At Mount Duneed Regional Primary School, our literacy program is consistent with the knowledge and skills developed in Victorian Curriculum 2.0 and the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0. Mount Duneed operates a Multi-tiered System of Supports, where all students receive evidence-based explicit teaching of core content (tier 1 instruction), and at-risk students or students requiring extension are supplemented with additional small group support (tier 2 instruction) to help them reach their potential.

Prep, Grades 1 and 2

The first three years of schooling are critical when it comes to learning how to read and write, this is why Mount Duneed has invested in an evidence-based program, InitiaLit, to support students through a structured literacy approach. Over three years, Mount Duneed teachers explicitly teach the component skills of reading and writing through a daily 120-minute literacy block, comprising:

• oral language – knowing and using spoken words to express knowledge, ideas and emotions
• phonemic awareness – which is the knowledge of sounds (phonemes)
• systematic synthetic phonics – knowing the sound (phoneme) and letter (grapheme) relationships
• handwriting – letter formation
• fluency – reading accurately and at an appropriate rate with expression
• vocabulary – understanding words in isolation and in context
• comprehension – making meaning from text which includes developing knowledge of grammar (including syntax and morphology).

These skills are known as the ‘Big 6’ (Konza, 2014), and have been identified as essential by the Victorian Government in their 2024 position statement on teaching reading (https://arc.educationapps.vic.gov.au/learning/sites/literacy/2484/Victorias-approach-to-teaching-reading-F-2).

In addition to this program, all prep to grade 2 students participate in a knowledge-rich curriculum, based on Humanities and Science content, which is explicitly taught and reinforced through writing and built upon throughout their years at school. Students apply their knowledge learnt during the literacy block through their weekly inquiry sessions. Through explicit teacher-led instruction, they explore rich texts (both archaic and contemporary) aligned with their knowledge-building unit to support their comprehension and vocabulary development.

As part of their rich text exploration, students receive explicit instruction on writing genres, with a particular emphasis on developing story grammar knowledge for narrative, and expository language required for informative and persuasive texts.

Students requiring additional support to develop the foundational skills of reading, participate in MultiLit intervention programs for oral language (LanguageLift) and phonics (MiniLit).

Students at Mount Duneed are screened for reading risk through both InitiaLit assessments and universal screeners, DIBELS and CUBED; and, their progress is regularly monitored to ensure optimal student growth. Further, all students from grades 1 – 6 are tracked yearly with PAT Reading.

As part of the Mount Duneed reading program, students will take home either decodable texts (texts that use the letter/sounds the students have already learnt in class) or authentic texts (once students have mastered the English code) to read at home. They are given journals to record their progress and help motivate them.

Grades 3-6

Throughout grades 3 to 6, students engage in a 120-minute daily structured literacy block that includes explicit instruction of:  

• spelling, grammar (including syntax and morphology), vocabulary, fluency and comprehension
• handwriting and typing
• knowledge-rich units based on the Humanities and Science curriculum
• rich texts (archaic and contemporary) themed around their knowledge units, to support their comprehension
• text genres including, but not limited to, narrative, informative and persuasive text types.

From grades 3 to 6, students progress from learning to read and write to using reading and writing to support their learning of content across English, Science and Humanities.

Students requiring additional support with foundational literacy skills are provided with tier 2 intervention, in addition to the main instruction.

Students from grades 3 to 6 are screened for reading risk through universal screeners, DIBELS and CUBED; and, their progress is regularly monitored to ensure optimal student growth. Further, all students from grades 1 – 6 are tracked yearly with PAT Reading.