Teaching and Learning

​Our Curriculum

We also offer extension activities focussed on developing higher order thinking skills including 'Queensland Virtual STEM Academy' , and 'Robotics'.

How We Teach Reading

At Farnborough State School, we are deeply committed to ensuring our students learn to read-and read well! Reading is not only an essential skill for children to find success in school but to thrive in society as they grow up in our world. We are learning more about what research says about how children learn to read, how to make sure every student learns to read, and what to do when a child encounters difficulty with reading. This body of knowledge we are learning about and implementing is called 'The Science of Reading'.

When We Know Better, We Do Better! (Maya Angelou)

A New Path at Farnborough. If your family has been a part of Farnborough State School for some time, you'll notice some changes in how we are teaching reading; if you're new to our school, welcome and jump on board our exciting journey! It's an exciting time to be in education as we align our instruction to the 'Science of Reading'. 

Below are some areas we will be addressing as we begin a new year of learning at Farnborough State School.

Code Emphasis in the Early Years. This means that Prep to Year 2 especially will focus on acquiring the skills to crack the code of our alphabet to the speech sounds in English. (There are 44 speech sounds in English and 150 ways to read and spell them!) Children must first learn to decode/sound-out words before they can understand the meaning of text, therefore, we will emphasize instruction in 'cracking the code' in Prep to Year 2.

Explicit and systematic phonics instruction. We will have an order or continuum of phonics skills, progressing from simple to complex, which will be followed throughout the early grades. Students will progress through the continuum as they master skills. In grades 3-6, word study will continue with more grammar, morphology (parts of words which hold meaning) and etymology (word origins) focusses.

Early intervention. Prevention is better than intervention! If we see any signs that your child may be struggling with the foundational skills of reading, we will not take a 'wait and see' approach; we will immediately implement interventions and monitor their progress. The best solution to the problem of reading failure is early identification and intervention and we believe that together, teachers and families will be a united team in supporting children. We have a terrific 'Zoomer' program and have support to bridge the gaps for children who are having difficulty with their reading skills. 

Phonemic awareness. This is the ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds in words orally. While this skill will be emphasised in Prep to Year 2, we will make sure all students at our school have this necessary foundation. Students in the middle and senior grades may need to practice these skills until they have firmed up this foundation of reading. It is possible that your grade 3-6 student could be working on phonemic awareness. This is an area that the research has indicated is hugely important!

Decodable Readers. Our early readers will be working with decodable readers. These are books or passages that only include words that the students can 'decode' (sound-out) according to the skills they have been taught so far. Children need practice with the phonics skills they are learning, and these books and passages provide that practice. We are working throughout the year to add to our resources in this area, so you will see more and more decodables in the early years as the year progresses.

Heart Words Although Heart words will be sent home, especially in Prep, it is important that families understand that the phonics sounds are more important for children to learn. The reason Heart words are included in the program, is because children are sometimes repeatedly exposed to high frequency words, such as it, in, the etc. when they have not yet learnt the sounds well enough to sound them out. Some of these words also contain alternative sounds, such as the 'y' in by or my. This can cause difficulty in children accessing a basic decodable reader if they are stuck on these words. Whilst we strongly encourage children practise Heart words they are given, please continually practise the sounds as these will lead to greater success.

Assessments. Your child will not be assigned an F&P assessment (level A-Z) as in the past. A range of new assessments have been implemented, which targets key areas such as identifying phonemic awareness, phonics knowledge, fluency and comprehension. These nationally normed assessments give teachers a good indication of how easy or difficult reading is for your child. Teachers will then identify the areas of need for all children and will teach the skills required in accordance with the Australian Curriculum.

Levelled Readers. Your child will not be assigned a reading level that corresponds to a number or letter They will work with a variety of texts. Some texts may address specific phonics needs, some may be a year level text to build knowledge that is pertinent to their year level, some may be interest-based, some will be at a determined level for fluency practice, but they will not be confined to a certain 'level.'

Knowledge Building and Vocabulary. Research has indicated that reading comprehension is closely connected to the background knowledge we have on a topic and by understanding the vocabulary contained in the text. Our students will have the opportunity to build a broad knowledge base of history, science, and the arts as well as hearing the voice of our children and incorporating their individual interests in reading lessons. Students will have access to complex texts, often read aloud by their teacher, and in the process, gain more complex vocabulary. The research tells us that building knowledge and vocabulary contributes significantly to reading comprehension and should be taught beginning in the earliest grades.

Comprehension. The ultimate goal of all reading instruction is for students to understand what they read. The model of 'The Simple View of Reading' demonstrates that reading comprehension occurs only when students have both Decoding/Word Recognition Skills and Language Comprehension skills. Children need the essential skills to get the words off the page as well as knowledge, vocabulary, and a good understanding of how our language works in order to comprehend what they read. We must provide instruction that will help students achieve these goals.

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Oral language skills are key to allowing children to learn across all areas of the curriculum. Enhancing children's oral language skills and by targeting the other 'Big 6' areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary, we believe all children at Farnborough will be able to read and succeed to reach their fullest and highest potential.

Please keep an eye out for more exciting literacy updates throughout the year, which will also include lots of ideas to help families support their children in achieving growth in literacy.

If you would like more information regarding Literacy learning at Farnborough State School, please contact us. 

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

In 2009 the school received a grant from the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation to establish a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden. Today the garden consists of over 200 square metres of vegetables and herbs. Through a grant from the National School Pride program a double classroom was converted into a commercial quality kitchen in which students could cook their harvested produce.

The aim of the kitchen garden program is to provide edible, organic and healthy resources to underpin children’s learning about healthy lifestyle choices. The underlying belief is that we have the chance to positively influence healthy eating and a lifelong love of physical activity which can be shared across generations.

Anecdotal evidence of the worth of the program has been given by parents, who have expressed amazement at the changes in their children’s eating habits and willingness to cook healthy food at home. A number of families have started their own vegetable patches at home in response to their children’s expertise and enthusiasm.