Literacy Solutions Blog

Refining the practice of guided reading is a priority goal in many of the schools I am working in. Understandings of guided reading vary enormously, as does the instruction around guided reading from classroom to classroom.

What it is . . .

an opportunity for every student to independently problem solve the text or section of the text.

What it isn’t . . .

a group of …

I am relishing the opportunity to do some independent coaching at an outer Brisbane primary school. As part of a whole school approach to improve reading outcomes, I am implementing a strategy with which I have experienced great success over many years of working with harder to teach students.

It has been almost ten years since I first introduced The Reading Wall as part of …

The Bookmark Book is the newest publication by Literacy Solutions to support busy teachers. The book contains 82 reproducible bookmarks which prompt readers to reflect about what has been read, and/or apply word solving strategies. These can be used to support the reading of independently read texts, or to use during guided, collaborative or cooperative reading strategies.

The Bookmark Book is part of the package for …

A national curriculum: What’s in store? Will this be the beginning of the end to play based learning?

Welcome to March. We’re in full swing and most of us can barely recall the recent holiday.

The new draft national curriculum was released on March 1 this year for a three month public consultation period. On reviewing the draft, it’s all great in theory.  We are …

The 14th annual survey by the International Reading Association (IRA) outlines some interesting perspectives.

Each year the IRA conduct a survey to identify the perceived trends in literacy. The “What’s hot?” survey results for 2010 were released in the December/January issue of Reading Today. It must be noted that the term “hot” does not reflect what respondents view as important, but simply what is perceived …

Assisting Parents and Caregivers to Support Home Reading

Teachers know that parents make a world of difference to children’s literacy development and that support at home is crucial to developing attitudes to reading as well as practising and applying reading skills and knowledge.

As we move into the new year, schools will schedule parent information sessions to provide important insights about routines and procedures, expectations for learning …

As Education Queensland launches a new coaching initiative for qualifying schools, some of our finest literacy educators embark on a significant, new journey as literacy coaches. The role presents exciting opportunities, as well as the many challenges associated with supporting educators and school communities towards a shared goal of improved literacy outcomes for all.

Benefits of literacy coaching

The benefits of coaching and mentoring models …

Many schools are planning for 2010 and I was recently asked for my thoughts about the purchase of a particular commercially produced program.

As far as educational research suggests, many commercially produced programs are not indicative of best teaching practice and are therefore not endorsed by education bodies or organisations.

This is not to suggest however, that programs of this type cannot be used by teachers as …

Can six Little Secrets make a difference?

What makes for powerful reading instruction? Expert teachers of reading know why and how to plan for reading instruction that gets powerful outcomes for students.

They know what the Six Secrets are and very importantly, how to make them work in a classroom. So what are they? They are:

Explicit, data driven instruction
Differentiated, strategic problem solving with the right amount of …

I’m interested in your thoughts about the proposed summer and winter school programs to “catch up” under-achieving students.

A few issues spring to mind . . .

Is placing a greater workload on under-achievers the solution?
How will these students cope without a full break? Won’t these same students be exhausted from back to back terms with shorter breaks?
Does this suggest that we cannot provide a rich, quality …