NAPLAN

Students in Years 3, and 5 participate in NAPLAN tests for reading, writing, conventions of language and numeracy during May. Our school will participate in NAPLAN Practice Tests in Weeks 8 and 9, which are designed to give students, teachers and systems an opportunity to practice administering and participating in the online testing environment. The practice tests consist of a Writing Test for Years 5, and an Omnibus Test (a combination of reading, conventions of language and numeracy) for Years 3 and 5. As this is intended to practice participation, the questions are not equivalent to NAPLAN testing in May, and no results are available from the Practice Tests.

Writing Professional Learning

Our teachers have been participating in a CE endorsed Writing Professional Learning opportunity this term which focusses on implementing the Hochman Method, an explicit set of evidence-based strategies for teaching expository writing. The method builds from sentences to compositions and is embedded in curricula across all content areas and grade levels. The Writing Revolution envisions a day when all students acquire well-developed writing skills and the ability to think critically so that they have the opportunity to succeed.

Principles of The Writing Revolution

• Students need explicit instruction in writing, beginning in the early years.

• Sentences are the building blocks of all writing.

• When embedded into the content learning areas of the curriculum, writing instruction is a powerful teaching tool.

• The content of the curriculum should drive the writing activities.

• Grammar is best taught in the context of student writing. 

• The two most important phases of the writing process are planning and revising.