The Teaching Improvement Project

Course Content
Module 1 Reading an Introduction – The Big Picture.
‘Reading has the power to change lives. It plays an essential role in learning, securing a job and being an active and engaged member of society. Reading provides us with information, knowledge, and makes us aware of people and places beyond our immediate circles. Learning foundational reading skills supports wellbeing and can translate to a love of reading and literature. As so much of our world rapidly changes around us, learning to read remains one of the most essential outcomes of schooling’. (Education Queensland, 2023. Reading Position Statement.) What Will You Learn? In this module you will explore how reading has been taught in the past and what research and evidence has informed current recommended teaching models. You will explore the complexities of learning to read. Why learning to read is difficult and the impact that low levels of literacy have on society. What the Big 6 or 5 Pillars (National Reading Panel) How the brain learns to read (Stanilas DeHaene) Ehri’s Stages of Reading Development and understand the process of Orthographic Mapping and the Alphabetic Principle. Self Teaching (David Share) Key Reading Frameworks – The Simple View of Reading (Gough and Tumner), Scarborough’s Reading Rope (Hollis Scarborough), and The Four Part Processing Model (Seidenberg and McClelland) The key components of Structured Literacy and how this differs from previous approaches to teaching reading. At the conclusion of this unit of work we will dive deep into the teaching of reading through the lens of the Simple View of Reading’.
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Reading
The State Of Reading Today
The Science of Reading (SoR)
The Big 6 or 5 Pillars of Reading
How the brain learns to read
Ehri’s Stages of Reading Development and understand the process of Orthographic Mapping and the Alphabetic Principle.
Key Reading Frameworks (Simple View of Reading & Scarborough’s Reading Rope)
The Key Components of Structured Literacy
Module 2 – The Foundational Skills: Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness & Phonics
In this module you will learn about the foundational word recognition skills of Scarborough’s Reading Rope and why their acquisition to a level of automaticity is essential to becoming a skilled reader. You will learn about the phonological and orthographical processing systems, how they develop and how they should be taught and assessed.
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Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Awareness
Research – Why phonemic awareness is a critical component of instruction.
Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Skills
The importance of clear and precise phoneme articulation
Lesson Planning and Structure
How Does Phonics Fit In?
The English Orthography, Australian English, Standard Australian English (SAE0.
The Alphabetic Principle, The Alphabetic Code, & Alphabetic Code Charts
4 types of phonics instruction – synthetic, analogy, embedded, analytic
Structured Synthetic Phonics – Teaching the word level reading through a systematic, explicit code-based instruction
Sight Word Lexicons, High Frequency Words and How to teach them!
The relationship of reading, spelling and writing
The characteristics of high-quality instructional materials
Decodable Texts and when to move on from decodables
How to assess, screen and use student data to inform teaching
Glossary of Terms
Module 3 – Reading Fluency
In this module you will explore the often overlooked but vital role that fluency plays in the development of a skilled reader.
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The Essential Components of Reading Fluency
Evidence based fluency instruction and strategies to support fluency acquisition
Assessing, Screening and Monitoring Fluency
Reading disfluency and struggling readers
Other Resources, Research and Further Professional Learning
Module 4 – Oral Language & Vocabulary
In this module you will learn how vocabulary develops, and how evidenced based vocabulary instruction can support language comprehension.
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How oral language development is the foundation of vocabulary development
Vocabulary Instruction: Why is it so important
Evidence Based Vocabulary Instruction – direct, explicit, effective
How to screen, monitor and assess oral language and vocabulary
How do we bet support our struggling readers – Vocabulary Instruction
Module 5 – Comprehension: The Skilled Reader
In this module you will explore the complex nature of the comprehension strand of Scarborough’s Reading Rope and build your understanding of the essential components required for skilled reading development.
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Meaning Creation, Mental models and Schemas
The Subskills of Language Comprehension
Comprehension Strategies
Reference List, Resources and Glossary
Module 6 – Putting It Altogether: When Reading Science Meets Practice
In this module you will learn how a structured literacy approach to the teaching of reading can fit into a literacy block and how it can be supported across all Key Learning Areas (KLA’s). You will learn how and when different forms of assessment and screeners can be used to inform, monitor and measure student success.
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The Reading Writing Connection & High Yield Instructional Strategies
What causes poor comprehension?
Classroom Routines & Lower and Upper Literacy Block examples
Response to Intervention (RTI) & Multitiered Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
Monitoring Student Development and Measuring Success
How to Teach Reading
About Lesson

