Oral language skills form the foundation of literacy and academic success. A solid foundation of oral language helps children become successful readers, strong communicators, as well as increasing their confidence and overall sense of well-being. The ability to use oral language effectively impacts all areas of a child’s life; from their ability to learn in […]
Read MoreWith our increasing use of technology, is it necessary to teach children handwriting? Research suggests that the benefits of teaching handwriting go beyond simply writing (Dinehart, 2014). There is increasing evidence of a link between the fine motor skills required in handwriting and the development of cognitive skills which lay the foundation for later academic […]
Read MoreLearning to communicate using language is a remarkable achievement of early childhood. The progression of language development is very similar across children and even across languages. All children regardless of the language spoken begin their journey of communication with a focus on sounds and engage in behaviours such as cooing and babbling. Over time they […]
Read MoreSynthetic Phonics is the gold standard, evidence-based approach to teaching literacy, which suggests the fastest pathway into literacy is knowledge of alphabet sounds and phonic sounds. Students require alphabet knowledge in order to embark on the process of learning to read and spell. However, rather than letter naming ability, letter sound knowledge is the more […]
Read MoreToday's post relates to the controversy that exists in Australian schools over the use of Cursive versus foundation font for Kindergarten to year 2 students and is prompted by an email from a recent PLD Learning Resources professional development day attendee.
Read MoreEvidence shows that rhyming is not necessarily the most evidence based of pedagogical choices or the simplest phonological awareness skill to master.
Read MoreWhat is the UK Phonics Check? The UK Phonics Check is administered nationally within the United Kingdom to all students towards the end of year 1. The 7 minute screen involves presenting 40 words for students to read. These words are a mix of real and nonsense (or pseudo-words) which assess a student’s ability to […]
Read MoreA hot topic in the primary education community at the moment is screening and assessments; why they should be carried out, how regularly, and how much is too much. In this blog post we discuss the reasons why screening your students is important and provide tools and calendars to help make it easier for you […]
Read MoreTerm 1 marches on and decodable reading books and sight words continue to be hot topics of debate. In this newsletter we clarify some of the confusion surrounding these debated topics and conclude with an overview of the questions asked most frequently in Term 1. Are we providing the best reading books for our young […]
Read MoreAs we start to finalise this school year and prepare for the next, now is an ideal time to reflect on what has been in place and what needs to be updated. Within this process, educators should be guided by research. From this context, I am suggesting that educators engage with some readings linked below. […]
Read MoreThe 2018 Australian Educational Publishing Awards were recently held in Melbourne. Celebrating its 25th year, the awards evening brings together publishers to acknowledge excellence and award businesses going above and beyond for the advancement of students. PLD received one of the major awards, Primary Publisher of the Year. In a field of large and international […]
Read MoreResearch tells us again and again it’s essential we get it right when students are first learning to read. The bleak reality is that once children start to fall behind their peers, even with special funding and programs, it is difficult for many to catch up. With this in mind, this blog is devoted to […]
Read MoreWhat are decodable texts? Decodable texts are specifically designed for early readers. They provide reading material which enables students to apply their alphabet sound skills, their early phonic knowledge, phonemic blending and decoding skills. The decodable reading material gradually increases in length and complexity and also gradually introduces sight words. When are decodable reading books […]
Read MoreIndigenous Literacy Day 2017 PLD is working to preserve Indigenous languages through the creation of region specific resources. For over 10 years, PLD has worked with a range of Indigenous communities for over ten years, including developing a range of online courses to support the literacy requirements of Indigenous communities. You can read more about […]
Read MoreRegarding tracking early reading and spelling progress from 5 years. With the changes in the National Curriculum, Foundation students (that is, Kindergarten NSW/ACT, Preparatory QLD/VIC/TAS, Pre-Primary WA, Reception SA and Transition NT), need to acquire early reading, spelling and writing skills. This is new territory for the educators operating within this ‘Foundation’ phase of literacy […]
Read MoreSpeech Pathology Week is here and director of PLD Literacy & Learning, Diana Rigg highlights the role of speech pathologists in schools in order to facilitate increased literacy outcomes. PLD has regularly stressed the way forward for literacy education in primary school is for speech pathology to have a larger involvement within schools. Researchers have […]
Read MoreDiana and the team at PLD have always made it a focus to highlight the importance of phonics as part of a wider skills set for successful teaching of students from the age of 3 up to Year 6. The entirety of PLD’s resources employ a practical and highly functional style beneficial to both the […]
Read MoreIn the recent WA Education Department report, which highlighted the success of PLD literacy programs, Louden asked the question – what do high performing primary schools have in common. Louden’s research reported that seven of the nine high performing schools had adopted what the researcher referred to as ‘lower variation teaching’. Lower variation teaching is […]
Read MoreIn my time travelling to different schools and conducting seminars with educators, I often highlight the fact that attendance at school is important and essential for children to learn. However it’s important to point out that on its own, attendance will not raise literacy standards. This is particularly the case for remote schools and those […]
Read MoreDuring April and May 2015, Emeritus Professor Bill Louden investigated and prepared a case study report on the school operations and pedagogical practices in place in nine high performing primary schools as measured by NAPLAN. The intention of the investigation was to inform the Department of Education’s understanding of the conditions required for a school […]
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