Literacy

This section is divided into two parts for your convenience. Although there may be overlap, the websites and resources are categorized under two headings:

1-Evidence-based best practices

2-Assessment and Intervention

1-Evidence-based best practices

Abracadabra

Go to English SiteGo to Site

Go to French SiteGo to Site

The Abracadabra site provides activities for students in K-Gr. 2. The activities aim to develop reading skills in the areas of phonological awareness, phonics, accuracy, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. There are also two spelling activities.

Apprenants en difficulté et littératie (ADEL)

Go to siteGo to Site

This French website contains reading comprehension strategies for elementary and secondary teachers.

  • Développer collectivement la compétence à lire (secondaire)
  • Stratégies de lecture (4e à 6e année). Affiches et guide pédagogique
  • Faire des prédictions (vidéo)
  • Activités pour développer la fluidité (2e à 4e année)
  • Lecture et élèves ayant une déficience intellectuelle

Canadian Language & Literacy Research Network

Evidence-based toolkit for teaching reading and writing, Kindergarten to Grade 6 (Canada, 144 pages).

CELA Centre for Equitable Library Access

Go to site Go to Site

CELA is an online public library service for Canadians with print disabilities.

Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR)

Go to siteGo to Site

The four reading strategies used in CSR help improve reading comprehension by maximizing student engagement. Informational texts are read in cooperative learning groups.

Linda Siegal Webinar-Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities

Go to site Go to Site

Dr. Linda Siegel’s latest research in Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities addresses how our educational system has failed to identify many children with learning disabilities and calls for the adoption of straightforward diagnostic techniques so that treatment options can be implemented at a young age.

In this talk, Linda Siegel challenges the use of complex and time-consuming testing that is currently used to diagnose learning disabilities. In their place, she outlines simple and pragmatic techniques for testing for disabilities in reading, mathematics, spelling, and writing.

Total time: 1:03:42

Literacy Networking (A Collaboration between ALDI and LEARNQuebec)

Session 1-Myths and Misconceptions about literacy instruction:

Go to siteGo to Site

Session 2-Vocabulary instruction:

Go to site Go to Site

During the 2021-2022 school year, ALDI and LEARN will be hosting bilingual literacy networking sessions. To consult the archived material, use the links above.

Literacy Today

Go to SiteGo to Site

Literacy Today strives to answer essential questions for today’s elementary and secondary Quebec English Language Arts teachers. What types of authentic contexts will engage my students to talk, read and write? How can I inspire my students while meeting the expectations of the QEP?

Phonics Faux Pas

Download PDF

This short article clarifies seven misconceptions about early phonics instruction.

Powerful Literacy Practices

Go to siteGo to Site

The Powerful Literacy Practices website contains ready-to-implement lesson plans implemented in Cycle 1 classrooms. The goal of this site is to encourage the adoption of these evidence-based literacy practices in other classrooms and to align resource support for student success.

Reader Response Toolkit for Secondary Teachers

Go to siteGo to Site

This toolkit contains many ideas and resources for leading diverse, engaging, and research-based response activities. Included are ready-to-implement activities, examples of student work and instructional videos.

Reading Rockets

Go to siteGo to Site

Reading Rockets offers a wealth of research-based reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and improve. The resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in helping struggling readers build fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

Scholastic Book Wizard

Go to siteGo to Site

The Book Wizard is an excellent tool to use in conjunction with Jennifer Serravallo’s 2018 book, Understanding Texts and Readers (pages 15-37).

Teaching Reading is Rocket Science, 2020

Download PDF

This research article by Louisa Moats highlights current evidence-based teaching and assessment practices in  reading.

Texas Centre for Learning Disabilities

It is worth checking it out this website for any of your elementary and secondary literacy related needs. Use the left side of the site to navigate through various topics.

Go to site Go to Site

One of the features is an instructional strategies resource book for beginning readers. It is designed for classroom teachers to use with students who are at risk for reading difficulties. It can also be used in intervention by remedial teachers. When students struggle with learning to read, they need additional instruction focused on the areas causing them difficulty.

 

Download the free Reading Strategies and Activities Resource Book.

