​At Gardenvale Primary School, students engage in daily, structured literacy sessions encompassing Reading, Writing, Spelling and Speaking & Listening. Guided by the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM) 2.0 and the Science of Learning, we ensure our practice is grounded in the most up-to-date research on how students learn best. We use explicit, systematic, and cumulative teaching to develop strong foundational skills, while also providing rich opportunities for students to apply their learning in authentic and meaningful contexts.

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Reading

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Our reading program is designed not only to develop strong literacy skills but also to instil a lifelong love of reading in every child. We believe that reading opens doors to imagination, knowledge, and new perspectives, and we aim to build comprehension, nurture curiosity and joy through a rich variety of texts and meaningful reading experiences. By building both skill and passion, we empower our students to become confident, enthusiastic readers who read for pleasure and to further their learning. 

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Literacy learning in Junior Years (Prep–2) is informed by the Victorian Reading Approach and incorporates the ‘Big 6’ essential elements of reading:​

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• Oral language: using spoken words to express ideas, knowledge, and emotions.

• Phonemic awareness: understanding individual sounds (phonemes).

• Phonics: knowing the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and letters (graphemes).

• Fluency: reading accurately, at an appropriate pace, and with expression.

• Vocabulary: understanding words both in isolation and in context.

• Comprehension: making meaning from text, including grammatical knowledge.

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In the Senior Years (3–6), this is integrated with vocabulary development, fluency practice, and

comprehension strategies, fostering a love of reading and encouraging students to read for pleasure.

By applying their reading skills to explore a wide range of texts, students enrich their knowledge, broaden their perspectives, and become skilled, confident readers.

 

Writing

 

Writing instruction is explicit, structured, and scaffolded to build students’ ability to write with purpose and precision. Lessons begin with modelled or shared writing, where teachers explicitly demonstrate grammatical elements of writing through the use of ‘The Syntax Project’. Students then practise these skills through guided and independent writing, receiving feedback to refine their work..

 

We teach text structure, language features and text types integrated across learning areas, including: Narrative, Recount, Procedure, Information Report, Explanation and Persuasion.

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Spelling

 

The combination of a Gardenvale Primary School spelling scope and sequence as well as the SMART Spelling approach (Say, Meaning, Analyse, Remember, Teach) is used to teach spelling explicitly and systematically. This program provides a clear, sequential pathway for learning spelling patterns and rules, grounded in phonics, morphology, and etymology. Spelling instruction is embedded in meaningful reading and writing tasks to strengthen vocabulary and deepen word knowledge.

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Speaking & Listening

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Speaking and Listening skills are explicitly taught and integrated across the curriculum. Students learn to communicate clearly, use appropriate language for different audiences, and apply active listening strategies. Activities include oral presentations, debates, group discussions and collaborative problem-solving, with attention given to body language, tone and voice projection.