Literacy immersion toolkit (Lit) is a reminder of best practice when teaching  in an Australian indigenous context.  Due to high absenteeism, trauma and the wide range of birth languages, students’ range of literacy abilities will broaden the further they progress through school. Ensuring that Standard Australian English (SAE) and numeracy are taught in a holistic way, literacy immersion is the central focus of your lesson planning.

From a one-off lesson to a term long study, if a unit is not based around text then develop a group negotiated text and scour it for literacy and numeracy teaching opportunities.

But most importantly because SAE is such an intense focus you must ensure that the content of your text is educational and part of a comprehensive syllabus which integrates the Australian Curriculum (AC) with Indigenous Language and Culture (ILC).

Remember:

You are the students’ model of the English language.

Speak and write Standard Australian English.

·         Do not experiment with your indigenous language skills or simplify your words.

·         Speak clearly, at a measured pace.

·         Allow students time to translate your voice and then time to comprehend your meaning.

·         Consider your sentence structure and be prepared to stop and explain the meaning of a phrase you used.

Know your students. 

·         What are the reading/writing levels in your class?

·         Check students literacy level or run your own tests such as Schonell*, or Running records.

Choose your text carefully.

·         Analyze the text for language and complexity (Immersive Reader in Word 365 is great.)

·         Evaluate the text's suitability for the class, if the concepts are too complex or culturally embodied.  

·         Discuss your plan with your Assistant Teacher for cultural suitability and your senior teacher for advice. Your school may well have a library of suitable texts that have already been analyzed.

Plan ahead.

·         Decide on two or three language items to concentrate on for each lesson. These may be sight words, spelling lists, linguistic structures, technical terms, inferential meanings etc. 

·         Brainstorm extension activities that are linked to the concepts and content in the text, as well as the curriculum area.

·         Clearly express the learning outcomes for each of the activities and display them.

·         Decide on assessment activities, rubrics and what evidence you will record. 

Be explicit.

·         In an EAL/D context, there is no room for hinting, intuition or osmosis. Lack of clarity causes students cognitive overload, stress, and a down-shift in their quality of thought. Students should know what they are learning, why it’s important and how to improve.

20 steps for every text.

1. Listen, speak, read then write.

It can't be said often enough. Listening is the first step in the literacy process. Students need to hear Standard Australian English (SAE) often and clearly. Always use your sound field system and model reading to the students. Listen to your students, at every level, there are always new words and sounds for students to practice. Use but do not get distracted by phonics programs such as this excellent document from CDU. Immersion is the key to learning.

2. Discover the Text (Build the field of knowledge; set students up for prediction).

Talk about the contents of the text.  Discuss and record what the learners already know about the topic and theme of the text. Represent this in the form of a semantic web or notes on a retrieval chart. Use information from the title, chapter headings, introduction and the summary of the text to discuss what the text might cover/be about (prediction).

3. Prediction

Using the headings, prior knowledge, illustrations etc. brainstorm and discuss with the students what this text could be about.

4. Read the text aloud with the students.

●     Modelled. Just the teacher. (I do)

●     Shared. The whole group with the teacher. (We do)

●     Guided. Individually. (You do)

●     Independent. Individual extended reading. (You do)

5. Complete oral cloze exercises (Checking the students’ linguistic accessibility to the text)

a)   Teacher and student together

b)   individual student (one to one) with the teacher.

6. Confirm predictions, check for understanding, resetting predictions

a)   discuss whether the section of the text so far was as predicted

b)   what may happen subsequently in the text – further prediction based on content so far

c)   exchange ideas, opinions and feelings about the content of the text. 

7. Read the text to the students with fluency and expression.

●     Encourage students to read along.

●     Explore the text by planning together to role-play aspects of the characters, the contexts, the issues, the solutions, etc.

●     Make links between the written text and the real-world experiences of the students. Talk about similarities and differences.

●     Discusses the genre of the text with the students.

●     Deconstruct the text so students learn how different authors use different styles for effect.

●     Demonstrate how the author has structured the text and how the different parts make up the whole.

8. Retell (Assessment)

Have the students retell the text in groups of two or three, stating their opinions and their reasons for them. Give students different sections to retell and comment on. Record audio or video for assessment.

9. Word Walls

Display the English alphabet along a wall. Teach the sound, letter names and patterns. Practice single sounds, blends, word endings, irregular letter/sound patterns etc.

Use a ‘Stick and ball’ font like Arcon for everything. Use correct capitalization even in your headings.

Discretely label everything in the room, especially around the door. (through, above, over, under etc)

List words from the text under the appropriate letter name.

With the students, make a list of words that fit certain categories linked to the study of the text e.g. words that describe the characters, words that describe feelings/emotion linked to the plot, words which carry specific meanings etc.

Display this list and continue to add to the lists as the unit of work develops.

Use these words to develop a word wall dictionary. (Use dictionaries! Understanding how dictionaries work is a literacy tool to support further learning.)

