Guides: Education Support and Childcare: Literacy

eBooks

English as an Additional Language in Practice: Supporting the Language and Communication Skills in the Early Years nglish as an Additipnal Language in Practice aims to help educators and students to feel more confident in their knowledge and ability to support children who are new to learning English.
Publication Date: 2019

Scholarly Articles

Approaches to teaching low literacy refugee-background students. Many displaced young people enter secondary schools with limited mother tongue literacy and low proficiency in the language of instruction, but little is known about how teachers respond to this challenge. This paper presents an investigation of the approaches to teaching low-literacy refugee-background students reported by 61 teachers in Victorian secondary schools in receipt of targeted funding.
Australian Journal of Language and Literacy The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy (AJLL), the research journal of the Australian Literacy Educators’ Association, is produced three times a year. It is directed at Australian and overseas audiences whose research interests range from early childhood to adult literacy education, English as an additional language, Indigenous education and learners with diverse language and literacy needs.
Developing a competency-based of language skills and literary abilities in the primary school
The Effects of Special Education Support on Young Australian School Students This article, calls into question the effectiveness of special education services for the majority of Australian students with additional needs.
Professional learning in a scaffolded 'multiliteracies book club': Transforming Primary teacher participation This qualitative case study explored how one group of seven public primary schoolteachers from outer metropolitan WA, collaboratively transformed their literacy learning during a scaffolded 'multiliteracies book club'.
Touching the virtual, touching the real: iPads and enabling literacy for students experiencing disability. This paper discusses the potential of iPads for supporting literacy learning in special education.

Websites

ABC - Education ABC Education brings you high-quality educational content to use at home and in the classroom. All our resources are free and mapped to the Australian Curriculum, covering English, Maths, Science, Geography, History, The Arts and Technologies, including STEM.
Auslan Storybooks Enter the magical world of Auslan Storybooks. Here you will see "books" of stories - in Auslan. Deaf and hearing people of all ages who use Auslan can enjoy a wide range of stories.
Autism: Education, Play & Work. "At raisingchildren.net.au, we provide parents and carers with free, reliable, scientifically validated information. This information helps parents and carers keep their children healthy and developing well." -- taken from website.
Autism Awareness Australia Educational Resources "free, credible, evidenced-based resources" for people on the autism spectrum.
Autism Pathways Online resources "Autism Pathways was formed in 1997 by a group of parents who sought the best and most positive developmental outcomes for their child." -- taken from website.
Autism Spectrum Disorder -- Reading Pockets Information and resources to help children from K-3 who are on the Autism Spectrum.
ClickView - Primary English Resources A collection of English Resources for primary school students, including videos and lesson plans.
Developing Literacy Skills Put together by the State Government of Victoria, this page contains resources that support the development of children's literacy skills.
Developing lliteracy Suitable for children 0-8 years of age, this page provides information about literacy for those n early life.
Down Syndrome Australia -- Education Toolkit "The Down Syndrome Federation is made up of State and Territory associations providing support, information and resources to people with Down syndrome and their families across the country." -- taken from website.
Dyslexia -- Reading Pockets "Learn about the early warning signs for dyslexia, common myths, and how to help children with dyslexia become successful readers." -- taken from website.
Dyslexia SPELD Foundation Tip Sheets Some Tip Sheets for educators put together by the DSF.
Early Literacy Resources for the First Five Years "Early Words aims to help families build the basic skills that children need for reading and writing, right from birth." -- taken from website.
English for the Australian Curriculum A collection of resources that have been put together to align with the Australian Secondary Curriculum.
Stepping Out Literacy A collection of resources that provides teaching materials literacy. Aimed at students Years 6-10.
FUSE -- English Resources for Primary School Children From FUSE - Education and Training, Victoria State Government.
Learning Potential For school students aged 5-18 years of age, this page contains a massive amount of resources to support child learning.
Learning Resources by Year Level A collection of resources to help students learning in a remote environment. For levels K-12.
Literacy Hub "The Literacy Hub is all about helping young students to develop their skills and knowledge to become confident, creative and enthusiastic learners." -- taken from website.
Preschoolers: play & learning Developing literacy and reading activities for children ages 3-5 years.
Primary Connections Linking science and literacy, "Primary Connections offers a suite of units across Foundation to Year 6 that fully align to all strands of the Australian Curriculum: Science." -- taken from website.
Reading and Spelling Compiled by the Dyslexia Foundation, this site contains detailed information about how to improve students' ability to read and spell.
Social Stories "Social stories explain social situations to autistic children and help them learn ways of behaving in these situations." -- taken from website.
Western Australian Curriculum - English The study of English is central to the learning and development of all young Australians. It helps create confident communicators, imaginative thinkers and informed citizens. It is through the study of English that individuals learn to analyse, understand, communicate with and build relationships with others and with the world around them.
Written Expression From Dyslexia - SPELD Foundation - To learn all the skills necessary for written expression, a highly structured, explicit, systematic teaching approach is needed with many opportunities for students to practise and apply learned skills.

Videos

Primary English: Speaking and Listening Activities Three teachers share their great lesson ideas for speaking and listening activities to engage and challenge their pupils.
Early Childhood: Language and Literacy "The exploration of writing in an early childhood classroom is based on encouragement while understanding that we are not forcing that development, but supporting it. This program stresses the importance of understanding the differences between early learners’ ability to reach milestones – especially in reading and writing." -- taken from description.
Early Words This YouTube channel helps families build the skills children need for reading and writing.
Teaching Literacy "This video demonstrates that with a little creativity, learning to read and write can be fun. Whole class and small group activities include shared and guided reading, learning centers, rephrasing, reinforcement, and summarizing." -- taken from description.
Vocab in Action "DESCRIPTION This program takes viewers to visit schools that use smart, fun, and engaging strategies to build students' vocabulary and boost their knowledge of the key words they need to know for the Common Core State Standards" -- taken from description.
Speech and Language Strategies "Teacher Liz Curry and speech therapist Jenny Barrett at Carden Primary School's Speech and Language Centre demonstrate the key strategies used at the centre to enable children with severe speech and language difficulties to successfully return to mainstream schooling. " -- taken from abstract.
Talk to Write 3: Developing a Story Together "A mixed Year 5 class from Pegasus School in East Oxford and partner school, local top prep school The Dragon, listen to a story. Paired-up pupils then draw story maps of key points in the narrative." -- taken from abstract.

