Literacy

Literacy is essential for your child's learning and success in society. It involves skills like listening, reading, speaking, writing, and creating various types of printed and digital texts. Students use and adapt language for different purposes in different situations.

Speaking and listening

Developing speaking and listening skills is important for children to socialise, make friends and actively participate in learning activities.

• Encourage your child to share what they are learning at school. Listen, ask questions and discuss these topics with them.

• Share stories from your world. Sharing memories, family traditions and history can support students in understanding their place in the broader world.

• Encourage them to tell stories, retell favourite events or create new stories based on their surroundings – creating new ‘characters’, situations and events.

Reading and viewing

Encourage your child to read and view widely on subjects that interest them – both fiction and non-fiction – and share their reading and viewing with others.

• Encourage your child to read and view a range of reading materials, including books, magazines, films, television shows and and online texts

• Ask your child for reading and viewing recommendations. Afterwards, talk about and compare your favourite parts, characters, events, images and/or writing.

• Encourage your child to read print versions of their favourite film or TV shows. Talk about how the story or character may differ and which they prefer.

Writing

Encourage your child to write about topics that interest them in different ways.

• Look at the writing tasks your child is doing in different subjects at school. Discuss and encourage your child to share what they see as their strengths and areas for improvement.

• Have a booklet, journal or diary that your child can write or draw in daily.

• Ask your child to write about things they like to do, such as about a book, film or game recommendation.

Numeracy

Numeracy skills will help prepare your child for life, study, life, work and beyond.

Have family conversations about the importance and usefulness of numerical skills in everyday life.

Number and algebra

Encourage exploring, calculating and applying number skills in everyday situations.

• Play board games that involve numerical and money skills such as Monopoly or Pay Day.

• Share information about household bills, such as electricity and phone. Question how your child would budget to pay the bills.

Measurement and geometry

Explore and discuss the different ways to identify shapes and measure objects in everyday situations.

• Cook together following a recipe. Ask your child to measure and calculate the right amounts required from the recipe.

• Work with your child to create a timetable on managing their time between school, relaxing, meeting with their friends and completing their jobs.

Statistics and probability

Question and think critically about data represented from different sources such as newspaper and television reports.

• Use a fitness tracker and compare steps per day over a week and average over a month.

• Play a dice game and weigh up the likelihood of the number that will be rolled next using one dice, or two dice, and the probability of winning the game.

Always encourage your child and use activities and topics they are interested in. If you speak a language other than English, it is important that you support your child to use their home language when interacting.

Most importantly, have fun with your child and make use of opportunities in everyday activities. It is important to establish a lifelong love of learning.