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There Are So Many Reasons to Rhyme
Incorporating rhymes into reading instruction offers a plethora of benefits for young learners, making it a valuable tool in the classroom. Firstly, rhymes aid in developing phonemic awareness by helping children discern individual sounds within words. This skill lays a solid foundation for reading, as exemplified in familiar rhymes like...
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Creating Stronger Readers Through Read-Aloud
A teacher's insights: In this insightful blog, Sharon shares her experiences and strategies for incorporating read-alouds into her classroom routine when she taught students in years 3-7. She emphasises the importance of literature in shaping young minds and fostering empathy and imagination. Sharon discusses the benefits of reading aloud, including...
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Tips for Successful Independent Reading Sessions
Tips for Successful Independent Reading Sessions Enjoy these wonderful tips on gaining success in Independent Reading sessions adapted from the work of accomplished educator, Diane Snowball. Regular sustained Independent Reading sessions, ideally 15-30 minutes (longer for older students), improve students' reading skills. Access to various texts at school and home...
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Why Writing about Reading Matters: A Teacher's Guide
Why Writing about Reading Matters: A Teacher's Guide When kids write about what they read, they're showing what they think. It's a chance for them to share their ideas. By looking at what students write after reading, we can see how well they understood the text. Writing helps them express...
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My Reading Calendars for 2024, Yrs 2-6
Reading Calendars are a simple yet highly effective tool for students to track and showcase their life as a reader over the course of a year. They promote independence and responsibility, supporting all students to be successful. The My Reading Calendar 2024 pack contains great features and tools: Calendar sheet...
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Podcast Ep 103: Part 1: Shared Reading: An Essential Instructional Strategy
LATEST PODCAST Ep 103: 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...
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Podcast Ep 104: Part 2: Shared Reading: An Essential Instructional Strategy
LATEST PODCAST Ep 104: In this podcast, Diane Snowball discusses how Shared Reading fits into the broader reading experiences of children, and it's deep pedagogical base. She emphasises the gradual release of responsibility from reading aloud to independent practice in reading. Diane highlights the importance of choosing appropriate books for...
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Podcast Ep 98, Part 2: Understanding and Using the Science of Reading
LATEST PODCAST Ep 98: 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...
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Podcast Ep 97, Part 1: Understanding and Using the Science of Reading
LATEST PODCAST, Ep 97: 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...
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Podcast Ep 92: Read Alouds: A Critical Instructional Strategy
LATEST PODCAST Ep 92: Join literacy expert Sharon Callen and her team in an enlightening podcast as they delve into the transformative power of the Read Aloud strategy in the realm of reading and writing instruction. Through intentional selection of texts and the art of ongoing reading, the team dissects...
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The Hidden Power of Reading Journals, Ep 89
LATEST PODCAST: In the latest podcast episode, Sharon Callen and her team explore the hidden power of Reading Journals and their significance in education. They address the challenges faced by teachers and how Reading Journals can help overcome them. Sharon defines what a Reading Journal is and explains its implementation,...
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Latest Release Books with Genevieve Kruyssen, Ep 88
LATEST PODCAST, Ep 88: In the latest podcast episode, Genevieve Kruyssen and literacy expert Sharon Callen discuss 18 new book releases and their potential to support teachers in the classroom. They cover various topics, including finding books for all readers, the power of reading aloud, helping struggling readers, and the...
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How to Provide Students with Better Access to Books
LATEST BLOG: Providing access to books both inside and outside the classroom should be a top priority for schools, according to literacy expert Sharon Callen. Libraries and access to a variety of books will ensure students can successfully develop their reading and writing skills in a rich print environment. However,...
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Access to Books Makes All the Difference: Latest podcast, Ep 84
LATEST PODCAST, Ep 84: 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...
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Top Tips for Teaching with Literature , Latest Podcast Ep 83
LATEST PODCAST Ep 83: Literacy expert Sharon Callen chats with Kate Tucker, literacy facilitator and teacher at Mt Barker South Primary School, about the top tips for using literature as a powerful force in literacy classroom teaching, and across a school. Specifically the duo discuss: How a school intentionally and...
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How To Dig Deeper When Teaching Comprehension
LATEST BLOG: Leading educator Diane Snowball says teachers need to deep dive with students and strategise to improve reading comprehension. Diane is a regular on The Teacher’s Tool Kit For Literacy podcast, and again joined literacy expert Sharon Callen on Episode 66 to talk about how teachers can maximise student...
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The Best Questions Teachers Should Ask When Thinking About Reading
LATEST BLOG: Asking the right questions will help students to think effectively about reading, and understand text in a deeper way. A hurdle literacy teachers can face is students not doing the ‘big thinking’ as they read. And quite often, it’s because teachers aren’t enabling students to engage in the...
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How to Engage Struggling Students in Reading and Writing
How to Engage Struggling Students in Reading and Writing Struggling or ‘striving’ readers and writers can be better supported by teachers using a range of strategies to promote higher engagement. On Episode 60 of The Teacher’s Tool Kit for Literacy, literacy expert Sharon Callen talked about the methods for supporting...
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Reading Calendars: Growing Your Readers
Reading Calendars (Years 2-6) are a simple yet highly effective tool for students to track and showcase their life as a reader over the course of a year. They promote independence and responsibility, supporting all students to be successful. The My Reading Calendar 2022 pack contains new features and tools:...
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Conferring with Readers: Assessment Rubrics
Conferring with students is a unique and significant opportunity to learn about what a student is doing as a reader/writer as we engage with them side by side during the Reading Conference. This resource, Conferring with Readers: Assessment Rubric, allows you to have a comprehensive eye on the child as...
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Conferring With Reader Prompts
Conferring With Reader Prompts Find out what your readers know about the act of reading with these 5 really good questions/prompts. Have them handy when you confer with each student individually, or during the Reflection/ Share Time. Or glue the sheet into their Reader's Notebook, ready for when you meet...
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The Motivation to Read Profile - Survey for Students
Designing effective and engaging instruction means considering the motivational needs of students. The Motivation to Read Profile: Survey for Students is a tool that supports teachers in creating motivating classroom contexts for literacy. Students who are engaged have their eyes on what they are doing, are ardently attending to the...
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Teaching Poetry: Mini Lessons
This resource, Teaching Poetry: Mini Lessons presents a range of Mini Lesson ideas K-6 to transform your teaching of poetry: from hearing it, to exploring it, to collecting it, to enjoying it, to creating it. The seven categories of Mini Lessons: Reading & Enjoying Poetry Collecting Poems Reading Like a...
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Reading Comprehension Prompts: Flip Chart Yrs 3-4 and Yrs 5-6
Reading Comprehension Prompts: Finding Specific Information in Texts, Yrs 3-4 and Yrs 5-6 This flip chart resource has a focus on 'Good Readers Find Specific Information in Texts.' It can be enlarged to A3 and made into a handy chart for easy reference and display to students. Purpose: To support...
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Reading Calendars
Over the years I have tried many ways for my Year 3-6 students to keep a record of their reading, but the most empowering and engaging format I have developed is the Reading Calendar. The Reading Calendar is a simple calendar template on which readers can keep a record of...
