The Language Literacy Network (Wasowicz, 2021; 2024) highlights how spoken and written language processes work together to support reading and writing.

Based on 30+ years of research, it focuses on key areas like reading comprehension, writing, and word-level decoding.

Building on Dr. Hollis Scarborough’s Reading Rope model, it updates and expands the original framework to reflect recent findings, emphasizing the link between decoding, spelling, and the reciprocal nature of reading and writing.

Download the infographic!

Wasowicz, J. (2021, December 9). Re: The Language Literacy Network: Move over Reading Rope, make room for your better half…! [Electronic mailing list message]. SPELLTalk Listserv. https://lists.learningbydesign.com/mailman/listinfo/spelltalk

Overview: Courtesy of Comox Valley Schools (SD71) in B.C., an archived site with a series of excellent kits for middle-grade Core French units that carefully structure and encourage oral communication. Some elements would be adaptable for younger or older grades, and/or useful in immersion!

THIS KIT'S THEME: La nourriture (Food)

« After asking and answering questions together as a class, students can then move
between stations. These stations are not sequential, but rather provide practice
communicating about each theme in different ways. The station titles ... are:

a. Bingo
b. Cartes -Memoire/memory game
c. L’intervue -The interview
d. Dictionnaire visual / Visual dictionary
e. Les jeux de vocabulaire / Vocabulary games
f. Sac magique / Magic bag »

'Students have an opportunity to learn about pizza, one of their favourite foods. During the learning activities, students discuss favourite pizzas, become familiar with different kinds of pizza, family preferences, pizza menus, pizza toppings, pizza recipes and design an invitation ... students plan and prepare for a pizza party.'

*Instructions are in English.*

' Students explore the necessary steps to follow in planning a trip. The learning experiences include: obtaining a passport, reserving a flight, becoming familiar with tourist sites, choosing and making a hotel reservation, deciding what to take, and reading maps. The experiential goal requires students to plan a trip to a French-speaking country or city and present the itinerary to the class. The teacher’s guide includes learning objectives, a list of resources and step-by-step suggestions on how to teach the unit. In addition, the guide includes answer sheets, suggested vocabulary and motivational questions, supplementary activities, tapescripts, evaluation grids and activities.'

*All instructions are in French.*

'Students have an opportunity to learn about the second language classroom in French. During the learning activities, students will become familiar with greetings, classroom objects, colours, and classroom expressions. There are numerous activities to practice classroom routines in French ... students will create a booklet of classroom expressions to be used throughout the year.

'The teacher’s guide includes learning objectives, a list of resources and step-by-step suggestions on how to teach the unit. In addition, the guide includes answer sheets, suggested vocabulary and motivational games, supplementary activities, written text of the listening activity, flashcards, model letter to parents, evaluation grids and activities.

'The student workbook includes the necessary student activity sheets, vocabulary lists, and teacher, peer and self-evaluation grids.'

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the text, "The Last Dragon." A young boy, Peter, is hesitant to spend the summer with his great aunt in Chinatown. Peter finds an aging parade dragon in a store and, in restoring it, learns to connect with the dragon and the Chinese community.

This unit models communicative/experiential second language teaching in a multidimensional curriculum. Students prepare themselves for a written exam to obtain a driver’s license. Learning activities include doing a vehicle inspection, studying road signs and their meanings, studying the driving rules of the road, role playing a traffic violation situation, and making the decision to have a designated driver. The experiential goal requires students to create, in small groups, a written exam to obtain a driver’s license, and to pass this exam demonstrating that they are aware and responsible drivers.

For grades 9-12

This unit models communicative / experiential second language teaching in a multidimensional curriculum. In this unit students become aware of their rights, examine types and causes of juvenile crimes, practice being a witness, and become aware of effective ways to prevent crime. The experiential goal requires students to create and present a short play demonstrating an issue such as a theft, discrimination, vandalism or violence at school. The students who act as spectators are witnesses to the crime and offer a realistic solution to the problem.

For grades 10-12

Courtesy of Comox Valley Schools (SD71) in B.C., an archived site with a series of excellent kits for middle-grade Core French units that carefully structure and encourage oral communication. Some elements would be adaptable for younger or older grades, and/or useful in immersion!

