Literacy resources
Australian Council of Adult Literacy (ACAL) - www.acal.edu.au
Promotes adult literacy and numeracy policy and practice. It is an advocate organisation which supports adult literacy practitioners and organisations within Australia and promotes debate on adult literacy issues.
Children’s Book Council of Australia - cbca.org.au
Cap that! - www.capthat.com.au
Resource for teachers about using captions when showing videos in the classroom to help improve literacy, particularly for ESL students and students with learning disabilities.
The Reading Writing Hotline - 1300 6555 06 and www.literacyline.edu.au/services.html
Provides information for adults wanting to attend literacy classes in the area, or by correspondence. Also a source of information about workplace language and literacy programs
Literacy and Learning Centre - www.literacyandlearning.com.au
The Literacy and Learning centre provides assessment and support for children and adolescents experiencing difficulties in all aspects of literacy and learning.
Bringing Picture Books Alive - http://www.butterflywings.com.au
Bringing Picture Books Alive are fun, interactive workshops for parents, granparents, child care educators, kindy and prep teachers.
Trevor Cairney - www.trevorcairney.com & trevorcairney.blogspot.com
A literacy educator with a website and blog aimed at parents and teachers, providing support and advice on literacy, families and learning. Provides reviews of books and how to read them with children. Has links to other websites for parents helping children to read, teacher resources and children’s literature generally. His website has a list of his own publications on language research and classroom practice.
e:lit - www.elit.edu.au
A national association that supports primary school educators to focus on the teaching and learning of English and literacies across all areas of the curriculum.
Government Literacy website - www.literacyandnumeracy.gov.au
Australian Literacy Educators Association - www.alea.edu.au
An independent professional association dedicated to literacy development and English language learning at all levels of education. It supports teachers in their current practice; provides leadership for literacy educators; and influences future development in literacy by building effective literacy communities.
Reading Rockets - www.readingrockets.org
A US site with lots of techniques and strategies for helping kids with reading. A page specifically about helping struggling readers is http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/
Marj Kirkland, CBCA National President 2009 - 2010, had an article published about reading over at the KidsLife website. It's full of great advice. http://www.kidslife.com.au/Page.aspx?ID=2653
Indigenous Literacy Foundation - www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/home
Read Write Now! - www.read-write-now.org
A community based volunteer group in WA that provides free one-on-one tutoring to adults wanting to improve their reading, writing and spelling.
Community Adult Literacy Foundation (CALF) - www.adult-literacy.net
Gobsmackers - www.adult-literacy.net/gobsmackers/index.htm
From CALF (above). Gobsmackers books have been written and illustrated by volunteers with many years experience in adult literacy. The books are intended as fun readers for adults. All the books have been based on real life stories and the tales are all 'gobsmacking'. There are tips for tutors and exercises for each book. The exercises and tips can be downloaded and printed.
Preston Reservoir Adult Community Education (PRACE) - www.prace.vic.edu.au
PRACE is regarded as a key English Second Language and literacy & numeracy adult education provider in the Northern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne.
Page Turners - pageturners.prace.vic.edu.au/index.php
From PRACE (above). Fun, engaging, easy-to-read stories for beginning adult readers.
The Reading Agency - www.readingagency.org.uk
UK charity based around inspiring people to read more, particularly working with young people who find it difficult to develop reading skills and adults who find reading a challenge. They have an online search database, Find A Read http://www.readingagency.org.uk/findaread/ , for less confident adult readers to find suitable titles. Contains a combination of mainstream titles and titles written specially for emergent readers.
Adult Literacy Resource - www.adultliteracyresource.edu.au
The information in this resource is based on research funded through the Adult Literacy Research Program (ALRP). The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) managed this research program on behalf of the former Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (now Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)). Research topics ranged from adult literacy teaching and learning approaches and outcomes, to the professional development needs of literacy practitioners. Topics also covered various literacy practices and delivery approaches across Indigenous and ethnic communities, industry, volunteer and community settings.
Workplace English Language and Literacy Program (WELL) - www.deewr.gov.au/well
The main aim of the WELL Program is to assist organisations to train workers in English language, literacy and numeracy skills. This funding is available on a competitive grants basis to organisations for English language and literacy training linked to job-related workplace training and is designed to help workers meet their current and future employment and training needs.
Listen and Learn Centre - www.listenandlearn.com.au/Programs_literacy.asp
The Listen and Learn Centre provides services to people (children from 3 years through to adults) with a wide range of needs, from those facing particular emotional, behavioural or cognitive difficulties or disorders through to those who wish to enhance their performance, well-being and engage in personal development. They have a literacy program that seeks to identify those experiencing difficulties with literacy and give them appropriate support for their learning.
MultiLit (Making Up Lost Time in Literacy) - http://www.multilit.com/
A research-based initiative of Macquarie University which addresses the literacy needs of low-progress readers through practical, systematic, explicit and effective instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Our intervention programs cover all years of formal schooling and include the MiniLit Early Literacy Intervention Program, the Reading Tutor Program and the Word Attack Skills Extension Program, all of which can be delivered in a school or MultiLit clinic setting.
ICanRULE www.icanrule.com.au
Learning to read the English language and becoming literate is always an educator's goal for their students. ICanRULE is a program designed to develop the literacy ability of any motivated student of any age group.
Useful publications
Mem Fox, Reading Magic: How can your child learn to read before starting school - and other read aloud miracles (2005, new edition), Pan, Sydney.
Jackie French, Rocket your child into reading (2004), Angus & Robertson, Pymble, NSW.
Paul Jennings, The Reading Bug... And how you can help your child catch it (2003) Viking Publications, Camberwell, Victoria.
Agnes Nieuwenhuizen, Right book, right time: 500 great books for teenagers (2007) Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW.
Literacy Face to Face – a resource for people teaching adults to read
http://siandvasupport.sydneyinstitute.wikispaces.net/file/view/Literacy+Face+to+Face.pdf
