30.4.23

Will the ‘real’ evidence-based teachers please stand up! A blog about confusing labels clouding common ground...

 Structured Literacy (SL) cf Linguistic Phonics (LP) cf Structured Linguistic Literacy (SLL)


My husband needs a code book, not to understand the English language but to understand the jargon I speak when I start talking about teaching practices.


SL, LP, SLL [His eyes glaze over, “Too many Ls, you’re confusing me…”]


AP (Analytic Phonics), SSP (Systematic Synthetic Phonics)…[Nodding his head but losing the plot: “They’re still phonics though, aren’t they?”]


BL (Balanced Literacy), WL (Whole Language)…[“Uh, huh..” Does the dishes and slips out of the room, leaving me pondering my dilemma alone…]


I am caught up in knots at present trying to decide whether I care about such labels or not.

Some say Linguistic Phonics is ‘not a research term’ in reading science.  (Although many LP programmes trace their routes back to researcher Diane McGuinness, who used the phrase.) Others say ‘reading science’ is itself not a single field and is a misleading term.


I am not a researcher nor the seller of a programme nor a consultant teaching a certain approach: I am a simple teacher and parent trying to make sense of all the labels, so here is my attempt at explaining the current increase in such labels and acronyms.


It comes down to marketing and communicating convoluted ideas into simple words so that people can tell one thing apart from another. But it also risks 'factionalising' best practice.


For a long time now, I have advocated for Structured Literacy as the teaching practices that should be adopted in NZ in preference to Balanced Literacy or Whole Language instruction.


I learnt that Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) was essential to teaching SL, so I undertook training in Sounds-Write as it had good reviews from respected speech language therapists who used it in remedial reading clinics, it combined access to theory and hardcopy resources, and it was reasonably affordable for 6 weeks of online training.


Then, to my surprise, some people who had undertaken alternative SSP training (Multisensory Structured Literacy or MSL) said that those who were using Linguistic Phonics (the theoretical underpinning of Sounds-Write) could not be said to be teaching ‘proper’ Structured Literacy because it did not teach rules or syllabification in the same way as did traditional Orton-Gillingham or MSL-based approaches.


In fact, SL had been coined as a marketing term by a wide range of different Orton-Gillingham providers, through the International Dyslexia Association, to give them an easier phrase to promote  or ‘sell’ their multisensory SSP programmes to parents, educators and education departments. (More recently it has come to also stand as a kind of shorthand for the teaching practices that transfer Science of Reading research into literacy lessons.)


Since the trademarking of the SL brand, however, a meta-analysis of O-G approaches has found that its core, successful component is SSP and that the multisensory part is not proven or disproven to be effective.


Therefore, any SSP - including O-G, MSL and Linguistic Phonics - is better than Balanced Literacy using only a smattering of analytic phonics; in other words, following a phonics scope and sequence (systematic), teaching from simple to complex, and integrating reading and writing skills for both segmenting and blending (synthesising), is at the heart of Structured Literacy advocacy movement. Furthermore, reading and writing instruction should go from sounds, to words, to sentences, to passages, to whole texts, with the ultimate aim of students being fully literate in both reading and writing, using comprehension and communication of ideas across the full curriculum. (And, yes, analytic phonics is helpful during word study in the later stages of a scope and sequence.)


Recently, I was invited to go on a list of approved SL tutors in NZ; we had to provide evidence of our training in being able to teach SSP but if we had also been trained using an MSL approach, we would get a special endorsement against our listing. Why? So parents could be assured that the tutor was following evidence-based best practice…Fair enough.


If this is the case, however, why are parents of struggling readers not then also being told that the multisensory components of O-G or MSL programmes are not essential but having a tutor following a SSP approach is? Or that following a speech to print Linguistic Phonics approach may have advantages for younger children over rule-laden programmes?


Is it this turf war for name recognition that is driving the rebranding of Linguist Phonics programmes as Structured Linguistic Literacy?  If what I trained in can’t be called ‘real’ Structured Literacy, then should I join this other group of advocates and promote myself as a SLL practitioner? 


