English

Central to the learning and development of all students at St Francis Xavier is the study of English. Our aim is to create confident communicators, imaginative thinkers and informed citizens through development of skills in English.

Effective classroom practices are used to engage students in purposeful activities to develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, viewing and writing. Recognising the importance of these foundational skills, students are engaged in Literacy Learning for two hours each day.

Content is drawn from the Victorian Curriculum and is organised in three strands:

• Language: knowing about the English language
• Literature: understanding, appreciating, responding to, analysing and creating literature
• Literacy: expanding the repertoire of English usage.

English Learning at St Francis Xavier includes one hour of Reading and one hour of Writing, with oral language an integral part of both lessons. Organisation of the Reading and Writing Lessons is based on whole class and small group activities. Strategic and specific foci are identified for individual children within this structure to address learning at students’ point of need. Parents support students with learning activities in the Prep – 2 years during these two hours.