Traditional language

A teacher at St Paul's Campus, on Moa Island in the Torres Strait, integrates local language into a lesson on adjectives with the support of a community Elder. In a composite class of students from years 4 to 7, the teacher reflects on the importance of understanding the individual needs of students in order to ensure they achieve success in their learning. He describes how he has used differentiated teaching to support English Literacy development through rotational group work based on ability levels. He has used the community Elder to explain and gain parental and community support for this differentiated teaching program.

St Paul’s Campus on Moa Island in the Torres Strait is part of Tagai State College. It is one of 17 campuses across 15 islands and 48,000 square kilometres. At the St Paul's Campus, an educational program is offered for Pre-Prep to year 7 students. The curriculum includes a Language and Culture program staffed by a Language and Culture teacher and volunteers from the community. From this program, strong partnerships with community have been built to support and extend the staff and students in teaching and learning.