TEACHING LITERACY
Dr. Seuss says, "The more that you read, the more you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."
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As educators, we have a responsibility to our students to provide them with the foundational literacy skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. Therefore, we must be equipped with the knowledge and the resources to help our students be successful.
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Feel free to explore the resources listed below!
Clicking the image will direct you to the affiliated link!
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CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
Program of Studies​
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Alberta Education has developed the English Language Arts Program of Studies. This document contains all of the learning outcomes for students in Kindergarten-Grade 9. Under the Education Act, all educators must teach from the Program of Studies.
Literacy Fact Sheet
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Alberta Education created this Literacy Fact Sheet. This document provides a definition of literacy and explains the importance of literacy. It also outlines many real-world applications for literacy and how our students develop their literacy skills while they are in school.
Writing Resource Book
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The Writing Resource Book was developed by the Government of Australia's Department of Education. This resource provides teachers with strategies for using texts, developing contextual understandings, and teaching conventions and word identification in relation to writing.
Literacy Progressions
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This document has been created by Alberta Education. It outlines the aspects of literacy that apply across subjects in each division level. This document can help educators plan effective learning experiences that support literacy development.
Alberta Education Competencies
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Alberta Education has created a list of competency descriptions, indicators, and examples. These competencies are the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that the students should develop through their learning across all of the different subject areas.
Reading Resource Book
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The Reading Resource Book was also developed by the Government of Australia's Department of Education. This resource provides teachers with strategies for using texts, developing contextual understandings, and teaching conventions and word identification in relation to reading.
Illustrative Examples
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This document was developed by the Alberta Learning Curriculum Standards Branch. It contains examples of how educators could teach each of the English Language Arts learning outcomes to students in Kindergarten-Grade 9.
ARPDC Comprehensive Literacy Guides (Cross-Curricular Literacy)
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The Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia has developed a guide for supporting cross-curricular literacy in Division I and Division II classrooms. This document contains strategies, templates, and resources to support literacy development in all of the subject areas.
National Institute for Reading
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This resource was created by the National Institute for Reading. This document provides educators with strategies for teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency vocabulary, and text comprehension in Kindergarten and Division I classrooms.
Novel List
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The Alberta Education Learning and Teaching Resource branch developed this list of novels that are authorized for use in Division II, Division III, and Division IV classrooms. Suggested themes, literary features, sensitive issues, and a brief summary are provided for each book.
ARPDC Comprehensive Literacy Guides (Writing)
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The Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia has also developed a guide for supporting writing in Kindergarten, Division I, and Division II classrooms. This document contains practical ideas for encouraging writing in the classroom and a variety of different resources that are associated with writing.
Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs
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Bloom's Taxonomy was originally created by Benjamin Bloom. It can be described as a classification system that is used to distinguish different levels of cognition. Different verbs are used in each level of this hierarchical model. In education, this system is used to encourage deeper levels of thinking.
FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN READING AND WRITING
Fountas & Pinnell
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Fountas & Pinnell literacy was created by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. This balanced literacy program combines a guided teaching approach with intensive small group instruction. Leveled reading books are used to turn struggling readers into successful readers.
Literacy Place
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Literacy Place is a balanced literacy program that is intended to promote curiosity, inquiry, critical thinking, and meaningful discussions. Participants in this program focus on studying words while developing their reading, writing, and oral language skills.
The Daily Five
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The Daily Five is a framework used in the classroom to encourage the development of reading and writing skills. Students participate in five different tasks. These tasks are reading to self, reading to someone else, listening to reading, working on writing, and word work.
Reading Rockets
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Reading Rockets is a digital resource that provides educators with information and resources on issues and topics surrounding reading. This website primarily focuses on how children learn to read, why some children struggle with reading, and how educators can help children become better readers.
Joyful Literacy
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Joyful Literacy was created by Dr. Janet Mort. It is a program full of fun and engaging activities that encourage the development of literacy skills. This program also provides a framework for educators to track each of their student's progress for specific literacy skills.
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Reading Pyramid
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The Reading Pyramid plays an essential role in the balanced literacy diet. It is organized into print-related skills and language-related skills. The pyramid shows how different reading components work together to support reading comprehension skills.
Secret Stories
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Secret Stories was created and developed by Katie Garner. This technique focuses on providing students with explanations for sounds. Short stories are associated with different sounds to explain why some letters are paired together. They also explain why some letters make specific sounds.
Writing Pyramid
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The Writing Pyramid also plays a crucial role in the balanced literacy diet. Reading and writing skills are interrelated, so many of the skills found on the reading pyramid can also be found on the writing pyramid. This pyramid provides a fantastic visual of all the skills that are needed to become a successful writer.
44 Phonemes of English
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These tables show all forty-four phonemes that are associated with the English language. It provides the common spelling for each sound and the spelling alternatives. It also identifies some of the most difficult graphemes too.
Dolch Sight Words
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This is a complete list of the Dolch Sight Words listed in alphabetical order. The Dolch Sight Word list is a compilation of frequently used English words. Memorizing these words by sight allows students to read with more fluency and use less cognitive resources for decoding.
LEARNERS AND THE LITERACY ENVIRONMENT
Reader's Theatre
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The Reading Rockets has created this article to outline the benefits that Reader's Theatre has on the students in the classroom. This article also outlines what reader's theatre looks like in the classroom and how to select the best scripts for the readers.
