Professional learning workshop

Examining the Literacy teaching guide: Phonics

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Acknowledgement of country

We acknowledge the traditional Custodians of this Land, where the Aboriginal People have performed age-old ceremonies of storytelling, music, dance and celebration.

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Elders past and present, and we acknowledge those of the future, for they will hold the memories, traditions and hopes of Aboriginal Australians.

We must always remember that under the concrete and asphalt this Land is, was and always will be traditional Aboriginal Land.

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Standards addressed at Professional Competence in this workshop include:1.2.2: Apply research-based, practical and theoretical knowledge of the pedagogies of the content/ discipline(s) taught to meet the learning needs of students.

6.2.1: Reflect critically on teaching and learning practice to enhance student learning outcomes.

6.2.3: Engage in professional development to extend and refine teaching and learning practices.

Professional Teaching Standards

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Anticipated learning

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During this session, you will:• clarify your understanding of phonics and its significance as an

early literacy skill

• debunk myths about teaching phonics and examine principles for teaching phonics

• examine a sequence for the systematic teaching of phonics

• consider how to incorporate the explicit and systematic teaching of phonics within a balanced and integrated literacy program

• reflect on and apply your new learning when assessing, planning and teaching phonics.

Contents of the guide

Introduction

About phonics teaching

Explicit phonics teaching in action

Bibliography

Appendices

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Purpose

Links to the Literacy Continuum

About this guide

Exposing phonics myths

Catering for student diversity when teaching phonics

Section 1 - Introduction

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Work in pairs.

Each person reads an allocated section of the guide and shares key information with a partner:

• Purpose p. 6

• Links to the Literacy Continuum and About this guide pp. 6 & 7

Section 1 – Purpose, Links to the Literacy continuum & About this guide

Task 1

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Work in pairs.

Read each myth from the handout and record your own beliefs about the statement, based on your own practice and experience.

Swap sheets with your partner, who will record their own beliefs and experiences beside yours.

Refer to pages 8 and 9 to compare your joint responses with those in the guide.

Highlight statements/beliefs that match with guide.

Discuss findings with the group.

Section 1 - Exposing phonics myths

Task 2

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Individually read Catering for student diversity when teaching phonics pp. 10-11.

Note the implications for your classroom and your school.

Share these with your partner/group.

Section 1 - Catering for student diversity when teaching phonics

Task 3

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Section 2 - About phonics teaching

Principles of effective phonics teaching

Phonics methods

Sequencing phonics instruction

NSW English K-6 syllabus and the Four Literacy Resources model

Explicit, systematic, balanced and integrated

Modelled, guided and independent teaching

Early years’ teachers talk about phonics

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Principles of effective phonics teaching

Group collage

• Refer to pages 12-14 of the guide: Principles of effective phonics teaching

• As you read each principle, record the key words/phrases on separate post-it notes

• Share and collate responses in the form of a collage and give it an appropriate title.

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TaskTask 4

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Phonics methods

Read the descriptions on page 15

and consider these approaches in the light

of your own experiences with phonics programs

or methods you may have used.

Synthetic phonics

Analytic phonics

Analogy phonics

Task 5

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Sequencing phonics instruction

Pages 16-19 deal with the order of teaching the knowledge and

skills associated with the individual phonemes which make up

our language.

Skim through these pages in order to share what you consider to

be the main points of this section.

Task 6

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Syllabus links and the Four Literacy Resources model

Task

Task 7

How does the Four Literacy Resources model support the teaching of Phonics?

What does our English K-6 syllabus mandate about teaching Phonics?

Think-Pair-Share

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Explicit, systematic, balanced and integrated

Task 7

Task 8

Read through the dot points listed on page 22. Use them to reflect on your own phonics teaching.Place a: to identify current practices? to identify practices that could be improved* to identify practices that need to be included

Share these with your partner/group.

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Modelled, guided and independent teaching

Read through this section on the three teaching strategies on pages 24 and 25.

As you read, use your handout to record the key words and phrases for each strategy.

Task 9

Explicit phonics teaching in action

Navigating this section of the guide

At a glance: The phonics aspect of the Literacy Continuum

A process for explicit and systematic phonics teaching

The process in action: Phonics

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At a glance: The phonics aspect of the Literacy continuum

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A process for explicit and systematic phonics teaching

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…a continuous cycle of assessment,planning and instruction

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The process in action

Choose another learning goal Choose an

appropriate teaching focus

Task 10

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What would these steps look like for your new teaching focus?

Task 10

The process in action

Appendices

Glossary

Websites

Supporting students with significant difficulties

Supporting Aboriginal students

Supporting ESL students

Supporting students from low socio economic backgrounds

The Four Literacy Resources Model

Linking the NSW English K-6 syllabus and the Literacy Continuum

Ideas for practising and applying phonics learning

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Ideas for practising and applying new learning

Refer back to your Process in action planning sheets.

Locate the same cluster of markers as in the last activity.

Select and record one or two ideas that you could use to support students to practise and independently apply new phonics learning.

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Task 10

Post workshop task - Applying new learning

If necessary complete the planning begun in today’s session and implement a Phonics lesson/series of lessons using A process for explicit and systematic phonemic awareness teaching (p. 31)

Be prepared to share your experiences at a team /stage meeting at a later date.

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TaskTask

Task 10

• Locate the principles which underpin the effective teaching of phonics (p.12-14)

• What are three key messages from these principles that you plan to incorporate in the post-workshop task?

• Record and discuss with a partner.

Reflection activity

Reflection is not profitable unless it affects practice.

Edwards-Groves, 200325

REFLECTION

Bibliography

Edwards-Groves, C.J (2003) On task: Focused literacy learning. Primary English Teaching Association (PETA), Sydney, NSW.

Literacy teaching guide: Phonics teaching (2009) Curriculum K-12 Directorate, NSW Department of Education and Training, Sydney, NSW.

An introduction to quality literacy teaching (2009) Curriculum K-12 Directorate, NSW Department of Education and Training, Sydney, NSW.

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