By

PLD is delighted that our evidence-based literacy programs are ranked among other high-quality and well-designed programs for teaching Structured Synthetic Phonics programs (SSP programs) in primary schools.  In the January edition of The Bulletin, the Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation compared PLD with other evidence-based SSP programs which facilitate high-quality Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 instruction. […]

By

PLD gets asked to provide support and feedback on tracking sheets regularly. This is a complimentary service that we happily provide to schools implementing PLD, but we do ask that tracking sheets are submitted in the recommended format. PLD receives hundreds of support requests each week and if the tracking sheets aren’t meeting the PLD requirements, we […]

By

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2021 Australian Educational Publishing Awards were held online in September. Celebrating its 28th year, the awards evening brought together publishers to acknowledge excellence and award businesses going above and beyond for the advancement of students. Organised by the Australian Publishers Association, the prestigious annual Educational Publishing Awards reward excellence and […]

By

As with any teaching resource, there are different ways sound wall displays can be introduced, displayed and utilised.  As sound walls are a fairly new instructional tool, it is important to provide information on how to use them to their full potential. Click here if you would like to read more about sound walls and SSP, […]

By

Decodable reading books are an essential component of an evidence-based SSP approach and all students, regardless of age, who are in the early stages of reading (typically PLD Stages 1 & 2) should be assigned them. Decodable reading books only contain phonic concepts and High Frequency Words (HFWs) that students have been explicitly taught. Specifically […]

By

How Phonic Sound Walls Belong in PLD’s SSP Program Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP) is at the heart of PLD’s offering.  Every resource we create is intended to scaffold, support, and extend students’ SSP knowledge and skills.  Our latest release, Sound Wall Charts, are a special resource that will bring to life the PLD teaching sequences […]

By

Parent Education Nights are a key way for educators to share tips on how parents can prepare their children for school and what they will learn. Typically conducted on an annual basis, parent sessions give the school the chance to equip their community with the tools that will reinforce their school-based learning. PLD has developed specific handouts […]

By

Recently, Diana Rigg was featured in her old high school’s alumni magazine. Read a full transcript of the article below. “Past Principal of Santa Maria College, Sr Sheila Sawle used to constantly tell Santa Maria girls, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” Thousands of girls took that inspirational advise with them […]

By

Five From Five, AUSPELD and Learning Difficulties Australia have collaborated to create an evidence-based framework for schools which aims to dramatically reduce the number of children who finish primary school unable to read.  The pledge aims to ‘reduce to near zero the number of children who finish primary school unable to read by providing primary […]

By

PLD’s unique approach scaffolds children to learn more high-frequency words with less effort by teaching the right words at the right time and in the right way. Following an extensive literature review in 2020, PLD’s approach to high-frequency words, also called HFW, was upgraded. If you would like to read more about the body of research […]

By

We anticipate at PLD that all schools will have reduced attendance at the beginning and possibly throughout Term 2. As each week in the school year is precious, the following general suggestions are outlined below to get the most out of your screening and teaching during this uncertain time.  Jump to: Early Years Refer to […]

By

What are Elkonin Boxes: Elkonin boxes or sound boxes are a teaching tool used to represent each sound or phoneme contained in a word (Elkonin, 1963). A series of connected boxes are used to represent each sound (not the letters) in a word. For example, three boxes are placed under the word ‘fish’ to represent […]

By

AUSPELD is a national body comprised of representatives from various state SPELD associations and a recognised Global Partner of the International Dyslexia Association. Each SPELD organisation is extremely busy catering for large numbers of students and families. While the SPELD’s deliver assessments and diagnose dyslexia, they also advocate best practice. The SPELD’s act to encourage […]

By

Oral language instruction should be an essential component of writing programs. Prior to and once students are able to write, effective oral language instruction helps to increase the sophistication of written vocabulary, sentence structure, and the elaboration of ideas. To encourage the explicit instruction of oral language across classrooms, PLD’s oral language program has made […]

By

PLD’s decodable readers align with PLD’s Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP) sequence. The type of words, word count, and amount of HFWs gradually become more complex as more phonic concepts are introduced. It is important to include decodable readers as part of your SSP program. This article explains why. Set 1 of the Home and Targeted […]

By

The beginning of the school year is an incredibly busy time of the year. Despite the workload ahead of all of you, it is imperative that schools start their year well. With this in mind, we’ve developed the following Term 1 essential Back To School Checklist for teachers, school leaders and those new to PLD […]