Category: Literacy
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Oxford Literacy Assess – What is the impact?
Researchers are increasingly focusing on the role of assessment in teaching practice, not only to measure learner progress, but also to enable it, allowing teachers to accurately identify the needs of their students and tailor their plans more efficiently. The importance of selecting the right assessment program is therefore paramount and has led to a…
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Q&A: Indigenous literacy trainer Emily Davies
Working in Indigenous literacy can be ‘pure magic’ according to NT Government Literacy and Numeracy Projects Training Officer Emily Davies. To celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day, we spoke to Emily about her role visiting schools in the Katherine region, the challenges she faces and the joy of helping Indigenous students to read. Where do you work?…
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Primary students show age is no barrier to creativity
There was a stubborn dog and a deadly beast, a new student in the class and a sleepy language-lover – the entries in the 2016 Wordlist Writing Competition for primary school students showed some wonderful creativity and originality. In the lead up to National Literacy and Numeracy Week between September 4 and 10, we’re looking…
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Catering for mixed abilities in the English classroom
The term ‘mixed ability class’ is one that teachers often react to with an inward groan, but it’s a reality in most Australian classrooms. When I consider my Year 8 English class, there is a gap of around three years between the highest and lowest performing students, and I’m sure that this isn’t too unusual…
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Help us find the Australian Children’s Word of the Year!
Do your students talk Trump or Turnbull, fidget spinners or footy cards? Oxford University Press want to learn more about the way children communicate, and to help us do this we are launching the Children’s Word of the Year free writing competition. Primary school-aged children are invited to nominate their ‘Word of the Year’ and…
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Phonics is not a dirty word
By Kate Gurjian, Director, Time to Shine Australia Phonics is a word that is often misused, misunderstood and abused. Despite what some might argue, it is a method of learning that has much to offer Australian children. I am often asked why it is so important to teach children phonics, as opposed to learning words…
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Government seeks input into nationwide phonics assessment and numeracy check
The Federal Government has called for feedback to inform the development of a new nationwide phonics assessment and numeracy check. A questionnaire on the Department for Education and Training website is the next step in the staged implementation of the checks, announced by Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham in late January. The assessments…
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Rendunculous Dahl-inspired words from the Oxford Roald Dahl Competition
We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Oxford Roald Dahl Competition. The response was overwhelming – we received over 3000 entries – and all entries were very entertaining. We took great pleasure in reading through the hopscotchy, phizz-whizzing and rendunculous Dahl-inspired words – there are no limits to a child’s imagination! One school got in…