Continue to add to this visual display as unfamiliar words are encountered in the text.

Teach the students how to use word walls as a resource for their personal writing. Use the growing list of words on these wall resources for the study of words including spelling, rules and irregularities in rules.

For example, students, in pairs discuss and sort the words on cards into categories:

●     word families

●     same endings/beginnings

●     sound patterns

●     letter patterns

●     rhyming words

●     plurals etc.

10. Reconstruct the text

●     Modelled. Just the teacher. (I do) Display this prominently in the classroom.

●     Shared. The whole group with the teacher. (We do)

●     Interactive. Small groups. (we do)

●     Guided. Individually. (You do)

11. Independent writing (assessment)

(Expect independent writing only after students have been part of group-negotiated writing and they have seen a model of what the final product can look like.)

Organise for the students to begin writing.

●     Brainstorm, discuss and list possible ways to write about the text.

○     Eg: plot, setting, content, genre.

●     Students begin their first draft and continue developing this daily.

●     Provide feedback to individual students about their writing so far.

●     Lead a class meeting to discuss the writing so far and to make suggestions which individuals may take up as they continue their writing.

●     Students review their writing so far, based on teacher input and revise as necessary.

●     Repeat until the writing is complete.

12. Check for comprehension.

Sort scrambled text, use longer chunks of text such as paragraphs/ the contents of a page.

●     The whole group with the teacher. (I do)

●     In groups of two or three. (We do)

●     Individually (You do)

13. Deconstruction of the text with the students to produce a visual representation that summarises the structure of the genre of the text or the main events/time sequence/actions in the text – a story map or graph. https://youtu.be/hntHGr8JR7o

Have students draw and annotate diagrams and illustrations for everything. It helps them consolidate their learning and it also let's you check for understanding.

14. Check comprehension.

Use the new words and phrases learned to construct sentences that mean the same as the original. (Show how the same meaning can be constructed differently in English)

Create alternative endings and beginnings for sentences and larger chunks of text.

●     The whole group with the teacher. (I do)

●     In groups of two or three. (We do)

●     Individually (You do)

15. Practice listening skills.

Students need to learn to hear the sounds in English that are different to the sounds in their language Once these listening exercises have been introduced, do some of them for 10 minutes every day. Listening exercises should cover the areas of stress, intonation and rhythm and pronunciation of English.

●     Listen for specific sounds in spoken texts. Choose a group of words, a word, or a sound that the students need to listen to and learn to pronounce. When the students hear the target sound/word they indicate in some way.

●     Read a part of any text which the students are familiar with substituting incorrect words. Allow the students to correct the words and supply the appropriate ones.

●     Choose target sounds from the text. Play games that require the students to discriminate between the sounds

●     Play alliteration games by adding onto a list of words that begin with the same sound pattern; play rhyming games by finding new words that sound the same; work out words where the beginning and end sounds have been reversed.

●     Choose a repetitive part of the text to use as a chant, while the students follow the rhythm and stress of the language using body movements, musical instruments etc.

16. Practice pronunciation.

(As well as learning to hear the sounds of English, Second language learners need to be taught explicitly how to pronounce some English sounds that are not part of their repertoire.

Use any of your texts to concentrate on particular aspects of English pronunciation. Include sounds, words, phrases, whole sentences incorporating intonation and rhythm.

●     The whole group with the teacher. (I do)

●     In groups of two or three. (We do)

●     Individually (You do)

17. Examine the differences between spoken and written English.

Language is constructed differently for writing than it is for speech. The formal construction of written English needs to be explicitly taught to second language learners.

Examine the differences between spoken (free-flowing spontaneous) and written language.

Analyze some recorded English from any aspect of a previous activity and compare it with the writing of the group-negotiated text.

18. Check comprehension

Decide about true/false statements based on the information from this unit.

●     The whole group with the teacher. (I do)

●     In groups of two or three. (We do)

●     Individually (You do)

Use multiple-choice questions based on the text.

●     The whole group with the teacher. (I do)

●     In groups of two or three. (We do)

●     Individually (You do)

Recognise and correct substitutions or errors in the text.

●     The whole group with the teacher. (I do)

●     In groups of two or three. (We do)

●     Individually (You do)

19. Oral presentation

(Formal speaking is a specifically taught skill. Allow students to practice with material that is familiar to them, that they have been taught about and scaffolded into.)

Explore the text through an oral presentation. Discuss and plan the presentation. Make group notes, use headings e.g. what, who, where, when, how.

(Assessments)

For each unit of work, assess oral language. Make notes about the student’s knowledge, understandings and use of language. A group of students should be targeted for assessment in each unit of work. Engage the students in discussion during the activities, record the students using Standard Australian English and write anecdotal notes about the student’s use of English as observed.

Record the student as they:

Give their ideas, opinions, and feelings about the stimulus text or retell the text. And make notes and/or record the student’s responses to the listening, oral cloze and intonation exercises or pronunciation of the target sounds/words/phrases for the unit.

