This fully updated third edition of "Teaching and Learning with Technologies in the Primary School" introduces practising and student teachers to the range of ways in which technology can be used to support and extend teaching and learning opportunities in their classrooms. Newly expanded to include 50% brand new chapters reflecting the…

Sounds-Write is a systematic synthetic phonics approach that has been successfully used to teach students to read and spell for the last two decades. This volume brings together twelve case studies -- written by practitioners -- of implementation of the Sounds-Write programme in different settings and geographical contexts (Europe, US, Australia).…

New research findings are presented in this paper, responding to a significant knowledge gap about the role of pedagogy in tackling persistent educational inequalities. The paper examines the potential of reading for pleasure (RfP) pedagogy to disrupt 'pedagogy of poverty' in low socio-economic (SES) schools and to enable children to reap the…

While teacher aides often provide individual and group reading instruction for at-risk readers, research suggests these interventions may not always bring about reading gains. This Australian study investigated upper primary school teacher aides' definitions of reading, drawing on semi-structured interview responses and written definitions…

Teachers need to know a great deal, in many areas and in multiple ways. Teacher knowledge is a complex tapestry, and teachers must successfully weave the multiple threads. In this article, I present a conceptualisation of teacher knowledge that provides a framework for describing the complexity of teacher knowledge. The framework describes three…

This article reframes the concept of comprehension as a social and intellectual practice. It reviews current approaches to reading instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse, indigenous and low socioeconomic students (SES), noting an emphasis on comprehension as autonomous skills. The four resources model (Freebody & Luke, 1990) is…

Recent Australian and international government reports refer to the importance of teacher knowledge in the sound structure of language and its relationship to beginning reading. In this study, a group of 162 pre-service teachers responded to a questionnaire including questions related to their attitudes towards using phonics instruction in the…

This research conducted in primary schools in Northern Australia evaluated the effectiveness of the web-based program ABRACADABRA (ABRA) as a tool to complement early childhood literacy instruction in an Australian and Indigenous context. A further component of this research was to monitor implementation fidelity. The ABRA training was built…

Describes the variety of initiatives that directorates, schools, organizations, and teachers are taking to involve parents in reading in the various Australian states. (HTH)

A reprint of chapter 28 from the authors' book, "K-6: Best Years of Their Lives?" published in 1979 by the (Australian) Primary English Teaching Association, which presents evidence that contradicts reports of a decline in Australian reading standards. (DD)

Noting that most educators would agree that whole language no longer looks the same, this book collects eight articles written by whole language advocates and practitioners from New Zealand, Australia, and the United States that focus on the changes, growth, and development that have occurred in whole language both in philosophy and practice. They…

This paper explores some ongoing dilemmas facing literacy educators, employing a combination of fictional accounts and summaries of actual instances during literacy lessons. Noting that the Commonwealth of Australia's recent policy/monograph is entitled "Literacy for All: The Challenge for Australian Schools," the paper points out that…

This article discusses grammar and its place in elementary English teaching. The article's eight sections are as follows: (1) Some People Expect a Lot of Grammar; (2) Standard and Non-Standard; (3) How Do Children Learn Grammar? (4) What Can the Teacher Do? (5) What Should We Tell the Children? (6) Grammar and the Organization of Meaning in Text;…

Intended for elementary school teachers, this short pamphlet describes the processes involved in executing a readers' theater. Much easier to implement than dramatic performances, reader's theater is seen as part theater and part oral interpretation. As outlined in the pamphlet, the procedures for implementing readers' theater in the classroom…

This paper constructs a taxonomy for non-oral reading based on Kenneth and Yetta Goodman's reading research. Cloze type deletions reveal how proficient readers and low ability readers from 6 to 14 years of age use graphophonic, syntactic, and semantic cues. It compares performance of Australian children on oral reading and outline strategies with…