Literacy

New data show which books were borrowed most frequently by children and young adults in libraries throughout 2020. Here, we share which books made the top 10 list and how the pandemic has changed library borrowing habits.

In the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019, Year 4 principals were asked to report how many students in their school could do foundational literacy and numeracy skills such as ‘write their names’ and ‘recognise written numbers from 1 to 10’ when they began their first year of primary school. Find out how Australian data compare to the international average in this infographic.

The process of comparative judgement for schools in the first ever Australian project resulted in student data that provided a writing age and an assigned NAPLAN band. The question for the Year 3/4 Team at Templestowe Heights Primary School was what to do with the information.

The fourth topic in a series revisiting the ‘big five’ challenges in Australian education asks what progress has been made towards ensuring all children get off to the best start in life. Ahead of their webinar this week, expert panellists Dr Dan Cloney, Myra Geddes and Mary-Ruth Mendel give Teacher readers an overview of what they’ll be discussing.

Learning to read is a complex task for children, and there are many evidence-based approaches to teaching children to read. So, how do children learn to read? How can teachers be most successful in reading instruction? We share five resources which seek to answer these questions.

A research project has analysed the text lists for the Senior Victorian English curriculum between 2010 and 2019. In this video, we look at the diversity in text type, story setting, exploration of themes, and other characteristics of these texts.

In today’s article, Daisy Christodoulou and Jeanette Breen share details of the Australian Writing Assessment Project, which brings together 25 schools to trial a technique called Comparative Judgement, and some of the early feedback and findings.

A study involving 25 teachers who are also speech-language therapists has provided insight into the barriers and facilitators for effective collaboration between the two professions. Here, we speak to the report’s authors on the findings and implications for educators.

‘One of the biggest challenges facing educators is to find better ways to meet the learning needs of the many students who fall behind in our schools.’ In her latest Teacher column, Dr Sue Thomson explores the issue in an Australian context, and the progress made in recent years.

In a recent Teacher article, Learning Specialist Jeanette Breen shared how Templestowe Heights Primary School (THPS) in Victoria has improved its writing moderation process. Here she describes a new step that aims to bridge the gaps that still exist for staff, through an assessment process known as comparative judgement.