WONDALL HEIGHTS STATE SCHOOL
Strong foundations in reading, spelling and lifelong learning.
At Wondall Heights State School, we provide consistent, explicit teaching that helps students build the knowledge and confidence to become capable readers and writers.
Our whole-school Sounds-Write approach supports the teaching of phonics, reading and spelling from Prep through to Year 6.
Sounds-Write is a structured, speech-to-print approach to synthetic phonics. Students learn how sounds connect with letters, then use that knowledge to read and spell. Classroom and inclusion teachers have undertaken Sounds-Write training, supported by investment in decodable reading resources and home reading books.
Breaking spoken words into their individual sounds.
Putting individual sounds together to read words.
Adding, removing or swapping sounds to explore words and spellings.
Our phonics teaching helps children understand four important ideas:
Written letters and letter groups represent the sounds in words.
One sound can be written with one or several letters, such as sh in ship.
The same sound can appear in different spellings, such as rain and day.
A spelling can represent different sounds in different words, such as head and sea.
Children learn in a carefully sequenced way, revisiting and applying phonics knowledge through speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Teachers explicitly model sounds and spelling patterns, provide guided practice, and help students apply these skills to increasingly complex words and texts.
Students learn early sound–spelling connections and practise reading and spelling simple words, gradually building to more complex words.
Students explore alternative spellings for sounds and begin working more confidently with multisyllabic words.
Students revisit the Extended Code and apply their knowledge to increasingly complex vocabulary.
Students consolidate spelling and reading knowledge across learning areas, including word origins and word structure.
Wondall Heights has invested in decodable readers to support children as they practise the skills being taught in class. Our school community and P&C have helped strengthen these home-reading resources.
Learn more about our curriculum and the learning opportunities available to students.