I’d personally rather not make the differentiation because I feel it waters down the advocacy for SL which is far preferable to Balanced Literacy, early analytic phonics and the debunked 3-cueing methods, and the latter is far more damaging to student progress than the difference between SL or SLL.


Why get in knots over this, if at all? 


I think this debate illustrates the misunderstanding about the ongoing nature of the body of work referenced as the Science of Reading. I’m not going to say ‘nothing is set in stone’ because obviously some things are proven (the Earth is round and learning SSP for English is useful.) However, teaching is both an art and a science; new research is being done and discussed on a regular basis and part of an educator’s job is to determine ‘So what? How can this help me understand the barriers to learning for my current students? Which methods will result in improved results for my students?’


Anyone advocating for improvements to our reading instruction in schools needs to be open to discussing new research or different evidence-based methods but we must not lose focus on agreeing to agree on what is currently known and shared best practice.


If we just disagree, in a constant game of ‘one upmanship’, we will be doing a disservice to the students in our care.


References:

A Prototype for Teaching the English Alphabet Code by Professor Diane McGuinness p17 https://rrf.org.uk/pdf/nl/49.pdf


https://theliteracyblog.com/2016/07/31/graphemes-and-phonemes-or-how-not-to-teach-reading-and-spelling/


https://www.phonicbooks.co.uk/2023/01/17/structured-linguistic-literacy/


https://on.dystinct.org/how-and-why-a-structured-linguistic-literacy-approach-closes-the-gap-quickly-nora-chahbazi/


Nora Chahbazi presents How and Why a Structured Linguistic Literacy Approach Closes the Gap

https://youtu.be/UDZoFAdmERA


Marnie Ginsberg presents Another Way: How Can One Teach Decoding without Rules and Syllable Types?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVWjlDWF_S4


https://www.facebook.com/ReadAustralia/posts/synthetic-phonics-or-linguistic-phonicsi-recently-posted-about-criticism-of-l3-f/1498780263517167/


https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-literacy/which-best-analytic-or-synthetic-phonics


Structured Literacy: A New Term to Unify Us and Sell What We Do, By Hal Malchow, President IDA, https://dyslexiaida.org/structured-literacy/


What Does Science Say About Orton-Gillingham Interventions? An Explanation and Commentary on the Stevens et al. (2021) Meta-Analysis by Emily Solari, Yaacov Petscher, and Colby Hall https://www.thereadingleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Article-for-May-2021-TRLJ.pdf


https://www.deb.co.nz/dyslexia/need-to-know/what-to-ask-a-tutor/


Plus private Facebook Group chat, not able to be copied due to group rules, with discussions for and against the differentiation between SL, SLL and other evidence-based methodologies for teaching phonics.
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23.9.22

Helpful resources for preschoolers

I know most parents/educators land on this site because they have struggling older readers. However, I’m sharing this because there may be younger readers in a family who a parent wants to help get ‘prepped’ for school (e.g maybe a 4-5 year old). Also, if you have extended family with younger children in the pipeline, it is worth spreading the word about supporting early literacy skills as much as possible, as dyslexia likes to hang-out in family groups (due to genetic links.)...*See below.



READY TO READ?
A few days ago, a parent member in one of the education groups I belong to requested some pre-reading activities for younger children, for instance, early alphabet skills. (Also, a few weeks ago, there was a bit of a debate in the group about whether Structured Literacy was developmentally appropriate for preschool settings.)
In NZ preschools, it is rare to find under-5s taught any alphabet skills in a formal way, as the emphasis is on child-directed learning through free play in our national ECE curriculum. Rightly so, the emphasis is on oral language, both everyday conversations and ‘storytelling language’ (oral traditions or book ‘read alouds’), as well as rhymes, songs and word-play.
However, in NZ homes, it is common for children to be given alphabet books from birth, A-Z colouring books and alphabet jigsaws etc, and many schools have the expectation that a new entrant student can at least write their own name or names.

