At St Dominic’s, our literacy program is guided by MACS’ Vision for Instruction, which emphasises high-quality teaching, clear guidance, and active student participation. We strive to create a learning environment where students are supported to develop foundational literacy skills while being fully engaged in the learning process.
Explicit Instruction
Our teaching approach is grounded in evidence-based practices and informed by ongoing professional learning. We draw on Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 2010) to ensure lessons are structured in a way that avoids overwhelming students’ working memory, maximising understanding and retention. Instruction is delivered using consistent routines and explicit explanations, aligned with the framework of the reading rope, so that all key skills are taught systematically and reinforced through regular practice.
To maintain engagement, lessons incorporate strategies that encourage full participation, such as mini whiteboard activities, pair discussions, thumbs up/down checks, and shared reading. We also implement structured programs to target specific areas of literacy development, including:
Learning to Read Prep – 2
- UFLI phonics instruction
- Story Champs (oral language and narrative skills)
- Shared reading – to build background knowledge and comprehension
- Explicit instruction in grammar, sentence level writing and genre based writing
Reading to Learn (Grade 3-6)
- Novel studies – develop students’ deep comprehension, analytical thinking, and knowledge-building skills through structured engagement with quality literature.
- Explicit vocabulary, spelling, grammar and sentence level writing
Our literacy program explicitly addresses the key components of reading and writing, including:
- Phonological awareness
- Systematic synthetic phonics
- Morphology
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
- Spelling
- Handwriting
- Syntax
- Text structure
Assessment and Monitoring
To ensure all students progress, we screen literacy skills three times a year. This allows us to identify those needing additional support early and provide targeted, responsive teaching. Through this approach, St Dominic’s aims to strengthen foundational literacy skills, close learning gaps, and cultivate confident, capable readers.