Books

Becoming a Teacher of Language and Literacy Becoming a Teacher of Language and Literacy explores what it means to be a literacy educator in the 21st century. It promotes a reflective and inquiry-based approach to literacy teaching.
Publication Date: 2014
Live, Love and Learn Live, Love and Learn, provides an intriguing and highly accessible guide to how young children learn and how you can support their learning. Real-world scenarios, sample dialogue and practical activities all highlight the critical importance of the home environment in enhancing children's capacity to learn.
Publication Date: 2013
Language and Literacy for the Early Years This book discusses language acquisition and development and covers development theory, talking with babies and the factors that affect development. Practical guidance on how to support children's language acquisition through rhymes, songs, story books and storytelling helps students see how theory links to practice.
Publication Date: 2012
Literacy, Language and Early Childhood Education A comprehensive textbook on language and literacy development in early childhood, Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education, third edition, focuses on language and literacy development in children from birth to age eight, with a particular emphasis on four to eight year olds.
Publication Date: 2020
Reading Success in the Early Primary Years Reading Success in the Early Primary Years is a step-by-step guide to structured literacy instruction for teachers working in the early years of primary school. Written by a teacher, for teachers, this book supports teachers to understand the evidence base of reading instruction and how to successfully implement it. Structured in three parts, the book breaks down complex concepts in a concise, accessible manner, guiding teachers on eight key actions to take to get every child on the path to reading proficiency. These include instruction in　phonics, phonological and phonemic awareness, integrated reading and spelling opportunities, and the use of decodable texts. Highly practical, Reading Success in the Early Primary Years offers over 20 explicit instructional routines that teachers can implement in their classrooms and guidance on how to get the most out of instructional time. These practical elements are further supported by a summary of relevant research and theories about how reading develops, including an outline of high impact, explicit teaching that draws on cognitive load theory. Rich with sample lesson plans, tools, and examples from real classrooms, this book allows teachers to get on with the business of teaching reading. This is a must-have resource for all who are responsible for children's reading instruction in the first three years of school.
Publication Date: 2022

Junior Fiction Books

101 Collective Nouns A beautifully illustrated picture book featuring 101 full-colour animal illustrations, each with its very own collective noun - from the 2017 CBCA shortlisted author/illustrator of A-Z of Endangered Animals. A tribe of kiwis? A smack of jellyfish? A wisdom of wombats? Come along an illustrated journey through the animal kingdom.
Alison Lester's abc starring Alice and Aldo "Have fun with letters, discover new words, join in the adventures of Alice and Aldo, and find all kinds of familiar and surprising things in Alison Lester's glorious alphabet book." - back cover.
Slinky Malinky, open the door Slinky Malinki and Stickybeak Syd are partners in crime, around the house when their owners are out one day. But have they met their match when Hairy Maclary arrives?
The speedy sloth It was finally time for the event of the year, Spike couldn't believe it-THE GREAT RACE was here! The other sloths said it couldn't be done, but Spike didn't care, she was ready to run! The official story chosen for ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime 2023, to be celebrated all across Australia and New Zealand!
Cranky the crocodile Crocodiles are scary animals but not so in this picture storybook, told from the viewpoint of a very small croc. Other creatures of Northern Australia are also there in full character. 3 yrs+

Technology in the Classroom

Assistive Technology From Reading Rockets - Find information and resources about assistive technology that can help kids with language-based learning disabilities become stronger readers and writers
Assistive Technology Resources There are a number of resources freely available to assist with selecting appropriate assistive technology and utilising assistive technology effectively.
Bring the World
Dictation and Screen Readers For students who have literacy difficulties, reading for comprehension and producing extended written passages can be very challenging. In the classroom, this often results in reduced content knowledge and understanding, reduced vocabulary development and poor ability to demonstrate their skills and knowledge at a level consistent with their overall understanding. By allowing the use of assistive technology, we can reduce some of the difficulties that students may face when being asked to read and process large amounts of text and when asked to complete written tasks and assessments.
Learning with Interactive Whiteboards Used increasingly in schools around the world, interactive whiteboards give teachers extraordinary new ways to reach students. This program introduces the interactive whiteboard, explains how it works, and demonstrates specific ways it can be used in the classroom. Viewers will learn about typical board interfaces such as pen or touch-screen, what other tools and technologies can be used in conjunction with whiteboards, and what types of practical whiteboard applications teachers might prefer depending on lower-grade or high school settings. The interactive whiteboard’s ability to reduce a teacher’s workload is also discussed.
Non-Educational Tech This video gives educators strategies on how to adapt and use non-educational technology in their classroom.
Using Microsoft Learning Tools Learning tools are designed to support decoding, reading fluency, reading comprehension and writing skills by providing the user with additional user options.
Western Australian Curriculum - Technologies Technologies enrich and impact on the lives of people and societies globally. Society needs enterprising students who can make discerning decisions about the development and use of technologies, develop solutions to complex challenges and contribute to sustainable patterns of living. Technologies can play an important role in transforming, restoring and sustaining societies and natural, managed and constructed environments.