that the children collect and develop. The children then choose their topic and genres of writing from their personal book of ideas. This creates a strong personal link for each child and allows them to use their interests and skills to create strong writing. The skills of review and editing are addressed in ‘needs based’ focus groups.
Spelling
The Spelling Program at Donvale PS aims to guide our students to recognise and develop the strategies and habits of competent spellers. It best occurs in an environment where both the teacher and the students recognise the students’ spelling strengths and needs, whether there are specific plans to work on the needs, and where there is a real-life purpose for learning about spelling.
The overall goals for our students are to:
Special Events
Donvale Primary has been involved in this program for many years. We have a very pleasing participation rate, with 100% of students completing the challenge in 2024. There are set requirements for students in different levels, and these are supported through class library sessions, normal class activities and of course, home reading. Students receive a certificate for their efforts, and at our fortnightly assembly, ‘Reading Champ’ awards are given to students who have completed the challenge. The challenge is a great support to our reading program, and it encourages students to record their reading, and to try new books.
Every year Donvale uses Book Week to celebrate the wonderful books and literature that is available to our students.
Book Week is a week-long celebration that involves many book related activities. We connect with authors and illustrators either in person or virtually, we have a performance from Meerkat Productions based on a nominated book, and our senior students visit the junior classes every day to read a story at lunchtime.
Our favourite day is our ‘Dress Up and Activity Day’. Staff and students dress up as their favourite book characters, we have a parade, and enjoy doing activities based on the nominated books in multi aged groups. Students from Foundation to Year 6 work together discussing books and creating some form of art to reflect their thinking about the chosen book.
In 2024, we also ran our first ever ‘Great Book Swap’ where children could purchase a donated book for a gold coin donation. Money raised was donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
The Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee
Every year our Year 3-6 students participate in the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee. There are also a select few junior students who also partake in this spelling bee. This is an online National competition, where students have to spell 30 words correctly in the quickest time possible. We have had great success with this competition, and 2024 was no exception. We had four students progress to the State Finals. A fabulous achievement!
Lions Public Speaking Competition
In 2024, we ran a public speaking competition for the Year 3-6 students with the support of the Lions Club. Students were required to prepare a speech on a set topic, and present this speech to a panel of judges. This gave our students the opportunity to present a prepared speech to an audience in a formal way. The Lions Club panel of judges were very impressed with the standard of our student’s speeches, and we look forward to including this competition in our yearly program.
Bi-Annual Writers' Festival
This fabulous event is a culmination of a term long focus on writing across the school. The students are explicitly taught writing strategies and then produce a piece of writing on a school wide topic. In 2024, the topic was “My Treasured Possession”. The students wrote a descriptive piece about something that is important to them. This showcased the student's ability to use many different writing strategies taught to them, to enhance their writing. All writing is handwritten, and displayed for the community to enjoy. We have many talented writers at our school.
For more information about the school’s literacy program and how Donvale Primary School can assist your child’s literacy education, contact your child’s teacher or the Literacy Co-ordinator, Sarah Hodgson.