EARLY READING & WRITING IS OK
So, what to do, if your preschooler is not getting much exposure to alphabet knowledge in their preschool sessions (presuming they are not already home-schooled)?
Literacy expert Prof Timothy Shanahan, in his literacy blog, recently said to start exposing a young child to the ‘alphabetic principle’ (letters are code for sounds) as early as you can, provided the child is showing an interest. Even then, he said, only do in small, age-appropriate doses and keep it fun and engaging. https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/when-should-reading-instruction-begin#sthash.9SvsyKBX.dpbs

SL-ALIGNED, FREE PRESCHOOL RESOURCES
As part of Covid-19, some great resources were made freely available through Phonics International by Debbie Hepplewhite. (I’m not recommending the rest of her site here, unless you are a teacher, as there is a lot to navigate.) But these two resources are worth highlighting.
Two excellent pre-reading resources in the link are:
Phonics and Talk Time Books For Preschoolers 1 and 2 &
Teeny Reading Seeds (especially the colouring and handwriting alphabet activity sheets and the alphabet multi-skills sheets. The decoding sheets can be left until later, unless your learner is especially keen…)
Note, these activity sheets are for a child to have fun working on with the guidance of an understanding adult. They can be printed out and turned into little activity books. If the preschooler is interested, just do a little bit at a time. 
The activities combine lots of oral language to be supplied by the helping adult, so it is working in vocabulary and early phonological awareness activities at the same time, e.g. rhymes and word play.
The resources can be found here:
https://phonicsinternational.com/cv-lockdown-resources/
Or https://phonicsinternationalpreschool.com/
(Or if those links break, just search on the home page for ‘Talk Time’ or ‘Teeny Reading Seeds’.)

HARDCOPY vs APPS
From my observations, lots of younger parents now seem to use Ipads and smartphone apps as their first option for giving their young kids a learning boost. While digital games have their place, in small doses, as a teacher (and former Playcentre educator) my preference is still for an adult to be working alongside a preschool child, talking to them and assisting them to expand their skills, including their book skills or concepts about print (top to bottom of the page, ‘reading/writing’ left to right and turning real pages!) I also can’t emphasise enough how important it is to model correct pencil grip.

HANDWRITING TIPS
For very young kids, interested in colouring in activities or copying shapes or letters, consider using ‘crayon rocks’ or thick crayon sticks e.g honeysticks, to encourage the later correct pincer grip needed for pencil use. For even earlier development, before the colouring-in or copying letters phase, start with picking up small objects with fingers (such as bead threading), using playdough for strengthening hand muscles, and painting or using chalk while standing at an easel (to encourage correct strokes from the top to the bottom of a page).
For young students interested in ‘writing’ letters, e.g. their own or family member’s names, here is another useful site. It has free handwriting animations and printable worksheets, beginning with simple patterns before moving onto symbols for letters. Don’t rush this - only do a little at a time, and always supervise. If not done correctly, with correct pencil grip, it is harder to correct letter formation later on.
https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/parents.html

INTERVENTION 
* For any intervention work, because of concerns about early speech development or a strong family history of dyslexia, please FIRST see the free PA and alphabet resources by Prof Gail Gillon at Canterbury University: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/education/research/phonological-awareness-resources/

READ ALOUDS
Of course, it is also essential to keep reading storybooks and nonfiction books to our preschool (and school) children, and talking about their contents, and doing so regularly.
The Better Start Literacy Approach team that Prof Gillon works with have made a free, online parent-friendly course for those interested in knowing how to make the most out of a shared story time, by expanding on word play and building a child’s wider vocabulary.
https://www.edx.org/course/a-better-start-to-reading

YOUTUBE CHANNELS FOR BEGINNER READERS
Other options are to watch these channels with your young child or children:
  • The ‘Reading Buddies’ show for young kids (by The Reading League) on Youtube 
https://www.youtube.com/c/ReadingBuddiesTRL/about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-eg7agwXOY Season 1, Ep 1.