What does this look like in the classroom

Listen to these …prominent educators showcase scientifically researched evidence-based methods including explicit instruction and the ‘Big 6’ of Reading. Research indicates that a building a bridge between oral language and written language facilitates reading acquisition. The effective teaching of reading encompasses oral language, phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

Outside the Square Film 3 – The Explicit Teaching of Language and Literacy (2017)

https://youtu.be/OrnYj3Fe1lU

 

Links to further Outside the Square videos

Outside the Square – Film 1 – Understanding and Identifying Dyslexia

Outside the Square Film 2 – Targeted Teaching for Students with Dyslexia

 

Examples of Planning

The following resources have been generously shared amongst Education Communities, Science of Learning and Science of Reading communities.

I have attached a link to a collated resource that Brendan Lee, (Learning with Mr. Lee) created.

I have added additional links and resources for your reference.

You can access Brendan Lee’s website via the following link.

Scope and Sequence examples

The Reading Science in Schools (a community of educators offering advice, support and resources to support the implementation of the Science of Reading in Schools) facebook site has been archived, however resources are still available.                 Facebook Group

Mosman Park Primary School Phonics Scope and Sequence

PhOrMeS  Is a free primary word reading, spelling and learning curriculum that was created at Brandon Park Primary School. It is a ready-to-teach, comprehensive, core literacy skills curriculum which covers the key language and literacy skills of:

  • Phonology through phonics
  • Orthography – correct spelling
  • Morphology andEtymology
  • Semantics

Cognitorium | Teaching all facets of literacy — Dr Nathaniel Swain

Serpentine Primary School Instructional Playbook | Serpentine PS

Grace Mary Primary School – Curriculum

Core Knowledge Language Arts, from E.D. Hirsch’s team.

Language Arts – Core Knowledge Foundation

Does Core Knowledge Work    Does core knowledge work? | Filling the pail

UFLI Foundations Toolbox: The Toolbox contains resources to support your implementation of UFLI Foundations lessons.  These include lesson slide decks, decodable passages, and more!

Tennessee Foundational Skills Curriculum Supplement Resources: “This supplement is completely free, optional, and uses a systematic and explicit approach to sounds-first instruction to help all students gain the foundational skills necessary to become proficient readers. Teachers, districts, and parents can access and download the materials in the supplement at any time. These resources include teacher guides, student workbooks, and practice activities to help early learners focus on phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and fluency.”

Reading Rockets –Phonics: In Practice

Five from Five – Scope and Sequence

SPELD NSW – Phonics and Morphology Scope and Sequence

SPELD – Vocabulary Scope and Sequence

Dr. Anita Archer – Series of videos of her demonstrating explicit instructional lessons.

  • “Teach the stuff and cut the fluff”
  • “Learning is the outcome, teaching is the pathway”
  • “If you expect it, pre-correct it”
  • “Avoid the void, for they will fill it”
  • “Predictability, predicts ability”

Podcast – Ollie Lovell ERRR#060. Anita Archer on Explicit Instruction

ERRR #060. Anita Archer on Explicit Instruction. | Ollie Lovell

 

Kelly Buxton from Courthouse Juniour (UK)- Reading strategy updated

Emina McLean – Working the clock and “the literacy block”. Emina also presented Designing an ambitious and rigorous primary English curriculum where she outlines Dockland PS curriculum design process and what it looks like. She uses 5 “Big Idea’s” as a guide:

  1. Be Ambitious: “Students are capable of far more than we give them credit for. We should aim high(er).”
  2. Be rigorous: “Teaching is hard. Learning is hard. We plan supports for staff and students accordingly”
  3. Expertise, equity, workload v. autonomy: Develop teacher expertise, low variance curriculum, mapped and aligned curriculum, clear scope and sequence documents, high quality materials.
  4. Viewing English and Literacy as synonymous can be unhelpful: Literacy is seen as being taught in a block then it’s done. It is never done.
  5. Integrated instruction > isolated instruction: Focused attention on building foundational (core) literacy skills without the distraction of content is a useful approach initially.

