For the past several years, my annual learning goals have centered around deepening my understanding of Structured Literacy—an approach rooted in the Science of Reading and grounded in decades of research into how children’s brains acquire and process written language.
As educators, we know that teaching reading is not just an academic goal—it is a matter of equity. Ensuring that all students receive access to high-quality, evidence-based literacy instruction means we are actively dismantling barriers to learning. We are building a culture of belonging, wellbeing, and opportunity.
Structured Literacy prioritizes clear, intentional, and research-informed instruction. Here are the core principles that define this approach:
Sequential
Skills are introduced in a logical, developmentally appropriate order, with careful scaffolding to ensure mastery before moving forward.
Explicit
Instruction is direct, intentional, and interactive. The gradual release model—“I do, We do, You do”—supports learners through modelling and guided practice.
Systematic & Cumulative
A structured scope and sequence ensures instruction builds progressively, helping students connect new learning to prior knowledge.
Diagnostic
Assessment is ongoing and timely. It drives instruction and allows educators to respond to students’ evolving needs with precision.
If you are beginning your journey understanding the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy, it is encouraged you to explore the resources listed below. The Margaret Wilson Library is a great place to check out books !
While supporting MLLs (Multi-lingual learners), we often consider differentiating process, content and product based on their Steps to English Proficiency, STEP level. Historically teachers have focused on simplification and remediation which can lead to inequitable learning outcomes.
Honigsfeld (2019) recommends addition rather than simplification in order to ensure students have access to academic language and literacy skills. Some suggestions below:
Chunk the text into smaller, more manageable passages
Add questions or headings to determine focus
Add visuals with captions
Add a glossary with translations
But when should we use and take away scaffolds?
Assessment and data drives decision making, so it is important to use that to help you review and revise scaffolds being provided to ensure we continue to challenge them.
Regularly ask yourself
Are these scaffolds helping students grow, or are they holding them back?
Is the student ready to take on more independence in this task?
As MLLs engage in the full learning cycle – active engagement, risk taking, the productive struggle of the learning pit- adjust scaffolds to keep them challenged.
Professional Judgement in Action
The ETFO docuseries on Professional Judgement highlights the critical role of educators’ expertise in decision-making. As you work with MLLs:
Reflect on your scaffolds: Are they amplifying learning opportunities or unintentionally oversimplifying?
Use your professional judgement to balance support with independence, ensuring that all MLLs reach their potential.
Let’s commit to amplifying, not simplifying, so all learners thrive.
My positionality: To preface this post, I am engaging in this work as a co-learner rather than an expert. As a racialized woman and a life-long learner, my role as an anti-racist teacher involves knowing the students and families in front of me to create equitable learning experiences to ensure students feel a sense of belonging and community. This means doing the heart and hard work of learning and unlearning.
February is known as Black History Month, and it is a time to honour and recognize the contributions, achievements and resilience of Black Canadians. While we will focus on Black Joy in the month of February, to do deep meaningful learning, it is recommended that we engage in this work all year long.
As educators, we are tasked to teach truth to power. When educating about Black Canadians, please do not start with enslavement and their harm. They were in Canada before enslavement, so it is important to highlight that.
However, that is not to say we should avoid discussions about the harm that took place in the past and present. Plan so that students have had a chance to see and learn about Black History in a lot of positive, joyful ways.
Shifting to Black Joy
How will you shine light on the Black Brilliance here in Canada to help our students see the greatness and contribution of Black Canadians? How are you ensuring that you are not only teaching about Black Trauma, but also shifting the focus to include Black Joy? We can do this by sharing the stories written by Black Canadian Authors. In fact, the changes to the new language curriculum focuses on this: A3. Applications, Connections, and Contributions – Identity and Community
I encourage you to lead with Joy and Excellence! ETFO has shared some great resources to get you started!
Translanguaging – a way to promote Linguistic Diversity
With International Mother Languages Day approaching I thought it would be important to talk about Translanguaging! “Translanguaging is the process of using all our linguistic resources to understand and communicate… include using words or phrases in different languages, alongside English to communicate” (ETFO Poster, 2023). This is an especially fantastic strategy for MLL who are in the beginning STEPS of acquiring the English language. As MLLs move along the STEPS, educators are encouraged to facilitate opportunities for MLLs to use their first language as a way to maintain home language.
Translanguaging is a way to invite the use of all languages in the classroom with purpose. As a culturally responsive practice, it values language as an asset, affirms student identities and provides an opportunity for the ongoing development of a first language.
Translanguaging is a way to dismantle the idea of English over other languages, and honours the language diversity in today’s classrooms.