The resource book contains instructional strategies grouped by “big ideas” and contains lesson plans to integrate subskills for each of the big ideas into daily instruction. (p. 401-415)

Vocabulary Instruction

Go to siteGo to Site

The Academic Word Finder highlights suggested Tier 2 vocabulary words in a text that has been uploaded by a teacher. It also indicates a suggested grade level for introduction. The teacher has final say to select the words or not based on subsequent lessons and content. This tool is free, but requires a sign-up.


2-Assessment and Intervention

Academic Screening Tools Chart

Go to siteGo to Site

You can use the ratings in the chart to determine which screening tools meet your needs. The screening tools, suggested in the chart, will also help identify students that require intervention.

Adolescent Literacy (AdLit) Grades 4-12

Go to siteGo to Site

AdLit offers information and resources to teach struggling adolescent readers and writers.

  • The AdLit 101 section offers information on the various reading components. It also contains a section called Make it a priority to assess students’ literacy skills. This provides information on formative and summative assessments and screening practices
  • The Hot Topics section provides hyperlinks in the form of keywords that provides you with more information on the selected topic.
  • The Classroom Strategies section breaks activities down into before, during and after reading.

 

Florida Center for Reading Research

Go to siteGo to Site

The Student Center Activities tab along the left includes:

  • Teacher Resource Guides
    • Part 1 explains how to implement reading centers by incorporating flexible groupings and suggested activities based on DIBELS assessment results. The guides are developed for Kindergarten to Grade 5 teachers.
  • Activities
    • All suggested activities are included and ready to use. The activities are organized by reading instruction component, easing the implementation of target instruction.

Intervention Central:
Academic Intervention Planner for Struggling Students

Go to siteGo to Site

The Intervention Planner for Academics is a free online tool that lets educators put together customized academic intervention plans to address reading, writing, and math issues for struggling learners. This is an excellent tool to enhance the means section of an Individualized Education Plan and for teachers that are moving towards targeted intervention.

Intervention Central:
Behaviour Intervention Plan

Go to siteGo to Site

The Intervention Planner for Behavior is a free application that allows teachers, administrators, and other school personnel to browse a range of strategies to improve student behaviors and to develop customized behavior-management plans for individual students, small groups, or even an entire class.

 

Intervention Central:
School-wide strategies for managing writing

Go to siteGo to Site

This site includes school-wide writing strategies:

  •  Within the framework of a writing process these strategies are explicitly explained:
    • Content: Memorize a story grammar checklist
    • Fluency: Have students write everyday
    • Fluency: Self-monitor and graph results to increase writing fluency
    • Instruction: Essentials of good teaching benefit struggling writers
    • Motivation: Stimulate interest with an autobiography assignment
    • Organization: “Reverse Outline” the draft
    • Planning: Brainstorm to break the idea logjam
    • Proofreading: Teach a memory strategy
    • Proofreading: Use selective proofreading with highlighting of errors
    • Spelling: Leverage the power of memory through cover-copy-compare

Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI) Grades 6-9

Go to siteGo to Site

All intervention activities are free with an e-mail sign up. STARI, a reading intervention program, is a literature-focused, Tier II intervention for students in grades 6-9 who read two or more years below grade level. Using research-based practices and highly engaging texts, STARI addresses gaps in fluency, decoding, reading stamina, and comprehension, aiming to move struggling students to higher levels of proficiency at the end of one year.

Target the Problem

Download PDF

This document will help teachers and parents understand the problems a child may be having with reading (phonological and phonemic awareness, word decoding and phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and other sources) and target what can be done to help.

When Kids Can’t Read by Kylene Beers-Summary

Download PDF

This summary, based on the book by Kylene Beers, helps secondary teachers identify their students’ reading problems. The summary then offers practical strategies to target what can be done to help struggling readers.

WordGen Elementary Grades 4-5

Go to siteGo to Site

Units are free with an e-mail sign-up. Every unit begins with a video newscast and a “Reader’s Theater” that introduces multiple perspectives on a high-interest topic. Students read, discuss, debate, and write about each topic, using the five or six target vocabulary words.

 

WordGen Weekly Grades 6-8

Go to sTarget_the_ProblemiteGo to Site

These interdisciplinary lesson plans are free with e-mail sign-up. The site contains weekly lesson plans on engaging topics. These lessons aim to:
  • Expand general and content-oriented academic vocabulary.
  • Build the reasoning and argumentation skills that are necessary for learning in all content areas.
  • Build reading comprehension and content-area literacy by providing students with motivating text, opportunities for discussion and debate, and weekly writing.