Jane Farrall Consulting – Page 4 – Literacy, AAC & Assistive Technology

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, 202149 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

Developmental Writing Instruction: Writing assessment, development, teaching and learning. New Online Course!

Aug 8, 20212 Comments

I am delighted to announce a new online course focusing just on writing. This 8 hour, self-paced learning course is designed to provide in-depth information, knowledge, resources and support for helping every student to become a better writer, from the earliest emergent writers to conventional writers learning to write more. The course covers: Overview of

Reading Comprehension Instruction – and don’t forget the reading! (Part 2)

Jul 26, 20212 Comments

What is Anchor, Read, Apply? If you have read Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver’s text Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities to Read and Write (2019) then you will be familiar with the Anchor, Read, Apply model of comprehension instruction. And I strongly encourage you to read that chapter for information about how

Reading Comprehension Instruction – and don’t forget the reading! (Part 1)

Jul 21, 20216 Comments

It has been a long time since I first went to a course with Drs Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver – 21 years to be exact! I attended their week long literacy intensive in Minnesota in 2000 and I was overwhelmed and excited to meet people who were actually able to help me get better

Word Walls: Planning a Year of Word Wall

Jul 3, 2021

When we work with transitional and conventional literacy learners, we need to ensure that the Working with Words block occurs as part of their daily literacy teaching. The working with words block consists of work in two areas: phonics instruction and sight words. This blog post will focus on sight words – and the use

Book Tips for Older Readers

Apr 10, 2021

I am addicted to listening to audiobooks and Podcasts while gardening – it’s my Saturday catch up time! This morning I listened to the current Lomah Podcast episode with the amazing Sally Clendon. If you haven’t caught up with this, the Lomah Podcast is running a special 15 episode series at the moment on literacy

Three of my favourites – online presentations

Feb 7, 2021

Like many of us, I have been enjoying the number of online conference presentations that are now available, as one of the few positive outcomes from the global COVID-19 pandemic. I have enjoyed so many of these presentations – but I just wanted to share three of my favourites – and explain why they are