Primary students in Ross River showcasing the improvement in the number of words they could read in the Fall of 2023 and Spring of 2024. The Core Phonics Survey is a diagnostic assessment of a student’s phonics skills (e.g., identifying letter names and sounds and reading words with various spelling patterns). It helps teachers determine which skill components to focus on in instruction, and identify which students may benefit from additional support, either in small groups or one-on-one.
The First Nation School Board’s comprehensive Literacy Plan aims to improve literacy outcomes for students in a culturally-inclusive model. We do this by committing to science of reading approaches in all our schools, utilizing a team of Literacy Coaches to provide ongoing support and training to teachers, and by developing localized reading resources in collaboration with community.
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In February 2023, the First Nation School Board announced a new Literacy Plan for its schools, which came into effect in the 2023/24 school year. You may have seen the Literacy Plan or heard the words “science of reading” but still have questions about what, exactly, is changing. We hope this helps! If you have more questions, please contact your school, or the First Nation School Board directly.
Q: Why make any changes?
We want our kids to be able to read. Literacy is objectively connected to a better quality of life. For over a decade, Yukon learners have had low literacy rates reported in numerous reports. For many years, our First Nation communities have been asking for a change in our approach.
Q: So what are you doing differently?
The First Nation School Board is supporting our school teams to align their instruction practices with research and evidence-based approaches, this is known as the “science of reading.” Science of reading is not a program or methodology, it is a collection of research about how our brains learn to read and how best to teach literacy. This research shows that our brains best learn to read when reading and writing is taught in a “structured” way.
Q: What was happening before this? Can you explain the differences?
In the 80s and 90s, an approach to teaching literacy called “Balanced Literacy” started being taught worldwide. It is likely that most of the parents of today’s Learners were taught how to read using a structured approach and not “Balanced Literacy.”
Structured approach:
Explicit (directly teaching skills)
Cumulative (skills build on each other)
Systematic (organization of material follows logical order of language, beginning with the easiest and most basic concepts and elements, progressing methodically to more difficult concepts and elements)
Utilizes decodable text i.e., words that learners can sound out
Encourage students to sound-out words instead of using cues (e.g. looking at the picture or guessing from context)
Includes phonics and phonological awareness, word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, listening and reading comprehension, written expression, and oral language
Many free, or low-cost, materials accessible online and in libraries
Balanced Literacy:
Focuses on creating a reading environment with lots of access to books and time for reading
Uses levelled text which is based on how predicable the text is
Focuses on repetition and ‘cues’ or guessing to teach kids how to read
Repetitive sentences with just one word that changes, and obvious pictures that help the reader understand what the story is about.
Specific programs and authors/books
Q: How will this impact my child and my family?
This change mostly impacts Educators, which is why we have provided training for them. A team of Literacy Coaches will be providing direct support at all of our schools, and Literacy Teachers will be paired with mentors
Students will be given materials that teach them skill-by-skill, and build on previous lessons. For example, they may have a lesson for the sounds ‘s’, ‘a,’ and ‘m’ then they will spend time reading materials with just those sounds. The next lesson will add more sounds, cumulatively.
Parents can expect information shared with them about their child’s literacy skills. This will look different than what they may be familiar with because we will be talking about specific literacy skills not just arbitrary levels. This will help parents know exactly where their child is at and what their strengths and challenges are so they can take an active and important role in their learning.
Q: Will my child lose their Reading Recovery Teacher?
We will not be losing the positions of reading recovery teachers-those positions will now be Literacy Teachers and they will provide evidence-based instruction in small-group and one-on-one work.
Our dedicated literacy coaching team has also started this fall and are supporting administrators, classroom teachers and literacy teachers in implementing these new approaches.
Q: What is the science of reading?
The term “science of reading” refers to the research that reading experts have conducted on how we learn to read. This body of knowledge, including research from the fields of education, linguistics, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience, has formed the basis of what we know to comprise effective reading instruction in that it is explicit, systematic, and offer many opportunities to respond. Information from: ufli.education.ufl.edu
If you are helping a learner with their reading journey and need some guidance on what you can do to help them work through science of reading elements, check out this brochure.
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FNSB Literacy Coaches directly support classroom teachers, as well as Learning Assistance Teachers (LATs) who work in small groups, and Literacy Teachers who work one-to-one with students. The FNSB Literacy Coach team is also committed to building localized resources with the involvement of Elders and Knowledge Keepers.
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In order to best serve our students, we need to know exactly what is happening with their learning, where the gaps are, while using the most up-to-date and evidence-based methodologies.
We have selected 3 interrelated literacy screening tools, through research conducted in partnership with the Speech Language Pathologists and Education Team at YFNED. Grade 1-3 teachers at FNSB schools complete the screening tools at least 2x per year (e.g., beginning and end of school year).
1) Test of Word Reading Efficiency. Skills measured: phonics, vocabulary, fluency
2) Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency. Skills measured: word recognition
3) Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension. Skills measured: comprehension
Please click on the link for video tutorials for each test:
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December 6, 2024: MacLean’s Magazine annual Year Ahead issue discusses structured literacy and mentions FNSB’s literacy Plan and improved learner response. Read it: Canadian students have struggled to read and write. That stops this year.
February 27, 2024: The FNSB Literacy Team joins host Dr. Lisa Archibald on SAC Shining Lights School S-LP Podcast. Check out the full episode.
December 1, 2023: The British Columbia Association of School Psychologists references FNSB’s literacy work in their support for a structured literacy approach paired with cultural knowledge, values and perspectives of Indigenous students.
October 26, 2023:Yukon First Nation School Board’s literacy program gets stamp of approval from Dyslexia Canada - Yukon News
October 17, 2023: October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, we hear from a coach helping local students work with their dyslexia, CBC Yukon A New Day
Audio fileAugust 1, 2023:The First Nation School Board is switching to another reading system, one putting the focus on phonics, CBC Yukon A New Day
Audio fileFebruary 8, 2023:New Literacy Plan Announced