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The most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read, spell and write. Literacy affects academic performance in all subjects and is associated with later social, emotional, economic and physical health. The UK Phonics Screening Check assists teachers in identifying early gaps in students’ reading ability. After decades of multidisciplinary research, the scientific community […]

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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. […]

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Step 1: Registering and Setting up PLD Tracking Sheets Step 2: Teachers and Education Assistants to Complete Relevant Online Course (Minimum of Two Hours) Depending on the school, this training may take place on the Term 4 pupil-free day or during staff meetings. The online courses provide a comprehensive overview of PLD’s implementation in primary […]

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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, […]

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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 […]

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To develop strong literacy skills in the junior primary years, students need accurate and fluent vocabulary, comprehension, and oral language skills. The most effective way to teach these skills to students is through the explicit teaching method called “Systematic Synthetic Phonics”. As of 2023, the Year 1 Phonics Check has been implemented across Australia in NSW, […]

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In the recent WA Education Department report, which highlighted the success of PLD literacy programs, Professor 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 defined as, […]

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During 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 to establish the top literacy programs in Australia. The intention of the investigation was to inform the Department of Education’s understanding […]

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Look-Cover-Say-Write-Check is a great strategy for children learning to spell. In this PLD insight, Diana Rigg discusses how to gain the maximum benefit from this technique and other PLD spelling activities. The video demonstrates how to slow down and focus children on the process of learning to spell. You can download the “Look-Cover-Say-Write-Check” poster here. […]

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Welcome to another PLD literacy and learning insight. Following the popular blog on Teaching Spelling in the Junior Primary, this blog outlines teaching spelling concepts in the Middle and Upper Primary and how to use the PLD spelling lists. The short 5-minute video below is designed to assist the teaching of literacy development to improve spelling. […]

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Welcome to another literacy and learning insight. Today’s blog is about teaching PLD spelling programs in the Junior Primary which are designed to assist with teaching spelling and literacy development principles. The use of PLD spelling resources is discussed in the short video below. How to slow children down to ‘sound-out’ as they spell and write. […]

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Today’s literacy and learning insight is about students in Year 2 and 3 with low literacy skills who are missing some of the basics in early literacy and may have gaps in their Year 1 skill level. My stance when dealing with young children is always “when in doubt always do check things out”. Small […]

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We love getting such great feedback on the PLD literacy development program and its materials. The following testimonial demonstrates how even with poor student entry levels a quality program with quality instruction and delivery can still produce positive outcomes.

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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 […]

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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 […]

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While all children develop at different times, there is an expected sequence of developmental milestones children should be reaching. PLD has provided handy downloadable milestone guides for children aged 6 months through to 12 years.  Designed by speech pathologists, occupational therapists and educators, the comprehensive guides give an overview of the Oral Language, Literacy and […]

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Its great to know that you are having an impact, particularly on our new wave of teachers graduating each year. We were on forwarded this status update from the ECU M17 Class of 2010 – They saved the best for last! student Facebook group by the wonderful Dr Lorraine Hammond – Course Co-ordinator graduate diploma of education (primary), at the ECU school of education.

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Have you seen The King’s Speech? Oral Language is one of the skill sets required for literacy so I was particularly interested in seeing the film. Based on the true story of the Prince of Wales prior to becoming King George VI, the story is centred on the problem of the Prince’s severe stutter. (In the UK they apply the term ‘stammering’). If stuttering is not treated by the onset of puberty it will never be cured but only managed at best.