Being a literate person is fundamental to being able to fully participate in the world. To be able to communicate our thoughts, ideas needs and wants adequately we need to be able to speak and listen, read and write and use multimedia very well.

Mother of God is a culturally and linguistically diverse school. Children who attend Mother of God school often speak a language other than English at home. While English is the language of communication and instruction at school, we value highly the knowledge and skills children and their families have in their first language. We encourage families to help their children maintain and extend their first language while also learning English.

English

‘The study of English is central to the learning and development of all young Australians. It helps create confident communicators, imaginative thinkers and informed citizens. It is through the study of English that individuals learn to analyse, understand, communicate and build relationships with others and with the world around them. The study of English helps young people develop the knowledge and skills needed for education, training and the workplace. It helps them become ethical, thoughtful, informed and active members of society and plays an important part in developing the understanding, attitudes and capabilities of those who will take responsibility for Australia’s future.’ (Rationale - Victorian Curriculum English)

At Mother of God school lessons are timetabled daily to explicitly teach children about speaking and listening, reading and viewing, writing and spelling.

We explicitly teach children speaking and listening by giving children lots of opportunities to talk with each other and with us, both informally and formally. We teach reading by reading to students, reading with students and with students reading independently. The same can be said for writing. We use resources such as quality Literature, Big Books and electronics texts to assist children in their learning. Children bring books home that they can read easily, to practice their skills and strategies.

Teachers use a range of student groupings such as whole class, small groups and independent activities in order to respond to the range of skills and needs within the group of learners.