Jane Farrall Consulting

Writing with All Tools Continuum: A writing continuum for all people using all writing tools

Sep 6, 202210 Comments

This blog post has been over a year in the making. It started as a result of the work I do with multiple schools and teaching literacy in AAC. Assessment is an important component of our literacy teaching – and writing assessment, as I have said many times, is a really important piece to help

Writing Tools: Sensory Pencils and Early Emergent Writers

Apr 28, 20225 Comments

Recently I was interviewed by Meg Proctor from the Two Sides of the Spectrum Podcast. We talked about lots of different topics around Comprehensive Literacy Instruction including making sure each student has the easiest and most appropriate writing tool. As part of this I mentioned sensory pencils – and a couple of people have messaged

2022 Literacy Intensives

Feb 28, 2022

Waaaay back in 2019 I posted about the upcoming 2020 literacy intensives. It was going to be the first year that we were running two – one in Tamworth and one in Melbourne. Since then, we have had to postpone these events more than once – for reasons we’re all very aware of. However, we’re

Organising Books – School-Wide!

Feb 5, 20224 Comments

In the next couple of weeks, Australian schools are heading back from summer break. As well as the usual “return to school” bits and pieces, we are also working our way through all the extra “stuff” due to COVID – as I know everyone around the world is. I hope you are all managing and

Somebody’s Land: Shared Reading

Jan 25, 20224 Comments

Tomorrow in my home country, it is a National Holiday. It’s called Australia Day – and is supposed to be a day where we can come together and celebrate all the good things in this wonderful country of ours. Unfortunately, however, the date for this holiday makes it difficult for many of us to celebrate.

Word Wall Oxford 500

Jan 24, 2022

10 years ago I started Jane Farrall Consulting – and also started this blog. Over this time, I have blogged quite a bit about word walls – about setting them up and using them. They are such a valuable tool for our conventional literacy learners. In Australia, the Oxford Word List is the most

The Problems with Hand-Over-Hand

Dec 1, 20214 Comments

Please note: an updated version of this is available at https://janefarrall.com/the-problems-with-hand-over-hand-v2-0/ Last week, I made an infographic called “The Problems with Hand-Over-Hand” and shared it on my Facebook page. I’ve had a few requests from people who couldn’t find it on Facebook – and so I’ve put it up here for easier access. Thanks to

AAC is Magic #AACaware21

Oct 7, 20212 Comments

It’s October – and October is AAC Awareness Month. Each year for AAC Awareness Month, lots of people around the world run AAC Awareness events aimed at raising the profile of AAC in their community. The hashtag for this year is #AACaware21 – check it out on social media! I’m very lucky this year to

Shared Reading: Book Week 2021

Aug 23, 20216 Comments

It’s Book Week again here in Australia – hooray!! Since I love books, I also love Book Week!! With a lot of Australia’s population currently in lockdown, I’m sure there are parents who are celebrating that they don’t have to create book week costumes for once! And I’m equally sure that there are lots of

Why Are You Using Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)?

Aug 22, 202150 Comments

30 years ago, in 1991, I became a speech pathologist. Very quickly, I became heavily interested in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and started to work more and more with individuals with complex communication needs. In the beginning, I wasn’t very good at implementing AAC – partly because I was such a new graduate and