Lauren Millist

Over the past year, I have been teaching English classes in Sydney at a public school, focusing on educating students aged 5 to 12 who have low reading capabilities. My instruction aims to enhance their phonics, phonemic awareness, and fluency. This program provides structured daily lessons designed to help children develop foundational reading and writing skills. Utilizing a program booklet for guidance, I conduct daily classes lasting between 45 minutes to one hour, concentrating on small-group instruction in phonics, word recognition, and decoding, typically structured into 30-minute sessions. The classes emphasize the repetition of CVCC flashcards, the spelling of specific digraphs, written exercises based on audio dictation of sentences, and revising books with a focus on grammar. Regarding classroom expectations, I actively ensure that students feel comfortable raising questions, affirming that all inquiries arevalid, and that there are no ‘silly’ questions. If a student experiences difficulty with oral blending or general instructions, I make it a point to rephrase the material. If the student’s preferred learning approach is visual, I will provide alternative examples to clarify their understanding of the task at hand.