Accessing ONlit Book Study Texts in the OCT Library
The wonderful Jenni vanRees created this brief video, highlighting how to access the books used in ONlit book studies in the OCT Library. Thanks, Jenni!
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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…
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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…
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I See Me In What I Read: Exploring & Integrating Diverse Children’s Literature
Dr. Lakeisha Johnson, Speech-Language Pathologist, highlights the importance of shared book reading with diverse, culturally relevant texts in this PaTTAN webinar.
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Structured Literacy Approaches to Teaching Written Expression
This article highlights practical activities to support structured instruction of writing, including word-, sentence-, and paragraph-level techniques.
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OCDSB Cursive Writing Resources
This is a fabulous collection of cursive writing resources created by the OCDSB Occupational Therapists and Learning Support Services Department. It includes a document with background knowledge of why cursive is important (including research and curriculum links), a slide deck with animated demonstrations of letter formation, and practice sheets for each letter. Note that…
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See-Think-Wonder
This visible thinking routine developed by Harvard Project Zero uses observations, inferences, and questions to develop vocabulary and background knowledge, and foster conversations among students.
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“No More Strategy of the Week”: Considerations for Connecting Comprehension Instruction Back to the Book
In this article, the authors present some considerations for abandoning decontextualized strategy instruction and instead provide some ideas for how to shape comprehension instruction around the texts we use in the classroom. They offer some guiding theories, some key considerations, and they present examples for classroom teachers.
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Reconsidering Reading Levels
The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read inquiry concluded that running records and reading level assessments have not been effective in identifying students who need additional support or in providing teachers with accurate information to guide instruction. We now know that there are more effective ways to understand student reading skills and ensure that…
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Juicy Sentence Guidance
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,…
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Syntax Knowledge to Practice
In the webinar, Margie Gillis and Nancy Eberhardt explored the effective use of syntax in teaching reading and writing. The webinar highlighted the role syntax plays in enhancing language and literacy. Gillis and Eberhardt highlight a “function-first” approach to teaching syntax, a key element of the Ontario Language curriculum. Specific instructional activities to teach syntax…
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The Writing Rope
In this one-hour webinar, author and educator Joan Sedita explains the Writing Rope, a framework that integrates key elements of evidence-based writing instruction. The model includes critical thinking, syntax, text structure, writing craft, and transcription.
