​Literacy is an essential skill that children need to succeed in their everyday lives.  As a parent or carer, you will have already made a significant contribution to supporting your child’s learning from an early age.
 
 
 
Now that your child has reached the middle phase of their education, they will be supported by their school to move from primary to secondary education.
 
 
 
It is critical for you to continue to play an active role in helping to develop your child’s literacy so they can achieve the best possible outcomes.
 
 
 
Your vital role as a parent or carer
 
 
 
You might not realise it, but you are already contributing to the development of your child’s literacy skills through regular activities such as discussing the meaning of new words and phrases, the main ideas in books or events in a newspaper story.
 
 
 
Improving your child’s understanding and use of these skills will help to increase their enthusiasm to actively participate in the classroom and build on the foundation of literacy they have already gained in earlier years.  Ensuring that your child feels confident talking to you and their teacher about school work will enhance their opportunity to thrive in the 21st century.
 
 
 
What literacy skills will your child learn at school?
 
 
 
During Years 4 to 9, young people begin to investigate the world beyond home and school and are required to become more independent learners.  Students learn to write for particular audiences and purposes such as describing, explaining, instructing, arguing and narrating.  They read and comprehend different types of texts and visuals.  This involves identifying the purpose, audience, main ideas and order of events in a text, as well as making connections between ideas and information in different paragraphs and drawing conclusions.
 
 
 
Activities to do with your child
 
 
 
Here are some simple yet effective activities you can do with your child to help them apply the literacy skills they learn at school:
 

• read some of the same books as your child and talk about characters, storylines and themes
• when assembling a newly purchased item, ask your child to assist with the reading of the instructions and interpreting diagrams
• read the newspaper with your child each morning — choose an article to discuss and ask questions such as ‘what is the report telling you?’ and ‘what does this word mean?’
• use language that encourages thinking and reflection such as ‘do you agree with what was written in that newspaper article or story?’ — have your child locate sources within the story or text to support their point of view

talk about movies you have seen — discuss why a filmmaker may have created a movie in a certain way, the purpose of the film, the intended audience and what points of view or values are conveyed. Talk about language choices and why characters are represented in certain ways.

  
Many parents worry that their child is not making progress because they are achieving the same grade in both their half yearly report and end of year report. 
 
There seems to be a common belief that progress has only been made when there is a change of grade, say from a C to a B. This often leads to confusion and disappointment, especially if an attempt has been made to lift a child’s grade.
 
But there is more to the grading system than you may have realised. In fact, if your child has achieved the same consecutive grade in both reports they are actually making progress.
 
Here’s why as explained on the Board of Studies Website:
 
“If a student receives the same grade for two consecutive reports they have made progress. For example, if a student receives a Grade C in the middle of the year and again at the end of the year they will be making progress.
 
Between the two reporting periods the student will have learned new knowledge and skills of a more advanced nature. In order to receive a Grade C on the second occasion the student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills in relation to this new and more challenging material.”
 
In other words, if your child has maintained the same grade by the end of the year, they have demonstrated a sound knowledge of all of the new skills which are more advanced in nature.
 
If they change their grade entirely from a C to a B this represents a HUGE leap in improvement.