Syntax Party Recording
Missed the ONlit Syntax Party with Dr. Margie Gillis? Catch up with the recordings – learn about why syntax is necessary for skilled reading and writing, and how to best teach this important language domain.
GECDSB Curriculum Aligned Mentor Texts
Thank you to Greater Essex County DSB for generously sharing this spreadsheet! It contains sets of texts aligned with content from the 4 frames (kindergarten), social studies and science curricula (grades 1 – 6), and history and geography curricula (grades 7 and 8). These content-rich texts are meant to be used in repeated shared…
Students With Autism: How To Improve Language, Literacy and Academic Success
This resource is for all educators who work with students with autism. While many books on this topic focus on social and behavioural needs, this book offers a comprehensive focus on curriculum and instruction for this population of students. Early chapters on characteristics of autism and how core deficits affect language and learning are valuable…
Daily Pen Review
This template can be used for daily review. Created by Laura Bross and inspired by the OG Classroom Educator Course, it can be used as a quick review tool for older students who still require daily review on phonics skills. Recommendations include: Use pens for this task. When students make an error, encourage them to…
How Learning Happens: Seminal Works in Educational Psychology and What They Mean in Practice
How Learning Happens is broken down into 28 short chapters, each one focusing on an important element of educational research. The format of each chapter with consistent sections (Why you should read this article, Abstract of the article, The article, Conclusions/implications of the work for educational practice, and How to use this work in your…
Getting Ready for Report Cards Webinars
In these webinar recordings, Jordan Sloan, Melissa Monette Smith, Siobhain Doyle, and Laura Bross explore assessment, evaluation, and reporting in the context of the revised Language curriculum and the new one-mark report card structure for Ontario students.
School Needs Assessment
A needs assessment supports schools to systematically examine system strengths and weaknesses. This allows leaders to understand key needs and prioritize actionable steps to improve outcomes for all students.
Reading Road Trip – Book Guides
With each week’s episode of Reading Road Trip, host Kate Winn recommends a picture book created by an Indigenous author or illustrator. Catch up with the books recommended from Seasons 1 – 3, and consider adding some to your library today!
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…
A 2020 Perspective on Research Findings on Alphabetics: Implications for Instruction
Alphabetics (phonemic awareness and phonics) were key elements of effective, evidence-based reading instruction identified in the National Reading Panel. 20 years after the release of the report of the panel, Dr. Susan Brady summarized Panel findings, and highlighted key findings from research after its release.
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…
Big Words For Young Readers
In this book, Heidi Mesmer shares research-backed strategies to support teachers as they move students beyond basic phonics and decoding short words. It’s easy to follow with lots of graphics, sidebars, resources accessible by QR code and appendices. Part I of the book breaks down the foundations of teaching big words with “What You Need…