FINE MOTOR, LANGUAGE AND SCHOOL READINESS CHECKLISTS AND CHARTS:
These checklists and charts (below) help both parents and educators get an idea of ‘typical’ development stages by age for kids. Although individuals obviously vary, these checklists can help us understand where a child sits on a continuum of learning, from easy to more complex tasks:
  • 0-3 year old: Fine motor/visual motor developmental milestones
  • 0-8 year old: Language milestones and possible implications for delays

DON'T COMPARE US WITH FINLAND!
Another good article (alongside Shanahan's one) about the benefits of early instruction, and putting the often touted ‘Finnish later school start is OK’ in context, can be found here: 
https://fivefromfive.com.au/blog/when-should-reading-instruction-begin/

In short, early literacy development is important for all children and early intervention is essential for any child struggling with these skills.

I know there are lots of other resources available, but the ones I have selected are here because they are aligned with SL and they are FREE! I hope someone finds these resources helpful. :) 

Nga mihi,
Miss Anon :)












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20.9.22

Bronze: doing 'half-hearted' Structured Literacy isn't SL

Training in shifting mindsets results in gold standard results.

Alas, a tale of a tarnished dream...

The informative, evidence-based Science of Reading noticeboard that I created in the teachers' workroom at my school late last year has been removed to make way for...nothing!

This is possibly a sign that all is not as golden as it might seem, when deemed a 'whole school Structured Literacy school'.

You see, after my presentation to staff and backroom/workroom chat last year, I helped persuade the school leaders to adopt a SL approach in 2022. I also recommended a gold standard PLD provider, with lots of supporting resources, so that fellow teachers could get up to speed ASAP. This came to pass.

Alas, it appears that the SL programme resources are warmly welcomed - some teachers are reporting 'loving' the streamlined package.

But, and this is the catch, some of them still say the are stumped, yes stumped, when THEY HAVE STUDENTS WHO CAN'T KEEP UP!

So the display about tiny steps, being a dyslexia-friendly school and digging deeper to get to the why of a behaviour was all for nought.

Being diagnostic and using a Response to Intervention model, across all three tiers, has been largely ignored. The school has kept its same, limited teacher-aide assisted programmes and has ruled out any intensive intervention due to cost. When questioned about this, the Senior Leadership Team said: "SL in the classroom will take care of that" or some such platitude.*

As someone wiser than me recently said (Dr Nathan Swain in his Cognatorium blog), making progress with the Science of Reading using a 'programme' is only about 20% attributable to the resources itself and the remaining 80% difference is made by the knowledgeable teacher. So, conversely, if the teacher (or school leader) is not knowledgeable, the progress will be slight, not matter how snazzy or streamlined are the programme resources.

Why then, do I suspect, was the display removed? Partly it just got in the way of a revamp of the teachers' workroom, which had some new storage shelves added. However, that it was discarded in a pile of rubbish speaks volumes about how the Science of Reading and Learning is viewed at my school. The WHY is not seen as ESSENTIAL and at the forefront of what we are doing. A SL programme is, sadly, seen as a nice 'add-on', a tool for getting something done. It is not being seen as a whole school mind shift, as a whole school APPROACH.

This mindset disconnect is important to highlight as we enter Term 4 and the Ministry of Education gathers its expert panel of educators to design a Common Practice Model for literacy education in Aotearoa New Zealand.

As educators, we must continue to hold fast to the prioritisation of teacher professional development around the Science of Reading and Learning, and not just around Structured Literacy programmes. We need to ensure that future curriculum content and training decisions are based on evidence and not ideology. When new, tested and more effective methods are advanced in the future, likewise we will need to adapt, but never just on a whim.

Teachers need good training, good support and good access to resources, and students across the country need equitable access to an education, no matter which year level they are in.

I shall use eyesight as an analogy. I have a vision, a direction for where I see my students heading with their learning. That comes from my head (and my heart). If I pick up resources from a programme, that is like lifting up a pair of glasses to help me focus on the immediate task at hand. But the long term view and direction for the learning journey comes from me, the teacher. 

