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A response to Naomi Nelson's critique of Phonics Plus
Yesterday Naomi Nelson wrote a blog for the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) titled, ‘Phonics Plus: does the new...

Emina McLean
Apr 1518 min read


Outrage and polarisation have not been mandated
I heard on a podcast recently that there are two types of education consultants. Consultant 1: “I am right.” Consultant 2: “I am here to...

Emina McLean
Jun 22, 20246 min read


Has the Science of Reading become a rampant thought-terminating cliché?
I was running a workshop last week when I was asked, “Is The Writing Revolution SoR?” Now, all this educator wanted from me was a yes or...

Emina McLean
Mar 2, 20244 min read


Defining excellence and equity in early reading instruction
Over the weekend I presented at the Learning Difficulties Australia conference. I was honoured to be a joint recipient of the 2022 Mona...

Emina McLean
Oct 24, 20226 min read


On balance
There has been a renewed focus on phonics assessment and instruction in Australia this year, particularly in the state of Victoria where...

Emina McLean
May 26, 20225 min read


Sharing our progress: Writing
It was a pleasure to collaborate with Jeanette Breen on this blog post. Jeanette is a learning specialist and educator at Templestowe...

Emina McLean
Mar 25, 20228 min read


Sharing our progress: 2-6 reading comprehension
I have decided to share some of our data sets across the next 12 months. These data sets will hopefully continue to show our ongoing...

Emina McLean
Mar 8, 20223 min read


Designing an ambitious and rigorous primary English curriculum
Following on from Brad Nguyen’s recent presentation about setting up a knowledge-rich curriculum, I was fortunate to have the opportunity...

Emina McLean
Jan 20, 20221 min read


The Response to Intervention (RtI) framework
Response to Intervention (RtI) is an instructional framework in which schools provide layered instruction/intervention as a core...

Emina McLean
Sep 23, 20211 min read


Phonemic awareness instruction: What's the evidence?
What is phonemic awareness? Phonemic awareness is a component of phonological awareness. "Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to...

Emina McLean
Aug 3, 20216 min read


Reading motivation
I receive a number of emails from educators that are about reading motivation. Many educators, particularly in secondary schools, report...

Emina McLean
Jun 29, 20218 min read


From research to practice: What can it look like?
This week I presented the Learning Difficulties Australia Weekly Wednesday Webinar. Below you will find access to the recording as well...

Emina McLean
Jun 3, 20211 min read


It's time to review our hurdle rates in literacy
I was re-reading some of Lemov's (2015) chapters on effective teaching techniques the other day. This time some things he wrote in a...

Emina McLean
Apr 13, 20214 min read


Working the clock and "the literacy block"
The Victorian Government Schools Agreement details the workload for teachers. When working full-time, there is a maximum of 22.5 hours...

Emina McLean
Mar 28, 20216 min read


Developing a literacy assessment schedule
I have had a lot of questions lately about the assessments we are using at our new primary school (Docklands Primary School) and more...

Emina McLean
Mar 19, 20217 min read


Explicit vocabulary instruction across grades and subjects
I have written previously, but rather generally, about how to approach vocabulary instruction. I presented quite a few times last year on...

Emina McLean
Feb 26, 202118 min read


Handwriting instruction: What's the evidence?
Everyone teaches handwriting, but like with other aspects of literacy, there is enormous variability in how educators go about it and how...

Emina McLean
Sep 25, 20209 min read


Keep the balance, Sheryl, keep the balance.
[This is the sixth story in a series about the journeys educators have been on to change literacy practices in schools. This educator was...

Emina McLean
Sep 18, 20209 min read


Knowledge is power
[This is the fifth story in a series about the journeys educators have been on to change literacy practices in schools. This educator,...

Emina McLean
Sep 17, 20204 min read


This is personal
[This is the fourth story in a series about the journeys educators have been on to change literacy practices in schools. This educator,...

Emina McLean
Sep 14, 20206 min read
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