The Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy

Part 1 of this podcast on Shared Reading features special guest, Diane Snowball, a highly experienced educator in Australia, with classroom teaching expertise and for many years providing professional development for teachers and educational leaders. Diane explores the concept of Shared Reading and its significance in teaching young children how to read. Diane begins by discussing her recent exper...

In this second part of the podcast, Sharon and team, and their guest, Grace, delve into various strategies for nurturing writing skills in Foundation year students. One key concept introduced is the use of "sentence stems." These stems provide young children with simple sentence starters, helping them initiate their writing and incorporate high-frequency words. The ultimate aim is to develop readi...

In this podcast, literacy expert Sharon Callen and team welcome special guest Grace Cullen, a Foundation/ Reception teacher at Littlehampton Primary School. They discuss the challenges and strategies for teaching early writing to young students. Grace shares her experience transitioning from a structured program to a more student-centred approach to writing. Grace emphasises the importance of tapp...

In episode 100 (Part 2) of the "Teacher's Toolkit" podcast, Dr. Jan Turbill discusses the engaging approach of teaching writing through book clubs. She emphasises the importance of teaching writing by allowing students to read like writers and connect with authors. Dr. Turbill recalls her own experiences as a student and how her Latin teacher helped her become a better writer by analysing essays a...

In episode 99 of Teacher's Toolkit for Literacy, "Part 1: Engaging Readers and Writers Through Book Club" we welcome special guest Dr. Jan Turbill. Jan is an accomplished educator, who shares her experiences in education, including teaching in various settings and her work on literacy policy strategies. Jan talks about her post-retirement involvement with a school, where she worked to improve lite...

In this podcast education experts Diane Snowball and Keay Cobbin discuss several important aspects of early reading education, including the significance of providing inviting and exciting reading materials in classrooms for young learners. Diane emphasises the importance of offering books that make sense and are interesting for students, as opposed to overly decodable books with limited word patt...

In Part 1 of this podcast, expert educators Diane Snowball and Keay Cobbin discuss the science of reading. They emphasise that the science of reading is a term used by various educational communities and can have different interpretations. They provide definitions from reputable sources, highlighting that it encompasses multidisciplinary knowledge from educators, linguistics, cognitive psychology,...

In Episode 96 of the Teacher's Toolkit podcast, expert literacy consultant Sharon Callen and her team conduct a countdown of the top nine most listened-to episodes, and this time with a focus on the top five.  At number five is a discussion about ' Effective Literacy Teaching in High Schools ' ( 00:00:30) with Misty Adoniou, with a focus on discipline-specific writing skills. The episode highlight...

In this podcast, expert literacy consultant Sharon Callen and team aim to showcase the top nine podcasts (out of 94) that have resonated with their audience, based on current listenership data. They discuss the key aspects and themes covered in these top-rated podcasts to provide listeners with a taste of what they offer. Starting with the ninth-ranked podcast, " Quick Writes using Mentor Texts ,"...

In 'Part 2: Good Writers Revise and Edit Their Writing' podcast, Sharon Callen and her team embark on a riveting exploration of the 'Magnificent Seven' revising strategies, spanning rereading, editing, and reorganization. Discover the power of Prompt Posters and Anchor Charts on Teachific, enhancing student writing strategies and routines.  Through real-life examples, learn the art of reflection a...

JOIN OUR WEBINAR! 'Enhancing Writing Instruction: Revising and Editing' on Thursday 21st September:  In this podcast, join Sharon Callen and her dynamic team in 'Part 1: Part 1: Good Writers Revise and Edit Their Writing' for a captivating exploration of effective writing education. Delve into the art of topic selection, cognitive load relief for teachers, and the potency of routines.  Experience...

Through intentional selection of texts and the art of ongoing reading, the team dissects the various elements and advantages of Read Aloud. From fostering a love of reading and improving skills to raising test scores and building a sense of community, each point is explored.  Drawing from personal experiences, literary favourites, and the rich tapestry of educational theory, this podcast provides...

