Kia ora whānau, Personal Reading has been included as part of our Wānanga classes in Mōhua, because without strong reading skills students struggle in all curriculum areas.

There are four things we are doing in Wānanga class to help students to improve their literacy:

1. Silent Reading / D.E.A.R (Drop Everything And Read): Students are required to have a novel (a chapter book) that they are reading at any time, and to bring that book to school every day. There are a number of times when they may be asked to read silently, such as at the beginning of the period, when they have completed their work, or during designated D.E.A.R. time. D.E.A.R. time is when the teacher tells the whole class "DEAR" and they stop whatever they are doing, pick up their books, and read silently.

2. Hell Reading Challenge 2022: We are taking part in the Hell Reading Challenge again in 2022. In this challenge Year 7/8 students are rewarded with a free 333 Hell pizza for every 7 books they read.

3. Shared Reading: Silent reading is not everyone's favourite past-time, so on occasion Wānanga teachers will read a short story aloud to the whole class. This is usually incorporated with a short task such as predicting what will happen next in the story.

4. Lexia / ReadingPlus: There are a number of Year 7/8 students in Mōhua who currently need additional support with literacy, so we have allocated them special sessions with either Lexia or ReadingPlus. These online reading programmes provide students with a minimum of 3 hours per week intensive reading support to help lift their reading abilities. These two programmes (Lexia and Reading Plus) have been used at Hornby High in previous years, and have resulted in accelerated learning for the students who fully engage in the programmes.

Families / whānau can help the students to develop a love of reading by asking them about the book they are reading, and to actively encourage them to read at home. Students who are enrolled in Lexia or Reading Plus should also be encouraged to complete some online lessons at home as well.

Ngā mihi

Terry Mitchell

Mōhua Year 7-9 Dean