Think Forward Blog

FAQ Jenny Baker FAQ Jenny Baker

Designing a Low Variance Spelling & Reading Curriculum: Jenny Baker FAQs

Hundreds of TFE members tuned into Jenny Baker’s session in September 2021. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can catch up here. While Jenny tackled many member questions in the session, she couldn’t get to all of them!

Enjoy this blog of her responses to a few key questions from this talk. If you have more questions feel free to add a comment to this blog post.

Read More
Jack Neil Jack Neil

A school improvement journey: St Monica’s Wodonga

Hundreds of TFE members tuned into Jack Neil’s session in August 2021. If you haven’t see it yet, you can catch up in the Members’ Area. While Jack tackled many member questions in the session, he couldn’t get to all of them.

Enjoy this blog of his responses to a few key questions from this talk. If you have more questions feel free to add a comment to this blog post.

First Question: What assessments do you use?

We use the following assessments.

  • Sounds Write screener and segmenting and blending assessment

  • Castles and Coltheart 2nd Edition (CC2)

  • Phonological Awareness Skills Test (P.A.S.T)

  • Morrison and McCall Spelling Scale

  • DIBELS Data System that target sounds, letter ID, word accuracy, segmenting blending, fluency, comprehension among other things.

For writing we split our assessment into writing TRANSCRIPTION assessments and writing IDEATION assessments. We have established school wide level expectations on both as success criteria and working towards moderating these to refine accuracy and information to inform teaching.

Read More

Five Ways Series: The Science of Reading

Five Ways Series: The Science of Reading

Over the coming weeks, Think Forward Educators will be posting a series of blog articles written by educational experts providing ready-to-use tips on how to implement the Science of Reading into the classroom.

Inspired by Tom Sherrington’s Five Ways Collection, the posts have been edited and curated by Brendan Lee and Dr Nathaniel Swain.