BookSnaps
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This blog post from Spark Creativity discusses how students can integrate social media with English Language Arts. BookSnaps allow students to discuss portions of texts by providing a picture, a description, and some stickers to enhance their Snapchat. This activity also teaches the students more about digital citizenship too.
Graphic Novels
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The Cult of Pedagogy has created this article to discuss how creating graphic novels can benefit students. Creating graphic novels invites students to participate in deeply personal storytelling experiences. They are able to picture themselves in the story and address complex topics in their writing and illustrations.
Creating a Podcast
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The National Public Radio (NPR) created this article to provide students with tips and strategies they can use when they are making a podcast. This article breaks podcast production into its components and provides the reader with some suggestions for how they can be most successful in this endeavor.
Book Club
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This article was written by Kathryn Mitchell Pierce and Carol Gilles. It talks about some of the ways that book clubs can enhance our students' lives. It also outlines how educators can scaffold book club discussions to encourage the students to think more critically about the texts they are reading.
Creative Vocabulary
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The Cult of Pedagogy developed this article to explain the power of creating e-books in the classroom. It also discusses the different types of e-books that the students can make and provides helpful instructions on how to construct an e-book. Several templates for e-books are also provided too.
Creative Vocabulary
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Spark Creativity has created this blog post to showcase ten different activities that students can do to work on their vocabulary. These ideas are both practical and simple to use in the classroom. Some ideas include video journals, postcards, word wall posters, vocabulary one-pagers, and vocabulary review games.
Stages of Literacy Development
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The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education developed this page to showcase the four stages of literacy development. The four stages of literacy development are foundations for literacy, beginning literacy, consolidation/fluency, and literacy for growth.
DIVERSITY AND EQUITY
Diversity Resources
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This digital resource is provided by the Alberta Teachers' Association. This list of resources helps educators navigate diversity, equity, and human rights. These resources address topics such as inclusion, Indigenous education, sexual orientation and identity, working with immigrant students and their families, and working with faith communities.
Creating an Inclusive Classroom
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The Cult of Pedagogy created this article to provide educators with nine different ways to make the classroom more inclusive and welcoming for students with diverse backgrounds. These practical ideas help educators create a welcoming environment for everyone.
Making a Difference
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This document has been created by Alberta Education. It discusses how educators can differentiate instruction in their classroom and in the four different core subject areas. It also discusses how educators can support English language learners, differently-abled students, and gifted learners.
Walking Together: Stepping Stones
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The Stepping Stone Series was developed by the Alberta Teachers' Association. It is a list of resources educators can use to increase their First Nations, Metis, and Inuit foundational knowledge. It also provides educators with resources they can use to respectfully address First Nations, Metis, and Inuit outcomes in the curriculum.
ESL Document
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This document was developed by Alberta Education. It provides educators with strategies for welcoming ESL learners into their classrooms and how they can create a successful ESL environment. This document also discusses teaching and learning strategies, differentiated instruction, and assessment practices for ESL students.
Diversity and Respect
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The Alberta Government created the Guidelines for Recognizing Diversity and Promoting Respect. This document outlines some criteria educators should consider when they are choosing resources for their classrooms. A series of questions posed throughout the document reminds educators that they should be examining each resource with a critical lens.
Policies and Practices
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This document was created by The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. Backed by research, this document highlights ten policies and practices for teaching English language learners. It also provides educators with strategies to support these learners in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Inclusive Education
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The Government of Alberta developed this digital resource to explain Alberta's vision for an inclusive education system. It provides information about the Inclusive Education Policy and outlines the six principles of inclusive education. This document also shares a variety of links about how to make classrooms more inclusive and states the indicators of inclusive schools.
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
Pre-Assessment Strategies
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Pre-assessment can be described as assessing what the students already know or what they can do prior to instruction. This document explains the difference between formal and informal pre-assessments and provides educators with fifty different strategies to try in their classrooms.
Literacy Fact Sheet
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Rubistaris a digital resource that helps educators create rubrics. Educators can select a topic and modify existing criteria to fit the needs of their classroom. Rubrics like these are essential for summative assessments because they clearly outline the educator's expectations for assignments and projects.
Formative Assessment Strategies
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Formative assessment can be defined as an unmarked assessment that is used to monitor student learning. Results from formative assessments can be used to guide future teachings. This document provides educators with sixty different formative assessments that they can implement in their classrooms.
EMAB Achievement Indicators
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EMAB Achievement Indicators have replaced traditional grading practices in most schools in our community. This system reports on effort, attitude, and behaviour separately. This document explains the differences between EMAB and the traditional grading system, and it also explains what each letter of the acronym means.
Summative Assessment Strategies
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Summative assessments are used to evaluate what a student has learned over a period of time. These assessments usually count towards a grade in a specific subject area. This document provides educators with fifty different types of summative assessments that they can use in their classrooms.
Learning Task Evaluation Chart
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This Learning Task Evaluation Chart is one tool that educators can use in their classrooms during formative or summative evaluations. It provides educators with some of the phrases that are commonly used to describe levels of student performance and a rubric that educators can use when assessing specific skills (ex. Clarity, organization, effectiveness, etc.)