There is much rich material out there for teachers of all aspects of English and English (and other languages) literacy. It can be difficult to locate just what you want for a specific focus. Here’s some of the good news. PETAA – The Primary English Teaching Association Australia has just released their first fortnightly ‘round-up’…
PETAA Annual Conference The theme for PETAA’s 50TH year is Looking back- moving forward and this conference will focus on supporting students to develop strong communication and literacy foundations – from first speech, learning language through play and experimentation, to the skills needed in learning to read, then what is required when students read to…
I have had time to explore two major resources to explore or consult when you need them. No, I’m not going to comment on either the dire situation for staff in our schools, COVID or the weather. Viewing 2022 Literature Symposium: The excellent online 2022 Literature Symposium advocating for the power and pleasure of literature…
Under the ‘umbrella’ of us all liking a good story, experts from a variety of organisations have come together to share their knowledge to affirm ‘the value of quality literature in classrooms’. This is a great resource to explore for our own learning, and to share with colleagues. The benefits will flow directly to our…
Classrooms are gradually developing a new ‘normal’, where time is still short and too many so-called ‘assessments’ – read tests’ – are requiring completion. In between, we carry on. One of the most rewarding, interesting, challenging and useful strategies for teaching history/geography/maths/etc, and the potential for addressing the vast majority of the outcomes in the…
‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ is the classic adage interpreted to mean that multiple ideas or concepts can be expressed often by a single image. Or that an image may be a better way of explaining or expressing a complex idea than using words (verbally). For me, a picture is worth a thousand…
The range of English literature, English literacy research, and reading resources that is available to teachers in Australian schools is rich and extensive. Any work we want to prepare for our students, whether in a time of online learning, or for working on in the classroom, is improved when it is based on reliable sources.…
This is the title of an excellent paper by Judith Scott, William Nagy, and Susan Flinspach (2008). I have used this reference in a previous blog on this site, ‘The beginnings of literacy’, and as the basis of our online course, ‘Exploring literacy: Vocabulary’ (available soon). The paper puts the interactive role of vocabulary learning…
We’ve talked about NAPLAN before, and how to maximise its usefulness, as with student growth being a more useful gauge of achievement. But concerns remain. Are you concerned about NAPLAN’s relevance to classroom teaching? lack of attention to the full range of key learning areas? relevance to the full range of students in your class?…
‘Mistranslations’ was the title of one of the exhibitions for Melbourne Design Week 2021 (to April 5). It was devised in response to translation errors and confusing information regarding COVID-19, produced during 2020. Artists from non-English speaking backgrounds were invited to create posters in languages other than English to make the COVID-19 safety messages clear. …