English

At Booragoon Primary School, literacy is the cornerstone of student learning and development. It underpins academic success across all learning areas and plays a vital role in fostering critical thinking, effective communication and personal expression. We are committed to ensuring every student develops strong foundational skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening—empowering them to engage confidently and competently in an ever-evolving world. Our approach to literacy is whole-school, strategic and firmly grounded in evidence-based practice. Teaching and learning are guided by the Western Australian Curriculum, the Early Years Learning Framework, and the Kindergarten Curriculum Guidelines, ensuring developmental appropriateness and curriculum alignment from Kindergarten to Year 6. Instruction is explicit, systematic and responsive to individual learning needs. Planning is informed by student achievement data and supported through collaborative professional practice, providing consistency and continuity throughout all year levels.

Instructional Excellence

Literacy is delivered through a clearly defined instructional framework that supports cohesive teaching across all year levels. This includes the use of:

• Explicit learning intentions and success criteria
• Structured, direct instruction with clear modelling
• Differentiated teaching informed by formative and summative assessment
• Ongoing, targeted feedback to support student growth
• The gradual release of responsibility model to foster independent learners. This consistent approach ensures that students understand what they are learning, why it matters, and how to improve.

Core Components of Literacy

Our literacy curriculum is designed to build deep, transferable skills across key domains. Instruction focuses on the following foundational components:

• Phonemic Awareness – the ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words
• Alphabetic Principle – understanding the relationship between letters and their corresponding sounds
• Vocabulary Development – building a broad and meaningful vocabulary for comprehension and expression
• Fluency – reading with accuracy, appropriate pace, and expression
• Comprehension – interpreting, analysing and evaluating texts at literal, inferential and critical levels
• Grammar and Language Conventions – applying the rules of sentence structure, syntax, and punctuation accurately and purposefully

These elements are explicitly taught and integrated across all areas of literacy to support well-rounded language development.

Whole-School Programs and Targeted Support

Booragoon Primary School implements a suite of evidence-based programs to ensure consistency of practice and support across all phases of learning:

• Cracking the Code (Kindy): a systematic phonic program
• Jolly Phonics (Pre-primary): a synthetic phonics program
• Sound Waves (Years 1-6): a systematic synthetic phonics approach to literacy instruction

Seven Steps to Writing Success (K-6)

The Seven Steps to Writing Success program is implemented as a whole-school approach to developing confident, skilled and purposeful writers. Grounded in both curriculum standards and real-world writing techniques, the program provides a clear framework that supports students in planning, structuring and crafting their writing across a range of genres.

Developed by an Australian author, the program promotes a shared language and consistent strategies across all year levels. It encourages collaboration, creativity and critical thinking, enabling students to write with clarity, impact and intent. Through explicit instruction and engaging activities, students build their capacity to produce effective narrative, persuasive and informative texts—skills essential for academic success and lifelong communication.

These programs are implemented with fidelity and embedded within daily classroom practice to ensure all students are supported to reach their full potential.