Barebones Blog
What's New at abc English
December 2021: Levels 1, 2, and 3 of the new abc English Phonics books are now available! The lessons in these books correspond to the phonics slideshows available in the Online Library. You can also learn more about the Science of Reading through this article I recently wrote, which is under review for publication in the 2021 LESLLA Proceedings.
Other Resource Websites
LESLLA (Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults), to connect with other teachers and researchers
Literacy Minnesota, especially the Instructional Support Kits, Classroom Videos, and Pre-Beginning ESL Curriculum
The Literacy Centre of Expertise, especially their podcast
Cultural Orientation Resource Exchange, especially their U-Curve of Cultural Adjustment poster
CIWA (Calgary Immigrant Women's Association), especially their Health Literacy Resources
We Speak NYC videos; student favorites are Stay in School and Love and Money
BRYCS (Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services), especially the images and info in Raising Children in a New Country
Bow Valley Readers (Lexile Levels 100 to 600)
The Math Worksheet Site (printable worksheets to add numbers and numeracy practice to your teaching)
ESL Library (however, most resources are for students who read at Lexile 600 and above)
Books for Students
abc English Books
What's Next?
Sam and Pat
Futures, Literacy Workbook
At the River
Educational Technology
quizizz.com, to create online quiz activities
quizlet.com, especially the "spell" activity for dictation practice
Tools for Makers
Canva, especially to create student certificates
ttsmp3, to input text and output an mp3 audio file
Virtual Speech Recorder, to easily record and save audio files online
Flaticon and The Noun Project, for free icons
Photos for Class and Creative Commons, for free photos
Articles and Presentations
The Science of Reading: Implications for LESLLA I wrote this article that summarizes some of the key concepts from reading science, and discusses how they apply to the work of LESLLA (Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults). This article is currently under review for publication in the 2021 LESLLA Proceedings.
The Science of Reading: A Workshop for Adult Literacy Educators I created this presentation for the Metro Toronto Movement for Literacy in November 2021. The goal of the presentation is to show examples of how I've applied research to practice in my work with adult literacy students by sharing strategies from reading science that I've used with some of my current adult literacy students.
The Science of Reading I created this 24 minute presentation about the Science of Reading for the 2021 LESLLA Symposium. The presentation outlines the key concepts in the Science of Reading and the shifts in instruction that many K-12 programs are making in teaching reading in the last few years. I also share my thoughts on how this research, focused on K-12 reading instruction, applies to our work with adult emergent readers who are also learning English.
Podcasts for Professional Learning
Podcasts about the Science of Reading I have found podcasts to be a helpful way to fit professional learning into my busy schedule. I listen while I'm driving, walking, or cleaning up around the house. It's a convenient way to be introduced to the ideas of leading experts and the experiences of other literacy teachers, and I often find myself making notes to follow up with suggestions or original research when it especially fits my work. For those who are interested in similar learning, I've started to keep a collection of podcast episodes here. Although these podcast episodes all focus on K-12 reading instruction, I have found a lot of value in considering how this knowledge can inform my work with adult emergent readers.
Interesting Research
Analytic vs. Synthetic: Systematic Phonics This blog post by Tim Shanahan gives a good overview of synthetic vs. analytic phonics instruction, and the importance of a systematic sequence of instruction.
Embedded Mnemonics in Phonics I've found a lot of success using key words and visuals to teach the alphabet letters and sounds quickly and efficiently. Here's some research to back that up.
Native Language Literacy and Adult ESL Learners. "Research conducted with adults in the United States in recent years shows that reading in the native language aids the acquisition of and reading ability in a second language." I haven't experimented with native language literacy instruction much, but I'd like to. Check out the Home Language Literacy resources if you want to try incorporating it in to your teaching.
What's New at abc English
December 2021: Levels 1, 2, and 3 of the new abc English Phonics books are now available! The lessons in these books correspond to the phonics slideshows available in the Online Library. You can also learn more about the Science of Reading through this article I recently wrote, which is under review for publication in the 2021 LESLLA Proceedings.
Other Resource Websites
LESLLA (Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults), to connect with other teachers and researchers
Literacy Minnesota, especially the Instructional Support Kits, Classroom Videos, and Pre-Beginning ESL Curriculum
The Literacy Centre of Expertise, especially their podcast
Cultural Orientation Resource Exchange, especially their U-Curve of Cultural Adjustment poster
CIWA (Calgary Immigrant Women's Association), especially their Health Literacy Resources
We Speak NYC videos; student favorites are Stay in School and Love and Money
BRYCS (Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services), especially the images and info in Raising Children in a New Country
Bow Valley Readers (Lexile Levels 100 to 600)
The Math Worksheet Site (printable worksheets to add numbers and numeracy practice to your teaching)
ESL Library (however, most resources are for students who read at Lexile 600 and above)
Books for Students
abc English Books
What's Next?
Sam and Pat
Futures, Literacy Workbook
At the River
Educational Technology
quizizz.com, to create online quiz activities
quizlet.com, especially the "spell" activity for dictation practice
Tools for Makers
Canva, especially to create student certificates
ttsmp3, to input text and output an mp3 audio file
Virtual Speech Recorder, to easily record and save audio files online
Flaticon and The Noun Project, for free icons
Photos for Class and Creative Commons, for free photos
Articles and Presentations
The Science of Reading: Implications for LESLLA I wrote this article that summarizes some of the key concepts from reading science, and discusses how they apply to the work of LESLLA (Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults). This article is currently under review for publication in the 2021 LESLLA Proceedings.
The Science of Reading: A Workshop for Adult Literacy Educators I created this presentation for the Metro Toronto Movement for Literacy in November 2021. The goal of the presentation is to show examples of how I've applied research to practice in my work with adult literacy students by sharing strategies from reading science that I've used with some of my current adult literacy students.
The Science of Reading I created this 24 minute presentation about the Science of Reading for the 2021 LESLLA Symposium. The presentation outlines the key concepts in the Science of Reading and the shifts in instruction that many K-12 programs are making in teaching reading in the last few years. I also share my thoughts on how this research, focused on K-12 reading instruction, applies to our work with adult emergent readers who are also learning English.
Podcasts for Professional Learning
Podcasts about the Science of Reading I have found podcasts to be a helpful way to fit professional learning into my busy schedule. I listen while I'm driving, walking, or cleaning up around the house. It's a convenient way to be introduced to the ideas of leading experts and the experiences of other literacy teachers, and I often find myself making notes to follow up with suggestions or original research when it especially fits my work. For those who are interested in similar learning, I've started to keep a collection of podcast episodes here. Although these podcast episodes all focus on K-12 reading instruction, I have found a lot of value in considering how this knowledge can inform my work with adult emergent readers.
Interesting Research
Analytic vs. Synthetic: Systematic Phonics This blog post by Tim Shanahan gives a good overview of synthetic vs. analytic phonics instruction, and the importance of a systematic sequence of instruction.
Embedded Mnemonics in Phonics I've found a lot of success using key words and visuals to teach the alphabet letters and sounds quickly and efficiently. Here's some research to back that up.
Native Language Literacy and Adult ESL Learners. "Research conducted with adults in the United States in recent years shows that reading in the native language aids the acquisition of and reading ability in a second language." I haven't experimented with native language literacy instruction much, but I'd like to. Check out the Home Language Literacy resources if you want to try incorporating it in to your teaching.