Examples of Literacy Blocks

As you are aware there are a multitude of literacy block examples and there is no one way to structure your literacy block.

Whilst we must ensure that the curriculum content and pedagogical practices, we use are evidence and research based, we must also ensure that the content is organised in a detailed scope and sequence and that we use a structured literacy approach that is explicit, systematic, sequential, cumulative and responsive to student needs.

For your reference, I have compiled several examples and links to further quality resources.

Tim Shanahan – How Would You Schedule the Reading Instruction?

Recommends 2-3 hours/day of reading/writing instruction. “Need instruction in multiple areas: word knowledge, oral reading fluency, writing, and reading comprehension.” Also, he writes about how it doesn’t all have to be in the one block.

Jocelyn Seamer – The What, Why and How Long of the Literacy Block:

  • Daily Review – approximately 15 minutes
  • Explicit Teaching of graphemes and word level skills (25 min)
  • Sentence Level Transcription (15 min)
  • Decoding and Reading (20 min)
  • Shared Writing (15-20 min)
  • Language and Literature Based Lesson (30-40 min)

Nathaniel Swain:Teaching all the facets of reading and writing – Prep/Kindy

Oral Language and Comprehension – 20min Language Arts – Core Knowledge Foundation

Decoding & Encoding

  • Phonemic Awareness – 3 min
  • Decoding & Spelling review – 10 min
  • NEW Decoding & Spelling – 17min
  • Additional component Reading Fluency – 10min

Handwriting – 10min

Vocabulary & Morphology – 10min

Oral Sentence Composition – Writing revolution / Reading Science Syntax Scope & Sequence (modified)

Clayton South Primary School 

SPELD NSW Literacy Block with Retrieval Practice (2024)        Literacy Block

Reading Science in Schools – Rethinking Guided Reading Sharing Best Practice Perth

Natalie Campbell (Reading Science in Schools): Setting up Literacy Routines i.e. phonics work, using SA Speld decodables, word level reading, Daily Review)

 

https://youtu.be/lCqHpMHD32E?si=PtEgDetkDKsSO2TS

Note:

 

Steph Le Lievre – Guided Reading: an alternative approach.

  • Literacy daily review – 20min
  • Whole class phonics/spelling lesson – 20min
  • Fluency pairs – 10min
  • Comprehension – 30min
  • Writing – 30min
  • Handwriting – 10min

 

Serpentine State Primary School Instructional Playbook (WA)

Principal, Stephanie Le Lievre and her team have generously shared their curriculum and pedagogical playbook. This playbook is comprised of the high-quality evidence-based approaches to instruction. Their philosophy is grounded in the Science of Learning, ensuring that teaching methods are supported by research and proven to be effective. They have prioritise knowledge-rich curriculum and have a  Multi-Tiered Support System (Response to Intervention model).

 Link for your reference  fae298_b63fc3a3624543ce91007269a0702425.pdf

 

Planning Examples below: Serpentine State Primary School

And More Examples

Walk to Read Model & Data Driven Schedules

Lower Primary Literacy Block 

 

Phonics Lesson Structure

 

Comprehension Planner – Before Reading 

 

Small Group Intervention (Modify as required)

 

Upper Primary Literacy Block

Listen to Joscelyn Seamer talk about planning for the Upper Primary Literacy Block in her Summer Series Podcast

Joscelyn Seamer Education

S1 E8 – What goes into the Upper Primary Literacy Block?

 

Knowledge, Execution and Structure. The keys to Reading SUCCESS for ALL | Learning MATTERS

AuthenticTextLessonPlan-Years2-4PrefilledExample.pdf

iDeaL | Learning MATTERS

Lesson Plan examples

Core Knowledge Foundation

Ochre Education

Think Forward Educators – Read2Learn Units

AERO Welcome to AERO | Australian Education Research Organisation

OCHRE  Ochre resources | Australian Education Research Organisation

ARC Victorian Education Department 

Designing English Curriculum

Emina McLean: Designing an ambitious and rigorous primary English curriculum

Pedagogy

AERO    Evidence Based Practices

2024  ACER Publications and resources – ACER

The Literacy Hub – Australian Government Department of Education (links to resources)

           

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