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Thoughtfully written by the prominent master trainer of Jolly Phonics, Victoria Carlton Literacy Programmes are created to help children build a strong foundation in the acquisition of literacy skills. Each level is named after an animal in Australia where these programmes had originated – Bilby (N2), Koala (K1) & Bandicoot (K2).
Pre-Nursery (2 – 3 years old) - Junior Tots / Senior Tots
Acquisition of early literacy skills:
- Fine motor control: lacing, simple jigsaws, joining and taking apart cubes/blocks, pre-writing exercises, colouring, art & craft mastering pencil hold
- Tapping to syllables in words
- Introduction to Jolly Phonics (Group 1 to Group 6): Jolly Phonics sound recognition, Jolly Phonics letter-sound association, Jolly Songs/action prompts, articulation of phonemes, demonstration of blending skills
- Oral language: Nursery Rhymes/songs, articulation/pronunciation exercises, using puppets to initiate expressive speech, discuss picture books, picture talks.
- Literature: listening and responding to simple stories, comprehension
VC BILBIES (3 – 4 years old)
Pre-Literacy Skills:
- Fine motor control: lacing sounds to pictures, simple jigsaws, pre-writing exercises, phonics colouring
- Eye muscle movements: left to right, lazy 8s, tracking and catching balls
- Brain Stimulation exercises to increase concentration and retention
Main Literacy Skills:
- Phonemic and phonological awareness level 1 via Jolly Phonics: Rhyming, letter recognition, Jolly Phonics sound recognition, Jolly Phonics letter-sound association, Jolly Songs/action prompts , articulation of phonemes, blending of words, identifying sounds in words, introduction to simple sight words e.g. “the”/ “he”/ “she”
- Oral language: articulation/pronunciation exercises, using puppets to initiate expressive speech, discuss picture books, picture talks, making up class narratives.
- Literature: listening and responding to stories level 1, comprehension, creative responses and thinking skills centred on chosen books. Retelling simple plots, acting out stories using simple
props
VC KOALA (4 – 5 years old)
Pre-Literacy Skills:
- Fine motor control: learning letter formations on lines and correct pencil hold
- Eye muscle movements: left to right, lazy 8s, tracking and catching balls
- Brain Stimulation exercises for concentration and retention.
Main Literacy Skills:
- Phonemic and phonological awareness level 2 via Jolly Phonics: rhyming, Jolly Phonics letter-sound association, Jolly Songs/action prompts, articulation of phonemes, blending of words with consonant blends, identifying word families, segmenting (spelling) of words of 3 to 4 sounds, recognition and spelling of simple Jolly Phonics Tricky Words e.g. “the”/ “was”/ “do”
- Oral Language: articulation/pronunciation exercises, puppets to initiate expressive speech and characterisation, making up nonsense rhymes, restructuring nursery rhymes
- Literature: listening and responding to stories level 2, comprehension, creative responses and thinking skills centred on chosen literature. Retelling simple plots, acting out stories using simple stories,
discussing characters and their motives, imagining different endings, encouraging flexible thinking skills through the use of carefully worded questions designed to lead children to inferential levels of thinking. - Picture talks with sentence writing.
VC BANDICOOT (5 – 6 years old)
Pre-Literacy Skills:
- Fine motor control: Revise letter formations on lines and correct pencil hold
- Eye muscle movements: left to right, lazy 8s
- Brain Stimulation exercises for concentration and retention.
Main Literacy Skills:
- Phonemic and phonological awareness level 3 via Jolly Phonics: mastery of all Jolly Phonics sounds, blending of words with digraphs/consonant blends, extending knowledge of word families and segmenting (spelling) of words of 3 to 4 sounds including digraphs, recognition of long and short vowels and identifying/spelling of 72 Jolly Phonics Tricky Words e.g. “could”/ “because”/ “were”
- Introduction to JOLLY DICTIONARY
- Oral Language: articulation/pronunciation exercises, games to encourage precise language and careful listening, telling news, presentation of ideas.
- Literature: listening and responding to stories level 3, comprehension, creative responses and thinking skills centred on chosen literature. Discussing settings, characters, retelling simple plots, acting out stories using simple reader’s theatre. Encouraging divergent thinking skills through the use of careful, open questioning techniques.
- Creative writing exercises to help children write interesting, cohesive sentences.