Literacy – Page 9 – Jane Farrall Consulting

Teaching (and Learning) the Alphabet: Playing with Letter Shapes and Sounds

Jan 4, 201624 Comments

It is currently the summer break in Australia and I’ve had a few emails and messages from teachers who are spending time over the break getting ready for the next school year. Several of these emails have been about alphabet activities and resources – so I thought I’d do a post about my ideas as

Comprehensive Literacy Instruction: Meeting the Instructional Needs of ALL Students in our Classrooms

Nov 21, 20152 Comments

Many of the schools that I work with have been consistently implementing good, comprehensive literacy instruction for some time – and as a result there are a greater number of conventional readers and writers in our schools. This has led to an increased need for differentiation in our classrooms, and for more teachers to provide

Alphabet Books Galore!

Aug 23, 20159 Comments

It’s Book Week here in Australia – with the wonderful theme of “Books Light Up Our World”. In honour of Book Week I thought I’d write about alphabet books. Alphabet books come in all sizes and types and for all ages. They can be fiction and non-fiction, based on photographs or illustrations, customised or generic.

Teaching the Use of Inner Voice in Reading

Jul 18, 201511 Comments

Reading silently WITH comprehension is the goal of all reading instruction. Every literacy learner and every literacy teacher is aiming towards this goal. Many students go through a process at school where they learn first to read “out loud” and then move to using their inner voice. But for students with complex communication needs (CCN),

Shared Reading: Focus on Interaction

Jun 7, 20158 Comments

Shared reading is a collaborative learning activity that emulates and builds on the bedtime book experiences that many children and parents have together. The focus during shared reading is on the interaction. Shared reading is appropriate for any emergent reader, no matter their age and can be done individually or in small groups. Focus on

Leading to Literacy

Jun 5, 20156 Comments

I was very privileged to be invited to do a plenary presentation at the Queensland Association of Special Education Leaders‘ annual conference. Below is the presentation I gave on “Leading to Literacy” where I got to talk about the fabulous Willans Hill School and the four years of our journey implementing balanced literacy instruction

Working with Letters, Sounds and Words in our Classrooms

May 28, 20154 Comments

Working with letters, sounds and words are important components of literacy instruction in our classrooms. Emergent students need explicit and incidental instruction around the alphabet and sounds, to improve their alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness. Conventional students need to learn how words work. Below is a checklist I use with teachers in working through the

Self-Selected Reading in Our Classrooms

May 21, 20154 Comments

Self-selected reading is often seen as the easiest literacy block. However, to develop a student’s love of reading requires careful resource curation and an awareness of their interests and preferences. Below is a checklist I use with teachers in working through the self-selected reading block in their classroom. The two main guiding rules are: It

Literacy Through Curriculum: Using the Australian Curriculum as a Springboard for Literacy

May 16, 20151 Comment

It’s the final day of #AGOSCI2015 – I’m always sad when a fabulous conference ends! But I love all the great ideas and tips I’ve learned that I get to go back and try! And AGOSCI is always so practical – which is one of the reasons it’s one of my favourite conferences 🙂 My

AAC and Literacy in Partnership to Develop Language

May 15, 2015

Today I was lucky enough to present at the AGOSCI 2015 National Conference with the amazing Helen Tainsh on using literacy and AAC intervention to develop language. Helen works in both early intervention at the Cerebral Palsy Education Centre and in private practice, where she supports a number of students in mainstream schools. Currently, I’m