Also, observe and note students’ level of participation in whole group songs or recitations. Note their confidence and clarity of words.

20. Mathematical Literacy 

Every activity needs to be examined for opportunities to integrate mathematical concepts and thinking. Our students need to practice problem-solving and reasoning in practical everyday situations. Use mathematical language at every opportunity.

●     Number and algebra,

●     Measurement and geometry,

●     Statistics and probability.

Consider how to incorporate;

●     Pattern

●     Money

●     Time

●     Volume

●     Graphs

●     Estimation

●     Distance

●     Angles

●     Problem solving

●     Data collection

●     Mapping

Students need to understand the reasons and usefulness behind Maths rather than the process to solve equations. Activities must start from concrete physical manipulatives before moving to abstract numerals and functions. Teach methods of simplification and estimation.

Look at years 2&3 of the Australian Curriculum where students move from the concrete to the abstract.

Use the NTs Mathematics Essentials student tracker to gauge where your students sit. 

*Schonell

Reading Test

The child should read the words left to right. When a word that gets a little difficult, ask the child to sound it out. If the child can't say what the word is, then go on to the next one.

The person supervising the test will give one mark for each word correctly pronounced - even if the reader self corrects. The supervisor will not suggest corrections. No prompting. No hurrying. If the reader mispronounces slightly as in postage with a short 'o', the first time, then ask for the word again, marking it correct if the reader has self-corrected. Otherwise, do not ask for a word to be re-read.

If you do not give away the pronunciation of words that the reader does not know, then this same test may be used again at a later date to assess progress as a result of a teaching programme.

Reading age = (Number of words correct / 10) + 5

Spelling Tests

Choose what you believe will be an appropriate point to start the test.

Dictate each word in turn, saying the word individually, then putting it into a sentence and finally repeating the word.

e.g.   time                 Can you tell me the time?             time

Dictate slowly and clearly. Never hurry the learner and repeat the word as often as is needed.

Continue until the learner has made at least 5 consecutive errors. 

Retesting.

Strictly speaking, you should not re-test within a year of the previous test if you are using a standardized, normed test. Six months is an acceptable time delay, but it is usually unwise to retest within six months. Re-test using the B version of the test and alternate each subsequent time.

Spelling age = (Number of words correct / 10) + 5

Reading Test                 

tree

little

milk

egg

book

school

sit

frog

playing

bun

flower

road

clock

train

light

picture

think

summer

people

something

dream

downstairs

biscuit

shepherd

thirsty

crowd

sandwich

beginning

postage

island

saucer

angel

ceiling

appeared

gnome

canary

attractive

imagine

nephew

gradually

smolder

applaud

disposal

nourished

diseased

university

orchestra

knowledge

audience

situated

physics

campaign

choir

intercede

fascinate

forfeit

siege

recent

plausible

prophecy

colonel

soloist

systematic

slovenly

classification

genuine

institution

pivot

conscience

heroic

pneumonia

preliminary

antique

susceptible

enigma

oblivion

scintillate

satirical

sabre

beguile

terrestrial

belligerent

adamant

sepulchre

statistics

miscellaneous

procrastinate

tyrannical

evangelical

grotesque

ineradicable

judicature

preferential

homonym

fictitious

rescind

metamorphosis

somnambulist

bibliography

idiosyncrasy

Spelling Test A

net

can

fun

top

rag

sat

hit

lid

cap

had

let

doll

bell

yes

then

may

tree

by

ill

egg

land

how

your

cold

talk

flower

son

seem

four

loud

ground

lowest

brain

write

amount

noise

remain

hoped

worry

dancing

damage

else

through

entered

cough

fitted

spare

daughter

edge

search

concert

domestic

topic

method

freeze

avoid

duties

recent

type

instance

liquid

assist

readily

guess

attendance

description

welfare

various

genuine

interfere

accordance

mechanical

anxious

signature

allotment

approval

accomplished

remittance

financial

capacity

surplus

exceptionally

successful

preliminary

resource

prologue

colonel

coarse

referring

courteous

exhibition

affectionately

attorney

pinnacle

toboggan

definite

guarantee

anniversary

irresistible

hydraulic

Spelling Test B

see

cut

mat

in

ran

bag

ten

hat

dad

bed

leg

dot

pen

yet

hay

good

till

be

with

from

time

call

help

week

pie

boat

mind

sooner

year

dream

sight

mouth

large

might

brought

mistake

pair

while

skate

stayed

yolk

island

nerve

join

fare

iron

health

direct

calm

headache

final

circus

increase

slippery

lodge

style

bargain

copies

guest

policy

view

library

cushion

safety

patient

account

earliest

institution

similar

generous

orchestra

equally

individual

merely

enthusiastic

appreciate

familiar

source

immediate

breathe

permanent

sufficient

broach

customary

especially

materially

cemetery

leisure

accredited

fraternally

subterranean

apparatus

portmanteau

politician

miscellaneous

mortgage

equipped

exaggerate

amateur

committee