Literacy

Our Year 7s have made an excellent start to Independent Reading in Term 4. It has been great to see the range of texts that students have chosen to read – from a Fornite How-To Guide to my personal favourite, the Harry Potter series. This program provides our students with the opportunity to foster a love of reading, whilst also developing crucial literacy skills. 

I have been visiting each Year 7 group to discuss the importance of reading and have been pleased by the number of students who can articulate the benefits of reading, both at school and in the ‘real world’. We have spoken about the literacy components that are associated with any career field, as well as practical applications in the more immediate future, such as learning the road rules and signing a contract for a part-time job.  

During these visits, I have also posed a challenging question: 

A student who reads for 1 minute per day reads 8000 words per year. How many words would a student encounter if they read for 20 minutes per day?  

Prizes have been awarded for the closest guesses and I am impressed that students have combined their literacy and numeracy skills to find an answer. See the image below for some interesting statistics! 

Sarah Garnaut 
Learning Specialist – Literacy