Literacy

Whenuapai School Literacy Program Overview

At Whenuapai School, our literacy program is designed to support students’ reading and writing development through a structured and responsive approach. We track student achievements and next steps through a variety of assessments and our HERO goals that explicitly link to the New Zealand curriculum and our scope and sequence.  

Early Literacy

We begin with our phonics program, Milo’s Birthday Surprise, which helps students learn to recognise and identify letter sounds. Once they master the first eight sounds, they advance to Stage 1 books of the Little Learners Love Literacy® Scope and Sequence. Little Learners Love Literacy® (LLLL) is designed to be used in Year 1 and into Year 2. It can additionally be used for intervention – tier 2 and 3. 

We focus on:

• Phonemic awareness and phonics for spelling and reading
• Handwriting
• Reading fluency
• Vocabulary and comprehension.

The sequence also includes morphology.

We also supplement this programme with New Zealand Curriculum Ready to Read Phonic Plus decodable books. 

Daily phonemic awareness is reinforced through the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Program. This 10-minute daily session aids children in developing crucial literacy skills, including rhyming, sound manipulation, and sound recognition.

As students begin to read more fluently with greater understanding we transition them onto New Zealand Curriculum leveled readers to explicitly teach comprehension skills.

Senior Decodables

Our senior decodable texts are a key focus for middle and senior school literacy.These texts, including series like Dragon Eggs, The Totem, and Talisman, are designed to enhance decoding, encoding, and comprehension skills, they are used for students who still need ongoing support with accessing higher texts. They complement our existing LLLL program by supporting students as they transition from learning to read, to reading for comprehension and enjoyment. This year, we are particularly focused on improving literacy outcomes for ESOL learners and students in our senior school.

Spelling (The Code Program)

The Code spelling program continues to be integral to our literacy instruction in the senior school. Teachers use assessment data to address individual spelling needs and build on prior learning. Collaboration with Massey University and Tātai Angitu is helping us refine our methods for teaching spelling rules and patterns, ensuring all students, including those needing extra support, are effectively challenged.

Writing (Writer’s Toolbox)

The Writer’s Toolbox program has been a cornerstone of our writing instruction for many years. Its use has made teachers more skilled, leading to increased student engagement and improved writing quality. This structured approach has also enhanced the consistency and confidence in writing assessment and moderation across the school. The program follows a clear scope and sequence and uses a common language from Year 1 through Year 8.

In our classrooms, different colored trains on whiteboards help explicitly teach sentence structure, punctuation, and grammar. Students begin by mastering these basics and then learn how to expand their writing ideas. As they progress, they develop the ability to craft purposeful paragraphs applicable to various topics and outcomes. 

Reading Strategies 

From Level 2, reading instruction focuses on developing comprehension, vocabulary, text features, and reading skills through a range of resources, including PM Readers, Ready to Read, School Journals, short chapter books, and high-interest stories.

Comprehension:

• Students learn to read and respond to comprehension questions using age-appropriate texts. They learn to find main ideas, make inferences, draw conclusions, and distinguish between facts and opinions. They also practice summarising texts, interpreting figurative language, and understanding the sequence of events.

Vocabulary:

• Students are encouraged to discover and use content-specific vocabulary in speaking and listening. They identify and understand new words through context and work on using a range of strategies to figure out unknown words.

Text Features:

• Students interpret pictures, illustrations, and diagrams. They recognise language features and structures of various text types, such as narrative elements including plot, character, setting, problem/resolution, and theme. They also learn to identify the author’s purpose and use text features to support their reading.

Reading Skills:

• Students are guided to read fluently with appropriate pace, check accuracy, and find information through skimming or scanning. They practice comparing and contrasting ideas, recognising cause and effect, and predicting outcomes.