Reading Road Trip: The Structured Literacy Shift in a First Nation School with Catherine Shawana

Kate welcomes Catherine Shawana, a member of Wiikwemkoong unceded territory, for a candid discussion about her First Nation school’s journey from balanced literacy to structured literacy, as well as a broader conversation about First Nations education. Catherine’s passions are rooted in the foundation of building Anishnawbek identity and establishing a connection to Indigenous ways of knowing,…

How Learning Happens

Passionate about integrating the science of learning into your pedagogical practice? Catch up with the materials and recordings from Jim Hewitt and Nidhi Sachdeva’s series, focusing on selected chapters from How Learning Happens by Paul Kirschner and Carl Hendrick. The series focuses on six theoretical foundations from the Science of Learning and examines how we can…

Syntax: Knowledge to Practice

This book, from the Literacy How Professional Learning Series, covers relevant research, knowledge that educators need, activities, assessment and information on selecting and using texts to support syntax instruction in the classroom. Classroom educators from K-3 and those who provide intervention for older learners would benefit from this book, which is also informative professional development…

Reading For Life: High Quality Literacy Instruction For All

In Reading For Life, author Lyn Stone holds nothing back when sharing research and best practices for literacy instruction, and outlining why some past beliefs and practices have to go for the sake of our students and their reading and writing development. Section 1 covers structured literacy components such as oral language, phonological awareness, phonics,…

Brain Words: How the Science of Reading Informs Teaching

In Brain Words, the authors share information about the reading brain, and how teachers can support its development. The book includes science-based, practical classroom activities for the teaching and assessment of reading and writing (including the helpful “Monster Test” which helps to determine a student’s developmental phase). This book is designed for educators in K…

Structured Literacy Infographic

This infographic provides a comprehensive visual guide to structured literacy, an evidence-based approach to teaching language and literacy. By illustrating both the “how” and “what” of structured literacy, the infographic serves as a valuable resource for educators committed to fostering strong foundational literacy skills in all learners. To support printing, there is both a dark…

Maya’s Book Nook: Beyond the Book Resources

Maya’s Book Nook is a website created by Speech-Language Pathologist Dr. Lakeisha Johnson. The Behind the Book section houses a bank of materials to accompany a diverse, culturally relevant children’s book. Equally useful for both parents/caregivers and educators, these handouts include target vocabulary words, as well as questions to support dialogic reading to build language comprehension.

Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books

Children’s books reflect the attitudes in our society about diversity, power relationships among different groups of people, and various social identities (e.g., racial, ethnic, gender, economic class, sexual orientation, and disability). The visual and verbal messages young children absorb from books (and other media) heavily influence their ideas about themselves and others. Depending on the…