Literacy

The ability to read and write through the awareness of sounds (phonemes) and the related symbols (print) in addition to the relationship between letters and sounds.

To be able to have well developed literacy skills, we first need to be able to decode (identify words) and comprehend (understand the meaning) of what we are listening to, reading and writing.

Literacy skills are built upon a number of other skills. These include phonemic and phonological awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and oral language skills. There are strong links between our literacy and language skills.

Common Questions

  • Well developed reading skill takes years to develop. Typically by the end of Year 3 at school, a child will have learnt all of the phonetic code (printed symbols and their associated sounds) in order to decode words for reading.

    Their reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension will continue to develop.

  • When your child is reading aloud to you (independently) and their sentences are not making sense, they are likely not be ‘reading’ but guessing the words. They may be looking at the picture or saying memorised words that look similar and not decoding the letters.

    This challenge may be because their phonological awareness skills need to be refined. I am able to support your child to develop a strong foundation in their skills to enable reading to be easier AND enjoyable!

  • There may be a number of reasons that your child may not be moving through their reader levels as quickly as others. It may be due to underdeveloped phonological awareness skills or underlying cognitive or processing challenges.

  • If your child is just beginning to learn letters and the sounds they make, it is common they may mix them up.

    If your child continues to reverse letters or mix them up when reading or spelling, please have a chat with a speech pathologist or psychologist to see if there are any underlying challenges impacting their ability to process text.

  • A child will learn to read before they will be able to write and spell.