Start Implementing PLD Within Term 3

Commencing in Semester 2 has its advantages because staff can become familiar with PLD’s programs, and implementation issues can be resolved all before the start of a new school year. This article outlines how to begin implementing PLD within Term 3.

PLD implementation can be launched at any stage within the school year. For other implementation plans please see:

Step 1: Register for & set up the PLD Tracking Sheets.

• Click here to register for the PLD Tracking Sheets.
• Set up the classes for the current school year. For example, rename the tabs to denote year levels and class names ie Yr 1 Room 9, Yr 3 LA4, Yr 6J, etc, and enter the class list (student names) in the correct columns (this could be done by admin staff). Composite/mixed classes should have an extra column inserted after the student names to show the year level of each student.
• When planning for Term 3, it is necessary to “hide” the previous term’s columns as per the videos in Step 4 (i.e. hide all columns pertaining to Term 1 and 2).

Step 2: Teachers and Education Assistants need to view at least two hours of the relevant online course.

For some schools, this will occur during the Term 3 pupil-free day. For other schools, this will likely occur during staff meetings. The online courses outline PLD’s implementation in primary schools. Below are links to the relevant courses:

• Early Years Online Course: Pre-Literacy in the Early Years.
• Foundation Online Course: Learning to Read, Spell and Write in Foundation.
• Year 1 & 2 Online Course: Synthetic Phonics Within the Junior Primary.
• Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Online Course: Synthetic Phonics and Beyond.

Step 3: The participating classes will need to administer and mark the relevant screens.

Early Years 

All of these screens are located within the Early Years Teaching Sequence Manual.

• Beginning of Term 3: Begin teaching the skills in the Term 3 overview on page 6. There are no Week 1 screens in the Early Years.
• Midterm: Screen students using the following subtests in the Early Years Pre-Literacy Screen on pages 14 & 15.
  • Subtest 3 Onset and Rime Blending.
  • Subtest 4a Group 1 Alphabet Sound Recognition.
  • Subtest 5a Group 1 Alphabet Sound Recall & Formation.
• Screen students who scored below 80% in the subtests above using Subtests 1 and 2.
• Mark the screens. Be sure to note any Negative Observations using the checklists on the Pre-Literacy Screen Record Form.

Foundation 

These screens are located within the Foundation Screening & Tracking Manual.

• Administer the Term 2 Foundation Spelling Screen on page 25 in a small group setting. Students at a pre-CVC level require screening using the Foundation Pre-Spelling Screen on page 23.
• Administer the Foundation Early Reading Screen on page 16. For those unable to read, present the Foundation Pre-Reading Screen on page 13.
• Mark the screens.

Year 1 & 2

These screens are located within the Year 1 & 2 Screening & Tracking Manual.

• Administer the End of Term 2 Spelling Placement Screen on page 11.
• For students unable to spell CVC words (or those who score 0-20% in Stage 1 Target 1) present the Difficulty Acquiring Stage 1 screen on page 28.
• OPTIONAL: Administer the Year 1 & 2 Early Reading Screen on page 16 to all Year 1 students and those Year 2 students still operating within Stages 1 and 2 .
• Mark the screens.

Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 

These screens are located within the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Screening & Tracking Manual.

• Administer the End of Term 2 Spelling Placement Screen on page 13.
• For students unable to spell CVC words (or those who score 0-20% in Stage 1 Target 1) present the Difficulty Acquiring Stage 1 screen on page 28.
• OPTIONAL: For the students still working within PLD’s Stages 1 and 2 for spelling (or with delayed reading), administer the Early Reading Screen for Middle & Upper Primary Students on page 23.
• Mark the screens.

Step 4: Two short videos to be viewed by all teachers prior to, or immediately after, entering results into the tracking sheets.

All Class Teachers to Watch

After viewing the two relevant videos above, all teachers will then:

• Enter the test scores into the PLD Tracking Sheets.
• Arrange their class into three targeted teaching groups.
• Assign a Learning Focus for each group for the term ahead.

Step 5: Once teachers have established a teaching plan for the term ahead by arranging the class into three targeted teaching groups, support & coaching from PLD can be given.

When the student results have been entered into the tracking sheets following the first round of screening, the School Leader (ie Literacy Coordinator, Deputy Principal, Head of Curriculum etc) can request support through this link: https://pld-literacy.org/request-for-support-with-pld-tracking-sheets/.

It is highly recommended that the schoolwide tracking document be shared in a “cloud” format through the School’s IT staff. Click here to how this will simplify the process for staff.