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The Big Six of Literacy: a guide for families

This suite of information is ideal for educating families about the six key components that contribute to successful beginning reading (known as the Big Six). It outlines how each of the six elements (oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension) contribute to reading success and ...

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How to choose a decodable text

This video provides an overview of how to choose a decodable text for your students' needs. It is presented by literacy specialists Elaine Stanley and Rebecca McEwan.

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Getting the buzz on bees and other beneficial insects

We’re going to investigate insects! Explore your outdoor surroundings to see if your habitat is home to bees and other beneficial insects. Use the field guide to help you get the buzz on bees and other local insects. OUTCOMES: For children to look closely for beneficial insects outdoors and identify those which are present; ...

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For school leaders: Understanding the evidence

This webpage provides information and resources for school leaders about the evidence and research on how students learn to read. It discusses cognitive load theory, explicit instruction, a whole-school curriculum approach, the Big Six of literacy and using a systematic synthetic phonics approach to instruction.

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For school leaders: Leading effective practice

This webpage provides information for school leaders on how to drive quality instruction and improve student literacy outcomes. It recommends a range of resources that can be used to support leaders in coaching and mentoring staff in best practice literacy instruction.

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Teaching irregular words

This short video (4 minutes and 3 seconds) shows two teachers discussing why and how to teach irregular words (words that contain letter-sound correspondences that students have not yet learned) as part of a systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) approach.

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How to use decodable texts

This video provides a demonstration of how to use a decodable book. It is presented by literacy specialists Elaine Stanley and Rebecca McEwan.

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How to target decoding practice at point of need

This video provides an explanation of how to prepare students so they are ready to use decodable words and sentences to practise their phonics skills. It is presented by literacy specialists Elaine Stanley and Rebecca McEwan.

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Shapes and objects: Foundation – planning tool

This planning resource for Foundation is for the topic of Shapes and objects. Students learn to identify, name and sort common shapes such as circles, triangles, squares and rectangles.

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Focus on Indonesia: Cross Curriculum Connections in Primary Schools

Ideas and resources that connect the learning of Indonesian language with other learning areas.

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Position and location: Foundation – planning tool

This planning resource for Foundation is for the topic of Position and location. Students are becoming familiar with using common words for describing position and location of an object.

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Explicit instruction for phonics - an instructional model: coaching webinar questions

Literacy specialists Rebecca McEwan and Elaine Stanley present this question and answer session about using explicit instruction principles within your phonics lesson.

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Can an AI recognise what you are drawing

This lesson provides an opportunity to incorporate representation of data using a relevant context being studied in the classroom. Students represent an object using a line drawing, focusing on the features of the object that enable it to be easily recognised. Students experiment with creating representations using an AI ...

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Exploring digital systems with Makey Makey

In this activity, students learn about digital systems and how a circuit works using the Makey Makey toolkit. They sort conductive and nonconductive items into groups using an experimental approach. This lesson idea was created by Rebecca Vivian.

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What is the Year 1 Phonics Check?

This information is ideal for educating families about the Year 1 Phonics Check (a free assessment that assesses students' decoding skills). It provides links to a list of words similar to the ones used in the Phonics Check, and a guide that explains how the words should be pronounced.

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For school leaders: Using data-informed instruction

This webpage provides information and resources for school leaders on how to facilitate the use of data to track student progress and inform instruction.

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Whose Country: exploring First Nations peoples languages map (0-7yrs)

Learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages can help children build their understanding of land, water and people. This activity helps to assist the identification of the language group/s on which the school or home is situated. To understand local perspectives and support these activities, we recommend ...

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Demonstration of a daily review

This video provides a demonstration of a phonics daily review using explicit instruction principles. It is presented by literacy specialists Elaine Stanley and Rebecca McEwan.

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Focus on Japan: Cross Curriculum Connections in Primary Schools

Ideas and resources that connect the learning of Japanese language with other learning areas.

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Teaching tips for phonics related skills

This short video (2 minutes and 54 seconds) shows two teachers discussing strategies that can be used to support students when they are developing phonics-related skills.