(And, if I am sensible, I refer to a map and guidance from other teachers who have previously taken this journey. I prepare myself for possible hazards or detours, but I always plan ahead to ensure we will not get lost!)

To borrow an old phrase from NZ researcher John Hattie, famous for popularising measuring 'what works', we need 'clarity in the classroom'. (Maybe we also need to have a moral compass!)

I literally lie in bed at night worrying about what direction, what clarity the MoE and its expert panel is going to give NZ teachers in the proposed Common Practice Model. 

The 'personal is political' and I can't bear the thought of another generation of my family suffering from a substandard education as a result of unmet educational learning differences. Our story is shared by hundreds and thousands of other families across NZ. 

Dyslexia alone is the most common learning disability, but so far in NZ is one of the most poorly addressed inequities in our education system. This costs us all hundreds and thousands of dollars in lost opportunities, lost productivity and immeasurable loss of school enjoyment.

Thankyou if you have read my rant so far. I really had to get this off my chest. 

I also hope it serves as a warning to other teachers and parents: don't assume that your school is teaching Structured Literacy if it is following a 'programme', or says it is 'doing' SL. 

To be true to the principles of SL, the approach has to be embedded in the school vision and strategic planning. 

Teachers need to know the 'why' and not just the 'how'.

Ask them: Is our whole school approach diagnostic, explicit, systematic and cumulative? Is it equitable for ALL learners?

Good luck going for gold. 

I'm currently unhappy that bronze looks on the cards for my lot, unless we get some serious mind shift training underway.

(*Footnote: The Senior Leadership Team are hardworking educators, but in this instance, 'they do not know what they do not know'.)

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2.7.22

Opening a new class in Term 3? Keen to organise and decorate the room? Hold your horses!

Congratulations on your new appointment! Make your classroom organised, tidy and clean, but after that my advice is to then $$save your dollars$$ from being spent on ‘stuff’ for decoration and instead invest in your teaching knowledge. Your kids (and their families) will thank you for it. And you’ll get a buzz from their progress.

Decorating a room - possibly  ‘window-dressing’ - is nice, but it is not essential. I write this from the benefit of hindsight, being 17 years down the track from a beginner teacher, with most of my time spent in junior classrooms.


NZ public schools seem to be run on a ‘shoestring budget’ and a roll growth position seems to exemplify the worst-case scenario - empty rooms or a room with all the unwanted or tatty furniture  and a lack of manipulatives or play equipment.


Lessons learned the hard - expensive - way

With my first classroom, and to a degree each subsequent one afterwards, I ‘spent up large’ on setting up my room.


I cleaned every reachable surface and even washed and repaired the curtains! I bought a slim couch and floor cushions for the reading corner, a sheepskin rug for my teacher’s chair, and a lockable filing cabinet for my own camera and stereo (being extra cautious after having some of my possessions stolen during my final practicum!)


Yes, I supplied my own electronic resources, apart from a laptop. Yes, the couch was not essential, but the colourful covering and matching cushions said to my Y5/6 class “I care about you and want this space to be comfortable for you as well as for me.”


When I switched to new entrants, my wishlist and expenses grew: wooden blocks, puzzles, Duplo, stencils, stamps, bug catchers, magnifying glasses, boxed games, puppets, alphabet friezes, crayon pots, storage baskets and shelves etc, etc, etc…….


Occasionally, the junior team redistributed their ‘spare’ resources and sometimes I got to buy new boxed games paid for by the school. But overall, if I hadn’t paid for some of these things, the students would have missed out.


So I drew a line at making my classroom  ‘extra pretty’ or themed. Luckily, this was before the Pinterest era and I didn’t suffer from room envy. I never bought a roll of wall decals but I did buy a pot plant, and only one of them, not a ‘2022 collection’.


So, you get a bit of an idea about my values - if it was usable by the students or me, and supplemented my lessons, I did it; if it was just to look nice, I tried to avoid it. Nevertheless, I spent LOTS of my own money.


