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Structured Literacy is used by the teachers at Mihi School from Year 0 through to Year 6.
Structured Literacy involves explicitly teaching the critical skills needed to develop early reading, spelling and writing.
Structured Literacy is an approach that is explicit, direct, cumulative, intensive and focused. It uses Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic learning pathways in the brain simultaneously or sequentially in order to enhance memory and learning.
There are 44 English phonemes (letter sounds) that are represented by the 26 letters of the alphabet individually and in combination. Phonics instruction involves teaching the relationship between sounds and the letters used to represent them. There are hundreds of spelling alternatives that can be used to represent the 44 English phonemes. Teachers use the Scope and Sequence to the left, to road map the sequence of lessons. Students are taught the letter-sound correspondence that then match decodable books they will be reading. The Scope and Sequence is only a guide. Depending on a student's learning ability will depend on how quickly they move through the lessons.
Once students have completed this series of lessons, they move onto the traditional method of Reading - Whole Language which supports them to read text to learn.
At Mihi School we use Little Learners Love Literacy Decodable books to assist with the learning and Ready to Read Decodables alongside for reinforcing.
Students are not expected to write until they can confidently sound letters, form letter shapes, and write words in meanigful sentences. This is all taught throughout their literacy lessons. Their lessons will consist of letter sounds (phonemes), forming or writing the shape (grapheme), blending (joining one or more sounds to read a word), segmenting (breaking the word into individual letter sounds), writing words, dictation of words or sentences, and reading corresponding books but only when the new learning is known. Books are not sent home every night, they are sent home once your child has completed the whole lesson.
How you can help at home:
Read picture books and non-fiction books based on your child’s interest. Have fun with the language especially with rhyming books e.g. Dr Seuss.
Support fine motor skills by engaging in drawing, baking, lego and puzzles.
Play word games, such as ‘I Spy’ with a beginning sound or a word that rhymes with another word.
Change descriptive words of items to increase vocabulary.
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