Reading and Viewing

At Gaayip-Yagila Primary School, we have a whole-school approach to the teaching of Reading and Viewing that is grounded in evidence-based practice and aligned with the Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0. Our teaching program explicitly incorporates the Big Six of Reading: oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

In Foundation to Year 2, students participate in a structured synthetic phonics program using Little Learners Love Literacy. Our Early Years teachers are fully trained in this approach, ensuring that every child develops strong foundational skills in decoding, blending, and spelling.

Across Foundation to Year 6, students engage in a knowledge-rich reading curriculum designed to build background knowledge, comprehension, and language development. Reading instruction includes:

• Whole-class explicit teaching of comprehension strategies using class novels and high-quality fiction and non-fiction texts
• Fluency instruction and practice embedded across the literacy block including explicit teaching of strategies to improve fluency and regular opportunities to practice
• Close examination of authors’ use of grammar and syntax in real-life contexts to deepen understanding of sentence structure and support writing development

Lessons follow the Gaayip-Yagila Instructional Model, incorporating clear learning intentions, success criteria, guided practice, and feedback. Students engage in independent and small-group tasks such as reading responses, vocabulary and word work, comprehension activities, and fluency practice. Teachers use ongoing assessment and small group teaching to set and review individual learning goals that target each student’s point of need.

Writing

Writing is explicitly taught across all year levels through a structured approach that builds skills progressively from Foundation to Year 6.

Students learn to:

• Develop and record their ideas clearly
• Apply their phonics knowledge to spelling
• Construct complete and correct sentences
• Use accurate grammar and syntax
• Organise ideas into cohesive paragraphs and whole texts

Writing instruction includes both responding to reading and explicit teaching of text types, focusing on the purpose, structure, and language features of each genre. Handwriting, spelling, punctuation, and grammar are systematically taught, practised, and applied in all writing tasks.

Students learn to plan, draft, revise, and publish their work, developing stamina and independence as writers. Teachers model each step of the writing process and provide targeted feedback to guide improvement and celebrate progress.

Speaking and Listening

Speaking and Listening are integral to all learning at Gaayip-Yagila Primary School. Students develop oral language skills through explicit teaching, frequent opportunities to speak and listen in pairs, small groups, and whole-class discussions.

We embed structured talk opportunities in every lesson, including strategies such as “turn and talk”, “pair-share”, and guided class discussions, to ensure every student can contribute their ideas. Students also learn to listen actively, respond respectfully, and adapt their language for different audiences and purposes.

Formal and informal experiences help students practise presentation, questioning, and collaboration skills.