At BPS, the goal of our literacy program is to develop lifelong readers and writers. Students are taught through a systematic, explicit approach which aims to build upon their skills and strengthen their knowledge of reading, writing and speaking & listening.

Reading

Our approach to reading is based on the CAFÉ model (CAFE is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expand Vocabulary) and one of the key elements of our program is choice. Students each have their own tub of “good-fit books” that they have chosen to read during read to self. Students also choose the activities they complete during their Daily 5 rotations. Our students meet regularly with their teacher for a one-on-one reading conference to set and review reading goals.

Writing

Writing is a complex process. Students at BPS learn about the different genres through the explicit teaching of the different components of quality writing: Voice, Organisation, Ideas, Conventions, Expanding Vocabulary, Sentence Fluency and Presentation. Alongside learning about specific genres, students all have a writer’s notebook where they can participate in free writing and collect ideas and inspiration for future pieces of work.
Speaking and Listening

At BPS students are provided with many formal and informal ways to develop their oral language skills across the curriculum. Students are explicitly taught the skills needed to be effective listeners and confident speakers. Students participate in formal speaking and listening tasks where they receive peer and teacher feedback about their skills.

Write to Read

Integrated into our reading, writing and speaking and listening program is our Write to Read program. Write to Read is an explicit, multi-sensory literacy program which provides students with the skills needed to be successful readers, writers and spellers through the teaching of Phonemic Awareness and Explicit Systematic Phonics.