Podcast and Blog
literacy
S4 Ep13 - Let's Talk Year 3-6 Reading Assessment and Grading
Hi there. Welcome to the Structured Literacy Podcast recoded here in Tasmania, the lands of the Palawa people. I’m Jocelyn and I want to say a huge hello to all teachers and leaders grappling with assessment and reporting. Last episode of the podcast, I shared a perspective on reporting and grading early years reading without a benchmark assessment. In the old days, we assessed students, looked at the level and then used that to determine what A-E grade students r…
S4 Ep12 - The Secret to Grading Early Years Reading
Hi there, I'm Jocelyn and I'd like to welcome you to this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded here on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania.
Here in Australia, it is Term 4 and the end of the school year is just a few weeks away. That means that teachers and leaders will be turning their attention to assessment and grading in preparation for report writing. So in this episode, I’d like to share some thoughts and suggestions on grading early …
S4 Ep11 - Making Decisions When The Floor Is Lava
Hi there and welcome to this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded here on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania.
I have the enormous privilege of talking with school leaders from around the country and working directly with schools. I don't for a single second take the trust that is given to me for granted, and I value so highly the opportunity to be a part of people's journeys. Seeing the tangible results they are achieving is so rewarding.…
Tuesday Tip - Say Goodbye to Memorisation Strategies for Spelling
In today's Tuesday Tip, I discuss that instead of teaching memorising words by letter names, teach kids to think about word construction.
Video Transcript
When we want to remember how to spell words, it's a common thing to try and remember how the word is spelled using letter names. That sometimes is really helpful, I still remember because as B E C A U S E. However, it is a much more productive way to think about words when we think about how they're constructed with orth…
S4 Ep10 - Instructional Spring Cleaning - Timers During Classroom Fluency Work
Well, hello there and welcome to this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast recorded here in Tasmania, the land of the Palawa people.
In this latest mini-series, I've been doing a little bit of spring cleaning. So far, we've looked at the idea of classroom news for oral language development and one student coming up to the front of the room during phonics lessons.
Today, I'm sharing my thoughts on something that impacts all grades in the primary school, t…
S4 Ep9 - Instructional Spring Cleaning - One Student at the Front
Hi there. Thanks so much for joining me on this episode of the Structured Literacy Podcast, the place where we get right down into the nitty-gritty of structured literacy. It's Jocelyn here, joining you from Tasmania, the lands of the Palawa people.
It's wonderful to be working in education at a time when we have a growing understanding of the importance of research and using evidence to guide our classroom decisions. The challenging thing about this is that we …
Tuesday Tip - #2 Affirmed Students are Engaged Students
In today's Tuesday Tip, I discuss consistently using affirmation, praising students for their efforts to boost confidence and encouraging positive interactions among peers.
Video Transcript
Hey there, it's Jocelyn with tip number two about maintaining high engagement in low variance instruction. My tip today is about injecting affirmation. Everybody wants to feel good about what they do. And we all love being told that we've done a good job. So, when your students do something right…
Tuesday Tip - #1 Manage Your Own Response
In today's Tuesday Tip, I discuss that a lively and positive attitude from teachers can significantly boost student engagement in a low variance lesson.
Video Transcript
Hey there, it's Tuesday and time for a tip. We're doing a little series of tips about how to maintain high engagement in low variance lessons. And this is tip number one.
If we want children to be enthusiastic about learning, we have to manage our own attitude. If we announce our reading lesson by saying, Okay, come o…
Tuesday Tip - How You Can Boost Your Students' Vocabulary
In today's Tuesday Tip, I discuss front loading vocabulary and concepts to help students with language difficulties engage more effectively in lessons.
Video Transcript
Hi there, it's Jocelyn, it's time for a tip. This week we're talking about front loading vocabulary and concepts. This is a suggestion often made by speechies for students with language difficulties or processing challenges. Now for these students, what often happens is what the teacher provides in terms of that lead up is not…
Tuesday Tip - How to Combine Phonics and Morphology
In today's Tuesday Tip, I discuss that to effectively teach children about word formation, you need to combine phonics with morphology.
Video Transcript
Hi everyone, it's Tuesday and it's time for a tip. Very often when we want to unpack words for children during a lesson, we mark the words up, which is a really great idea. That works nicely for the word take t-a-ke, but what about when it comes to taking? This kind of straight marking up doesn't necessarily work as we…