Just the Facts
These brief videos are short and sweet – giving you “just the facts” on a variety of topics. From decodable text to the instructional hierarchy, these videos dig into what you “literacy” need to know to get started on your learning!
Strand B Guidance Videos
This series of videos was developed by Dr. Robert Savage from York University. The video series unpacks elements of Strand B of the revised Language Curriculum, building educator knowledge. Stay tuned for more videos to come!
Strive for Five Book Study Recordings
Catch up on our Strive for Five book study! Hosted by Melissa Monette Smith, this book study explores a framework for extending conversations with students from Kindergarten through Grade 8 to accelerate language comprehension and support academic growth.
Talk Moves Professional Development Series
Talk Moves are sentence starters and gestures that teachers and students can use to invite everyone into the conversation and encourage academic thinking. Learn how to create a classroom culture of talk and incorporate talk moves in your class through this Talk Moves PD Series. Starting September 2024, a new module will be available every…
Writing and Reading Connections: Bridging Research and Practice
The chapters in this anthology, by a range of expert authors, delve into the relationship between writing and reading (as well as oral language), offering both extensive research and ideas for practice. While the research can be a bit heavy at times (this is not a “quick tips to use tomorrow” kind of book), there…
Big Sentences by Little Learners: Emergent Syntax & Grammar
Keen to build oral language in early childhood? These slide decks were created and generously shared by Melinda Hinch, a Speech-Language Pathologist in Greater Essex County DSB. Each deck follows a scope and sequence of syntax and grammar structures, and uses an explicit “I do it, We do it, You do it” framework to build…
Strive-For-Five Conversations
Oral language is the cornerstone of literacy, and this reader-friendly book provides a tool – the “Strive-For-Five” framework – to help educators extend conversations with students to help support speaking, vocabulary, reasoning and other skills. Chapters include “Creating Classroom Routines for Strive-for-Five Conversations”, “Choosing Books That Spark Rich Conversations” and “Talking Is Teaching: Strive-For-Five Conversations…
Literacy Learning for Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
This book is an excellent, reader-friendly resource for kindergarten teachers and Early Childhood Educators. While infant and toddler development takes place before the Ontario curriculum kicks in, the authors are American. Their recommendations for preschoolers generally align with the age of our Year 1 kindergarten students. Much of the research and advice in the book…
Talk Moves
Talk moves are sentence starters that students use to join a class discussion – they encourage both academic thinking and social connectedness.
What’s Going On in this Picture?
On this site, daily Intriguing Times pictures without captions are posted, offering an opportunity for rich discussion and conversation, building oral language skills.
Barrier Games
Barrier games are fantastic resources to support a child’s speech and language skills. There are many benefits from using barrier games with a child such as developing: listening skills, oral language skills, social language skills, clear talking and understanding of concepts. They are great for extending the amount of information a child can understand or…
Mystery Bag: Promoting Oral Language
Mystery Bag is an engaging classroom activity designed to enhance students’ oral language skills. Students generate clues about a mystery object, and their classmates use question sticks to prompt and structure discussion.
