Fostering partnerships between school and home is key to supporting strong student outcomes. Jenni vanRees and other educators at Blue Heron Public School (WRDSB) have created this collection of materials to support a home reading program aligned with structured literacy and the science of reading. The materials include: a letter home to parents and caregivers…
Far too often, students who struggle with reading and language are given simplified, uninteresting texts. These texts are judged to be “at-the-students’ language or reading level” but deny students access to rich, interesting, age-appropriate text. This guidance document outlines some ideas for fostering conversations around “juicy sentences,” where students learn to deconstruct and reconstruct sentences,…
BEE for Reading is speech to print program created and piloted in Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) kindergarten classes. The program in its entirety consists of a manual, lesson slide decks, sound wall materials, centre activities, and home connections. The full program daily schedule includes: 1. Phonemic awareness (i.e., sound identification, blending and…
With a new curriculum, there are lots of new terms for both educators and families to navigate. This glossary contains high-level explanations for many terms used in the Language curriculum, with the goal of supporting partnerships with school and home.
This quick read (56 pages) from well-respected researchers and authors Drs. Hasbrouck & Glaser is an educator-friendly overview of reading fluency: defining it, assessing it, teaching it and integrating it, all backed by an abundance of reading research. This book supports the fluency expectations found in all grades of the 2023 Ontario Language Curriculum.
Dr. Stephanie Stollar highlights ideas for using Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessment data for screening, designing instruction, and monitoring progress in the junior grades.
This reader-friendly book, written by two educators, provides great background and professional learning related to reading development, and particularly how it applies in the older grades. While the title includes the word “secondary”, junior and intermediate teachers in Ontario could all benefit from reading this book. Information includes how we learn to read and misconceptions…
This title is a must-read for any educators working with multilingual learners (MLLs) of all ages, referred to in the book as English Learners (ELs). It affirms the necessity of a structured literacy approach for these students, while adding in the extra layers of support that may also be beneficial (e.g., comparing English and home…
Joan Sedita highlights the importance of vocabulary instruction, how vocabulary instruction supports reading comprehension, and characteristics of effective vocabulary instruction.
Dr. Timothy Shanahan explores possible reading profiles of students in grades 6 – 8 who struggle with reading, clarifying the value of focusing on decoding, fluency, or both.
This webinar dives into morphology – what is it? Why is it important? When should you start to teach it? What are some instructional techniques? How is it related to etymology?
Tier 2 vocabulary words are words that are useful and necessary across different content areas or domains, but that may not be frequently used in oral language. Christopher Such, author of The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading, has assembled a list of Tier 2 vocabulary words for explicit instruction.
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