Tag Archives: K-2

Welcome to our new readilearn website – #readilearn

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I’m very excited to announce that my new readilearn website is now live:

Hello and welcome to my new website. I hope you like it as much as I do. I am delighted with what web designer Rebecca Timmis has developed for me. The new site has many of the same features that will be familiar to you from the old site. In addition, there are many new features and improvements.

One thing you may notice straight way (in addition to the layout and images) is that you can now access the free resources without needing to register or go through the checkout. This feature makes it easier for you to download the free printable resources and access the free online resources.

Premium resources can still be purchased individually but, as before, an annual subscription provides the best value. If you subscribed to or purchased resources from the original site, you should still be able to access them using the same login information. Email me at hello@readilearn.com.au if you experience any difficulty. The best way to find out about the new site is to have an explore.

While you may no longer be able to follow this blog, you will still be able to keep up to date with news and new resources by subscribing to the newsletter which I’ll continue to publish on the last day of the month. I have two new interactive resources ready to add to the collection later this month, so keep an eye out for those.

Please contact me with any comments or feedback about the new site or resources you’d like added. I’d love to hear what you think.

Now I’d like to tell you a little about the amazing web designer Rebecca Timmis.

About Rebecca Timmis

rebecca_timmis

Rebecca Timmis is an author, illustrator, web designer and game developer based in Queensland’s sunny Gold Coast. She has been building WordPress and custom PHP websites for over 15 years, specialising in database architecture (much more exciting than it sounds). Rebecca is passionate about helping people create and build their online presence. Her favourite clients are non-profits, particularly those in the wildlife sector, and other creatives like herself.

When she’s not coding websites, Rebecca writes and illustrates for children. Her first junior fiction series, MerTales, was published by Albert Street Books in 2021. She also developed a game for the series, MerTales: Mermaid Rescue, which is available for free on Google Play and the AppStore.

Learn more about Vanilla Web Designs at https://www.vanillawebdesigns.com.au
Learn more about Rebecca’s writing, illustration and game dev at https://rjtimmis.net

Source: Welcome to our new readilearn website – readilearn

teaching and learning with nursery rhymes

Teaching and learning with nursery rhymes – reblogged from readilearn

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Nursery rhymes are often a child’s first introduction to our literary heritage. Parents sing nursery rhyme lullabies to soothe their babies to sleep and play nursery rhyme games to entertain them in their waking hours. All the while, children are learning the rhythms and tones of our language, developing vocabulary, ideas and imagination. When children learn the repetitive patterns of nursery rhymes, they are also developing their memories.

Australian author Mem Fox is often quoted as saying that

“Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.”

While I am aware that others question the existence of research to back up that statement, I think most teachers would agree that children who have been spoken to, sung to (including nursery rhymes) and read to before school will find literacy learning much easier in our classrooms. Success with literacy learning often correlates with success later in life.

Already on the readilearn website, there are resources to support your literacy teaching using the nursery rhymes Humpty Dumpty and Little Miss Muffet. More are in development. While some nursery rhymes may be considered to have questionable origins, those origins have no place when teaching them to children. The benefits flow from having fun with the rhythms and rhymes of language.

Teaching literacy skills & developing creative thinking with Humpty Dumpty

The Humpty Dumpty suite of resources includes:

Continue reading: Teaching and learning with nursery rhymes – readilearn

observing living thing local environment

readilearn: Observing living things in the local environment – animals – Readilearn

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Observing living things in the local environment helps children develop an appreciation for all living things, not just the exotic animals that feature most commonly in picture books and wildlife shows. It also helps them appreciate the diversity of living things in their local area and may stimulate an interest to know more.

Conducted over a week, including a weekend, observations can reveal a surprising number of creatures. If the observations are repeated throughout the year; for example, during different seasons, a greater diversity may be observed.

Be part of a larger project

While observations can be conducted independently as part of the class curriculum, sometimes you can be involved in larger citizen science projects such as these two Australian projects: the Aussie Backyard Bird Count and The Atlas of Living Australia. Data on The Atlas of Living Australia enables you to find out what living things others have observed in your local (Australian) area.

For those living outside Australia, you may find resources specific to your location by searching National Geographic, Scientific American or simply by conducting an internet search.

Books and other resources

While many species observed may be identified through an internet search, particularly using the resource section of your local museums, it is also useful to source books about the wildlife of your area, or to seek out local groups and experts to assist identification and to develop understanding of local habitats and living things.

Circle picture book by Jeannie Baker

Include picture books if possible too. For example, earlier this week I had the pleasure of attending the launch of an exhibition of collages created by Australian author and illustrator Jeannie Baker to continue reading

Source: readilearn: Observing living things in the local environment – animals – Readilearn

Let’s read, write and spell with Schuyler: readilearn

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I don’t normally post twice a week, but this post is really an addendum to the previous post What’s in a name? Teaching phonics, syllabification and more! so I decided to break with tradition and share it.

For the inspiration for this post and the resource it describes, I must thank Pamela Wight, who featured in the author interview last month.

In commenting on the What’s in a name? post, Pamela mentioned the awkwardness of singing and spelling her grandson’s name – Schuyler, a name with which I was unfamiliar. I joked to Pamela that I’d thought of recording a few names, innovating on the tune of BINGO, to show how “easy” it might be. Pamela suggested I should, even though I explained that my singing voice is anything but, and she told me the pronunciation for Schuyler: Skylar. Well, I couldn’t help myself. My head started racing with ideas of incorporating Schuyler’s name into reading and writing lessons teaching phonics and spelling skills. The result is the resource Let’s read, write and spell with Schuyler,

and the recording.

Continue reading: Let’s read, write and spell with Schuyler: readilearn

Learning about life on a farm – Readilearn

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Learning about life on a farm holds great interest for children and many opportunities for integrated learning across the curriculum. Most of today’s children are town-dwellers and have little experience with rural and farm life. Many have no idea where their food comes from beyond the attractive supermarket shelves.

This week I have uploaded some new resources which support an early childhood K-2 unit of work about farms. However, they can be used as part of a literacy program, independent of a farm unit. Sight words and phonic skills can be developed through reading in a context that is both meaningful and interesting to children.

New resources include:

On the farm Who am I? This interactive digital story is great for use on the interactive whiteboard. Children are presented with a series of clues to help them identify an animal that lives on a farm. Children select the answer from those provided. The resource includes both domestic and “wild” animals.

Continue reading: Learning about life on a farm – Readilearn