At Mirniyan Primary School, we recognise literacy as an integral part of daily life. We aim to develop student's thinking, speaking, listening, spelling, reading and writing skills, which are important in all curriculum areas. The home-school partnership is vital to the success of the literacy program. Students with lots of support and encouragement from home consistently benefit from these efforts.

Reading

At Mirniyan primary school we want to children to learn to read and love to read.

We target learning to read through an evidence-based approach to literacy that focuses on the  big six elements. We promote a love for reading through reading quality mentor texts with the children every day, allowing students choice of their reading materials and creating literacy rich environments.

The big six elements of reading:

1. Oral Language: Developing students' speaking and listening skills to form a foundation for reading and writing.
2. Phonological Awareness: Helping students recognise and manipulate sounds in spoken language.
3. Phonics: Teaching the relationships between letters and sounds to aid in decoding words.
4. Fluency: Building the ability to read text accurately and quickly.
5. Vocabulary: Expanding the range of words students understand and use.
6. Comprehension: Enhancing the ability to understand and interpret text.

Integrating these components into literacy programs has been shown to support successful reading development.

Writing

Students are given daily opportunities to practise their writing skills. Teachers use the 6+1 Traits of Writing framework to structure engaging and authentic writing lessons. This framework focuses on key components of effective writing, offering students a clear structure to develop and refine their writing skills.

• Ideas: the clarity and richness of the content
• Organisation: emphasising logical structure and flow
• Voice: highlights the writer’s unique style and connection to the audience
• Word Choice: ensures precise and engaging language
• Sentence Fluency: focuses on rhythm and variety in sentences
• Conventions: addresses grammar, punctuation, and spelling
• Presentation: relates to the visual and aesthetic format of the writing

This approach provides a comprehensive, structured method for developing strong writing skills, enabling students to craft clear, engaging, and polished pieces.

Our students are proud of their writing and take pleasure in presenting their writing in many formats throughout the year including writing assembly scripts, producing writing for buddy grades and creating portfolios of writing pieces.

Spelling and grammar

At Mirniyan Primary we have a systematic approach to teaching spelling and grammar that involves explicit, structured, and sequenced instruction that builds students' skills progressively. Here's an outline of a comprehensive approach:

• Phonological Awareness and Phonics Teach the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and letters (graphemes).
• Explicit Teaching of Spelling Rules: Teach common spelling rules systematically
• Morphological Awareness: prefixes, suffixes, and root words influence spelling and meaning.
• Vocabulary Development: Build spelling knowledge through expanded vocabulary.
• Grammar Integration: Embed grammar lessons into writing and reading tasks.

Intervention Program

Extra support programs are offered to selected students who may require them.  Our tutor initiative program is designed to:

• Target Support: Designed to assist students performing below their age-expected standards in literacy and numeracy, the TLI aims to bridge learning gaps and enhance foundational skills.
• Small-Group Instruction: Tutors work with small groups, generally up to five students, providing personalised attention to address specific learning needs.