In this podcast episode, artist and illustrator Greg Holfeld joins the discussion on the use of graphic novels in education. Topics covered include the challenges for teachers in teaching with graphic novels, the terminology and history of graphic novels, and the features that make them an effective gateway to reading.  The interplay between text and image, pagination techniques, and the decision-...

This podcast episode with expert numeracy consultant Rob Vingerhoets covers various teaching strategies, including apprenticeship vs lecture style learning Various components of apprenticeship style learning are covered:  'On the Spot' teaching, immediate feedback, engaging tasks, and students as teachers. Other aspects include explicit teaching, student reflection, using key words, and the power...

In this episode, literacy consultant Sharon Callen and team explore the hidden power of Reading Journals and their essential role in a teacher's toolkit. These journals offer a unique strategy for building and monitoring students' comprehension while fostering strong relationships and a diverse reading experience. Sharon begins with a brief preamble, setting the stage for the conversation. She the...

Genevieve Kruyssen at the Where the Wild Things Are bookshop in Brisbane and literacy expert Sharon Callen chat about 18 new releases and how they can support teachers in the classroom. Sharon makes connections with the books for teachers, answering questions she often gets from them in schools Some of the discussions are about: How to find books that are for everyone, with amazing vocabulary that...

In this podcast, expert literacy educator Diane Snowball sits down with fellow experienced teacher/ consultant Sharon Callen to discuss the most frequently asked questions parents have about the teaching of spelling. This insightful conversation aims to provide educators with support as they navigate their parent community. One common concern raised by parents is the stress they experience when th...

Wise planning really is the great secret behind successful teaching and improved outcomes! Literacy expert Sharon Callen delves into 'mud mapping' as a way to plan out the teaching of different genres, as a teacher and across a school.  She chats further about: What 'mud maps' are and how they work, and their importance in supporting teachers in their planning How to make them connect to your curr...

Diane Snowball recently answered teacher’s questions about better ways of teaching writing in the early years with Year 1 teachers at Mildura West Primary School. The session helps clarify understandings for all of us, in particular: How the Language Experience approach works in reality in our classrooms. How we make more use of the writing we are doing together? How do we not waste opportunities...

Expert literacy consultant Sharon Callen chats to Ted Egan, prolific singer, song writer and lover of Australian characters and their stories, about how access to quality literature made a huge difference to a remote community in northern Australia. Sharon then links this amazing story to the latest research on 'access to  literature'  being key to success in reading and learning about our languag...

Literacy expert Sharon Callen chats with Kate Tucker, literacy facilitator and teacher at Mt Barker South Primary School, about the top tips in using literature as a powerful force in  literacy teaching, and across a school. Specifically the duo discuss:   How a school intentionally and effectively  resources a year long approach to the teaching of writing using literature How and why teachers use...

As teachers we are continually searching for great books to use in our teaching with students, to support them in their reading and writing: We need help in finding books to use as Mentor texts, to help explicitly model how others write We want to engage different age groups in the sheer love of reading, whilst also connecting to the curriculum Distinguished author Mike Dumbleton to discuss: His l...

As teachers we try different ways to get our children engaged in and becoming increasingly successful as writers. In this episode, literacy expert Sharon Callen talks about: The 4 foundational things we can set up and plan before anything else The ways we can work with mentor texts to support students not only as writers of a singular piece, but giving them the understanding of ‘how to use mentor...

Top educator Diane Snowball joins literacy expert Sharon Callen to talk about how The Language Experience Approach increases engagement with reading and writing. As teachers continue to try different ways to engage, how do we bring more meaning into what students are doing, so that they are activated, motivated and growing in their skills? We need to find techniques that really support children, p...

Continuing our series with teachers, literacy expert Sharon Callen talks with two more teachers who she has been working with in 2022 about how they have been developing their literacy teaching practices.  Liam Bucco and Liz Sanderson are from Bridgewater Primary School in South Australia. Liam and Liz talk about the challenges and opportunities in developing units of work in an integrated way. Th...