THIS KIT'S THEME: Les activités (Activities)

« After asking and answering questions together as a class, students can then move
between stations. These stations are not sequential, but rather provide practice
communicating about each theme in different ways. The station titles ... are:

Station A. Memoire / Memory game
Station B. Icônes / Icons
Station C. Un sondage / Survey
Station D. Mon activité préférée / My Preferred Activity
Station E. Les bulles / Bubbles
Station F. Objets d’activités / Activity objects
Station G. Jeux/Games: Partenaires/Chercher les mots »

'Students have an opportunity to learn about friends and physical activities in French. They will become familiar with the parts of the body, how to describe physical characteristics and traits of people, and discuss popular sports and physical activities that students practice. Numerous motivating activities are included to communicate in French.
'...students will create a booklet about a friend and present it to the class. The teacher’s guide includes learning objectives, a list of resources and step-by-step suggestions on how to teach the unit. In addition, the guide includes answer sheets, suggested vocabulary and motivational games, supplementary activities, written text of the listening activity, flashcards, model letter to parents, evaluation grids and activities.

'The student workbook includes the necessary student activity sheets, vocabulary lists, and teacher, peer and self-evaluation grids.'

*Instructions are in English.*

This unit models communicative / experiential second language teaching in a multidimensional curriculum. Students explore various types of media and the impact on their lives and society as a whole. Students experience learning activities in exploring the following: television, radio, newspaper, computers and publicity. The experiential goal requires students to create a media production (radio program, television program or class newspaper), or to develop a media campaign on a subject that interests them, or to make a presentation on one type of media using this media in the presentation.

For grades 10-12

Courtesy of Comox Valley Schools (SD71) in B.C., an archived site with a series of excellent kits for middle-grade Core French units that carefully structure and encourage oral communication. Some elements would be adaptable for younger or older grades, and/or useful in immersion!

THIS KIT'S THEME: Les vêtements (Clothing)

« After asking and answering questions together as a class, students can then move
between stations. These stations are not sequential, but rather provide practice
communicating about each theme in different ways. The station titles ... are:

Station A. Bingo
Station B. Devinez qui? / Guess who?
Station C. Parade de mode / Fashion show
Station D. Colorier et étiquetter / Colour and label
Station E. Jeux / Games – Partenaires et Mots croisés
Station F. Dialogue
Station G. Sac magique / Magic bag
Station H. Écouter et répondre [/ Listen and respond] »

In this nonfiction story, readers learn how and why scientists brave the extreme conditions of both poles in order to do research that will help us learn more about our world

A free, online, English-French dictionary with the pronunciation of French words!

For pronunciation help: type in the word you are searching for (in French or English), hit Enter or click the magnifying glass/search button - or click on the best result from the live search suggestions that will appear - and press the speaker button beside the result.

This dictionary also has a standard English-to-French and French-to-English search function.

*There are a lot of ads on this site, but it has excellent live search suggestions, recognises many phrases (as opposed to single words), and compares your search with (non-reviewed) external sources to give you context from real-world use on the Internet.*

**Remember that the site's web-based external sources are no more filtered than anything else on the Internet (or most dictionaries, for that matter)!**

Practical advice and high impact t​eaching practices that improve outcomes in reading, writing and speaking and listening.

Guides are available for elementary schools and early education (birth to 5 years) as well.

Sections are included for Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, Interacting with Others, Emergent Literacy and within those areas you will find teaching practices, videos, sample phonics lessons, in practice examples and more.

A teaching tooklit map is provided to grade 6 with links to many of the items on the map! https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/professionals/learning/literacy/lttusermap-ec.pdf (birth to 5)
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/lttusermap.pdf (Gr. 1 to 6)

Life in the Grunt tribe changes when a baby dinosaur hatches from the huge egg that Little Grunt drags home for brunch.

Two students hide in the bathroom in order to avoid taking the math test, eventually telling their teacher they were trapped yb a giant squid. While waiting to speak to the principal, they go in to the lost and found, where they enter an imaginary world hidden in the lost and found bin.

The Lethbridge Curriculum Developers Group Explore French Through Music website is a free, open access resource to support French language instruction with fun and interactive songs. Their are various materials provided on the website including songs, interactive activities, and cultural exploration. Activities are available for individuals to download for use in your class or use them as models for developing your own language materials.

'Students have an opportunity to learn about their families in French. During the learning activities, students will become reacquainted with the “Soleil” family. '

*Instructions are in English.*

This is an extensive unit with a great deal of instructional material. The families represented are quite traditional (the resource is from 2001), but adaptations could be made to include a greater diversity of families and individuals.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the text, "Marven of the Great North Woods." To keep their only son, Marven, safe from the influenza epidemic, Marven's parents decide to send their ten year old Jewish son far away to a logging camp filled with French Canadian lumberjacks. He copes with language and cultural differences while he learns his bookkeeping job and makes a wonderful friend.