From our Leader of Pedagogy - Mrs Abbie Matthews

InitiaLit (K-2) (Whole-class initial instruction in literacy)

InitiaLit is an evidence-based, whole-class literacy program that aligns with the new K-2 English syllabus. This program has been introduced within our K-2 classrooms as part of our daily English Block. It uses a Systematic, Synthetic Phonics approach to teach students how to read and write.

Unlike learning to talk which children pick up naturally, children need to be directly taught the relationship between letters and sounds. This program helps children to learn the relationships between the sounds (phonemes) of spoken language and the letter symbols (graphemes) of written language. They also need to know how to blend and segment these sounds/letters when reading and writing words.

How can I support my child at home?

Each grade will outline what home reading activities they would like to be completed. This might include reading decodable texts or fluency passages, practising their sounds or simply reading to and with your child for enjoyment. This will vary according to the grade and the class focus. Some great ways to support your child to continue to develop a love of reading could include:

- Reading interest-based books and stories to and with your child. Discuss the story and point out any new words to enrich their vocabulary.  

- Spend time teaching your child nursery rhymes, songs and poems.

- Play language games - talk about letters and sounds in the environment.

- Have your child find 'tricky' words (sight words) in the story.

When readers are sent home, try to spend time listening to your child read, providing support to help them apply their knowledge about sounds and letters to the text. Not all words can be sounded out. These words are called 'tricky' words in this program and are required to be learned by looking for grapheme (letter) patterns rather than solely on the sounds. Due to this, don't encourage your child to sound these words out, as that might cause confusion. Simply, tell them that the word is a tricky word and give it to them. Their tricky word bank will build over time with ongoing exposure and teaching in the classroom.

Tips for parents:

1. Become familiar with the basics of phonics yourself.

Make sure that what you are practising with your child is consistent with what they are being taught at school by learning the principles of Synthetic Phonics for yourself. A good place to start is learning to say each letter sound (e.g. /s/ as in ‘sit’) correctly for reading instead of using the letter name (e.g. ‘ess’) to identify a letter.

2. Look for opportunities to model phonics

When you’re out and about, look for opportunities to demonstrate sound/letter correspondences such as on signs or on menus at restaurants. Demonstrate the sound and letter yourself and then ask your child to do the same.

3. Ask questions

Once your child has successfully decoded a sentence, ask them questions about what they have just read. This will help them to build comprehension skills, which is another essential component of effective reading. You could ask questions like, ‘What do you think that means?’ or ‘What do you think will happen next?’.

4. Offer encouragement and praise

Build your child’s confidence by acknowledging when they have read successfully. Depending on your child’s reading skill, success could be making the correct sound for a letter or reading a complete sentence without assistance. If your child makes a mistake, acknowledge what they have done well and offer corrective feedback for them to try again.

We will provide a variety of opportunities throughout the year for you to learn more about how to support your child at home with reading.