English

English is a core component of the curriculum at St Brendan’s. It involves reading, writing, speaking and listening where all students are supported by explicit and scaffolded teaching in these areas. We believe English skills underpin learning across all curriculum areas. Our aim is to create confident communicators and imaginative and critical thinkers who enjoy the pleasure of reading and writing.

A daily uninterrupted two hour Literacy block is dedicated to the teaching of English across the school and involves a variety of rich activities and experiences that teach and develop:

• Reading and comprehension skills

• A love of literature

• Writing skills including a knowledge of text types, punctuation and grammar

• Spelling through a targeted, explicit teacher-directed program

• An understanding of how words and letters work, eg phonics, word study

• Oral language skills

• Handwriting skills

Ongoing assessment, monitoring and evaluating are vital to the planning and teaching of our English program and teachers maintain high expectations of all students. We believe in equality for each student, therefore literacy teaching is personalised to ensure that each student reaches their full potential.