The Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy

Literacy expert Sharon Callen brings in three teachers to share their literacy teaching practices.  Kate Tucker, Ra Te Whare and Robert Kennedy are from Mt Barker South Primary School, and have been working with Sharon in 2022 to develop their literacy teaching practices. The group talks about the challenges and opportunities in developing units of work in an integrated way. They also talk about c...

Teachers have different ways to group students, and these methods are not always effective for learning.  For example, fixed grouping for a whole term is a common practice. While this is convenient,  does it lead to better learning opportunities for all students? Is there a better way?  To talk about this, Sharon Callen is again joined by Diane Snowball, a highly experienced educator who led signi...

Teachers are always on the lookout for fresh ideas and especially books to use effectively in the classroom. They are looking for ways to connect the books with the curriculum - as read alouds, mentor texts, shared reading, shared writing, word work and more. To talk about the best new books and more, we're joined by two guests live from Where The Wild Things Are bookstore in Brisbane.  Previous g...

How can can teachers develop a set of conditions of learning in the classroom that lead to greater student engagement and improved outcomes? Many school leaders and teachers are grappling with this, and wondering whether a program could bring the solution, or whether there's a way to construct the learning with students. To talk about his Conditions For Learning , we welcome back to the podcast ​​...

We need to learn how to use 'real time data' to inform our teaching. And so often that comes from our students. So what can we find out from our students, and what is most important? What do we need to cover in the curriculum, and what are some effective resources we can use? Here's just a few tips: Set dedicated time for students to engage in reading and writing every day Teachers should read alo...

Teaching letter names is a big challenge for teachers. We have children coming to us at different levels of letter name knowledge, and then we have children learning at different stages and rates of growth, as well  children whose first language is not English. So we wonder how we manage this, within the ebb and flow of every day at school. So this podcast episode gets to the nitty gritty, bringin...

Motivating and engaging students in their writing is always an ongoing challenge for teachers. Teachers are also often looking for ways to differentiate and provide good models for writing.  In this episode, literacy expert Sharon Callen talks about the power of using mentor texts, including: How to do a routine for using Quick Writes with a mentor text How it is done in practice How to choose a m...

What are the key attributes and traits of effective writers? And how can teachers activate them with their students?  In this episode, literacy expert Sharon Callen reveals these key traits, and talks about: How to use these traits to get better at writing How to know when you're getting better at using them How to plan well with these traits in the curriculum What should we avoid Good connecting...

Teaching writing (and literacy) can sometimes be 'a bit of this and a bit of that'. Sometimes we teach in a compartmentalised way, and there is no connection between lessons​​. We often don’t see a transfer of what we are teaching to students using the skills in their own writing. To help us with this, Dr. Brian Cambourne joins the show to talk about teaching writing effectively, building connecti...

While the Morning Message can feel like a standard routine, it is a crucial way for teachers to help their students connect with literacy, the day and each other. In this era it is more important than ever, with many students still in and out of class with COVID, the flu and other issues, leading to many teachers struggling to build community.  The Morning Message is a great tool to help foster co...

As teachers, we're always on the look out for easy ways for students to access vocabulary and build knowledge about words in lessons.  How do we teach and empower students in their word knowledge and use, and see it make a real difference in our teaching? To talk about this and more, we are again joined on the podcast by education consultant Rob Vingerhoets. While a specialist in numeracy, Rob bri...

As motivated teachers, we need easy ways to access the English curriculum and connect it to our teaching. This includes knowing how to plan with the curriculum effectively, and finding ways for it to have a real impact on our teaching. In this episode, literacy expert Sharon Callen covers this topic from a range of angles including: Where to start with planning around the new curriculum Do's and D...

Many motivated school teachers and leaders are looking for better ways to teach comprehension.  A big question that teachers often ask themselves is whether students are really getting deep understanding, or if it is just superficial knowledge? To talk about this, Sharon Callen is again joined by Diane Snowball, a highly experienced educator who led significant change in education throughout whole...

Teachers are constantly on the look out for new books to use in their classrooms. We need great books to engage kids in lessons, Read Alouds, shared reading and as part of other strategies and tools. To achieve this, we need a constantly supply of top books for young readers so we've brought back Teachers Toolkit regular Rebecca Bird, literature consultant at Pegi Williams Books, to help us. Rebec...

When students are at the start of their learning journey, it can be challenging for teachers to know how to put the right literacy steps in place. To talk about this important topic we're joined by Diane Snowball, a highly experienced educator who led significant change in education throughout whole school districts in the US as well as Australia. The session with Diane is from a recent Zoom Q and...

Sometimes teachers struggle to see students to do 'big thinking' as they read. Why? Because often we're not enabling our students to do it.  Literacy expert Sharon Callen unpacks this issue in this episode. Sharon talks about why thinking about reading is different from thinking whilst reading. And in thinking about reading, you are conscious of connections, questions and responses. You may even c...

Many teachers often struggle to put together writing sessions that are meaningful to students. So we've brought in expert educator Alan Wright to help with this challenge. Alan Wright is a creative, committed education consultant and author who has worked extensively in the United States and Australia, promoting best practice in primary and secondary schools and at a systems level. Based in New Yo...

Teachers will sometimes find it challenging to teach F-2 students high frequency words effectively.  To talk about this important topic we're joined by Diane Snowball, a highly experienced educator who led significant change in education throughout whole school districts in the US as well as Australia. In this discussion, Diane talks about: Where to start when teaching high frequency words How sch...

We call them 'striving' readers and writers, rather than struggling. But every teacher and leader wants to find better ways to support these students in their journeys. Teachers need a reliable, trusted source for research that works in the classroom. To help with this, Sharon talks about an article from Foundation For Learning And Literacy: Principles for working with struggling readers and write...

Teaching literacy in high schools brings a wide range of challenges for teachers.  Continuing the conversation is literacy expert Misty Adoniou, Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Canberra and Principal Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, and a leader in the literacy research and practice field. Part two of the conversation covers: How to help high school students who are los...

Addressing the varied literacy levels in high school is a big challenge for teachers, and helping students with low literacy can be difficult.  Joining us to discuss this is literacy expert Misty Adoniou, Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Canberra and Principal Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, and a leader in the literacy research and practice field. The conversation cove...

In the final instalment of this series on the dynamics of an effective literacy program podcast, literacy expert Sharon Callen talks about how to critique a program. This episode explores how leaders and teachers can learn to be flexible in their selection of content and pedagogy to provide equal opportunities for each learner’s development in literacy. With so many mixed messages and options, man...

Literacy expert Sharon Callen continues her series exploring how leaders and teachers can learn to be flexible in their selection of content and pedagogy to provide equal opportunities for each learner’s development in literacy. It’s about the questions we can ask ourselves to become flexible and informed. With so many mixed messages and options, many school leaders find it challenging to identify...

With so many mixed messages and options, many school leaders find it challenging to identify and implement the key attributes of an effective literacy program.  Some teachers are asked to use a program but find that it doesn't cater for all of their learners. Leaders are looking for a universal solution. There is a lot of confusion about what is 'right and wrong', and many leaders and teachers don...

Continuing from our previous episode, we are joined by numeracy consultant Rob Vingerhoets to talk about about the importance of differentiation and how teachers can overcome the common roadblocks.  Rob is an experienced and highly effective educator and subject matter expert who has worked with teachers and students throughout Melbourne, Country Victoria, interstate and overseas (New York City, B...