Low-cost tips for new teachers setting up new rooms

Now to the present, with hindsight, what do I recommend to new teachers:

  • Double-check your school budget for allowances for furniture e.g. correct height desks, office chair (in working order!), filing cabinet and a storage cupboard or shelf. You shouldn’t have to pay for these yourself, as I did. Also, these are an extra burden if you have to move schools, as you are likely to be doubly burdened with only a ‘fixed term contract’.

  • Double-check your allowance for art supplies and teacher’s consumables (pens, sticky notes, staples, clips, tape, velcro, and magnetic tape etc)

  • Ask your school if they have a team ‘Twinkl’ account, or similar. These can be shared by a group of teachers and saves on having a personal account.

  • Go environmentally-friendly by reducing new plastic purchases and make your tabletop pencil pots from tin cans (get your students to help decorate them) or reuse ice cream containers and the like. Storage boxes can also be made from recycled cardboard boxes, especially heavy-duty fruit boxes or wine boxes. Readymade cardboard magazine boxes are planet-friendly options, too.

  • Reduce laminating by investing in reusable heavy-duty, see-through plastic L pockets, for tucking in different worksheets for students to write over with whiteboard pens. These also wipe clean more easily than most whiteboards.

  • (If you dislike whiteboard pens, investigate chinograph or potter’s pencils.)

  • Rather than laminating all your kids’ name cards, word cards, or labels for wall displays, visit your local commercial printers and ask for any cardstock offcuts. They will often give these away for free.


Reflective teaching trumps ‘niceties’: Invest in teaching knowledge and practice

After doing the basic organising and tidying in your room, I highly recommend you invest your time and your money in upskilling yourself in how to teach reading and writing because, unless you have been fortunate to go to a Science of Reading aligned undergraduate university, it is likely you have lots of questions you need answering about:


 “How the heck do I actually teach kids to read and write?”


Fortunately, there is a warm and welcoming worldwide community of teachers who are helping other teachers to plug this knowledge gap, about what we think we know and what we need to know. 


Here’s some friendly signposts to help you on your teaching journey, as picked by me, Miss Anon :)


Science of Reading resources (a.k.a Structured Literacy)


Highly recommended VERY SHORT video:

  • **UFLI: ‘What is the Science of Reading?’** This brief video provides an overview of the science of reading and the different bodies of research that contribute to it. About 6m long

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnkJ6VvDr2M


Best easy-to-read Australasian-based summary:


Best video series for new entrant teachers:

  • Nat’s Foundation Year 2022 (by Natalie Campbell of Mossman Park Primary in Perth; Nat is a leading SoR facilitator in Australia and one of the admins of the Reading Science in Schools facebook page.) Very inspirational!

  • Here is a link to her ‘unlisted’ Youtube vlog: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBO8wRQx3gSZ1kyaqcbwY9H5G4gFjKztu


Favourite teaching resource sites, many FREE:










Local community learning groups a.k.a help groups!  

Have a question, just ask and it will be answered!






Top Australian sites/Australasian membership base:




Other NZ specific sites:



More collated lists:


Highly recommended videos:

  • **UFLI: ‘What is the Science of Reading?’ ** (As mentioned above.) This brief video provides an overview of the science of reading and the different bodies of research that contribute to it. About 6m long

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnkJ6VvDr2M



  • Leap into Literacy, lockdown literacy learning tips for families (and teachers) posted by Ideal/Learning Matters consultants in 2021:


Structured Literacy advocacy, working for systemic change in NZ classrooms:


…………………….


Hope you find this helpful or, at least some of it, a tiny step on your journey to becoming a more evidence-based, reflective teacher. :)


Welcome to the profession! 

Nga Mihi,

Miss Anon
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Reading Recovery (RR) Refresh and AND + AND word games: A clean slate and evidence-based practices are still preferable

"New research shows controversial Reading Recovery program eventually had a negative impact on children Initial gains from first-grade ...