Sunshine Books Blog

Using Decodable Graphic Novels with Students in Upper Primary As a teacher of Year 7 and 8 students, I am always on the lookout for

Teaching sentence structure in the first years of school Learning to write is without a doubt one of the most complex skills we will teach

The Power of the Sentence Understanding how sentences are constructed and how they work is a crucial foundation for reading comprehension and writing success. Sentences

The Power of Partner Reading We all know what it sounds like to hear students reading fluently. They read accurately, at a good pace and

Grapheme-Phoneme Mapping – Using techniques to help students connect sounds to letters, boosting orthographic mapping and decoding skills English uses an alphabetic writing system, meaning

The Why and What of Reading Assessment If we are to ensure that as many children as possible are reading proficiently by the time they

The value of read-alouds Over the summer holidays I read Read Alouds for All Learners: A Comprehensive Plan for Every Subject, Every Day, Grades PreK–8

Literacy Routines for the Beginning of the School Year In the first few weeks of the school year, establishing your classroom norms (aligned to your

Whole Class Reading in Upper Primary (Part 2 of 2) This blog post is Part 2 of a two-part series unpacking how whole class reading

Whole Class Reading in Upper Primary (Part 1 of 2) This blog post is Part 1 of a two-part series unpacking how whole class reading

The Importance of Teaching Handwriting The importance of teaching handwriting has been grossly underestimated in recent years, and teachers have been given the wrong messages

Reading Intervention Support using the Sunshine Phonics Decodables Series We have all come across those fortunate learners for whom learning to read comes easily —

The Knowledge-Rich Curriculum The aim of this blog is to spark curiosity and open dialogue around what a knowledge-rich curriculum is, and why educators may

Morphology What is morphology? Morphology is the study of the smallest units of meaning in a word. These parts or bases are called morphemes. English

AI in the Classroom The hype around the use of AI continues to build. AI is being used increasingly in classrooms, and it’s not just

Phonological Awareness What is phonological awareness? Phonological awareness is the umbrella term or concept which includes phonemic awareness of the individual speech sounds in words

Shared Reading in a Structured Literacy Classroom Shared reading is a powerful teaching technique which has a strong research base. It supports and improves students:

The Literacy Block in a Structured Literacy Classroom Juggling the demands of a busy classroom is not for the faint hearted, and ensuring that you