Ways to support translanguaging:
Have students brainstorm, organize and outline their ideas in their first language before they describe them in English
Provide multiple opportunities to practice to practice first language (L1) by pairing with peers who also speak the first language
Co-create multilingual vocabulary cards
Co-create success criteria that outlines the way other languages can be used to meet learning goals
Allow students to demonstrate their learning with L1
Provide dual languages texts (virtual or physical)
Leverage Translation Tools: Google Read & Write, Google Translate are fantastic tools that allow students to access materials and respond in L1
Shifting to an Asset-Based Lens to Support Student Identities
January is a busy time of the year for many educators: collecting various forms of data, reviewing grade books, collaborating with families and colleagues to write Term 1 report cards and goals for Term 2 IEPs (Individual Education Plans). During this time, it is important to reflect on how we communicate about learning. Language plays a pivotal role in this process, and adopting an asset-based approach is key to maintaining high expectations and supporting students’ identities.
The Ontario Ministry of Education’s Growing Success document encourages educators to adopt an asset-based approach when describing student strengths and areas for growth. This practice shifts the focus to potential, emphasizing the learning and progress.
Examples of shifting language
Instead of saying…
This student is weak in identifying numbers to 20
This is a Level 1 math student
This is a Spec Ed student
This student cannot speak English
Shift to say …
The student’s learning of identifying numbers to 20 is emerging.
This student is currently demonstrating a level 1 in number sense
This student has an IEP
The student is building their English proficiency
The Impact of Language on Identity
Notice how what we say can also indirectly impact a student’s identity?
What we say about students—to families, colleagues, and the students themselves—shapes their identity as learners. Asset-based language communicates that we believe in their potential and growth. Having brave, critical conversations with colleagues about this shift is challenging. However, this shift in practice helps ensure that all students can achieve, regardless of their starting point or identity.
I have been refining this practice over the years, and overall it has been a positive experience. Here are my own reflections on this experience as an MLL Support Teacher:
Co-planning gives both teachers direction to effectively teach the students. It leads to shared ownership of BOTH the learning and the students.
Taking the time to co-plan gives both the content and MLL support teacher purpose and thereby lead to better learning conditions
The co-planning and co-reflect pieces are fantastic opportunities to reflect as pracitioners; they are also the MOST important aspects of the collaborative cycle
The collaborative cycle is an opportunity to improve both teachers’ instructional and assessment practices
If the time is taken to co-plan, the lessons generally flow naturally and lead to a positive co-teaching experience.
The impact on ALL students
High engagement in all aspects of learning in the classroom
Students felt heard and supported during the learning
Immediate needs were met, and gaps were closed as a result
A great opportunity to build-on relationships with all students.
Students looked forward to opportunities of two teachers in the classroom, and experienced more success
What needs to happen:
Principals ensured teachers and support staff have what they need to be successful, including shared planning times
Both teachers need to see the value of the collaborative cycle on student success, and be dedicated to the process, especially when it becomes uncomfortable
How to get started: Focus on one lesson within a unit to engage in the cycle. As both teachers start to feel comfortable, then take on more lessons each time. Keep an open mind, knowing that you can refine and move forward with each collaborative cycle.
In this series, I will discuss Co-Teaching as a way to support student success. I do recognize that MLL support models look differently across the boards, which means not everyone can access this model. As you read this series, I hope you consider other colleagues you can work with (e.g., grade teaching partner, SERT). I have seen that MLLs thrive when a model of team-teaching is provided. They deserve a model like this as it is a powerful way to ensure equitable learning outcomes.
An Overview
Collaboration takes place where members of an inclusive learning community work together with the purpose to support student success in the classroom. Through teacher collaboration and co-teaching practices, a variety of studies have reported increased student achievement in content areas and improved sense of belonging in the school community. Key outcomes for teachers include enhanced peer support, authentic job-embedded professional learning, and shared ownership of all students . There are principles of teaching co-teaching to consider while collaborating: time gifting, communication, control surrendering, perspective seeking, relationship investing.
The Collaborative Cycle
While defining collaboration and coteaching, it is important to note that it is a process, not an event. Honigfeld and Dove (2017) describe the collaborative cycle as Co-plan, Co-Act, Co-Assess and Reflect. It is similar to the Plan-Act-Assess-Reflect cycle, but the difference is that it is done in collaboration. Teachers need to engage in allparts of the collaborative cycle in order to ensure successful outcomes for students.
Retrieved from ETFO Article resource: Supporting Multilingual Language Learners: Collaboration and Co-teaching
Co-planning: This part of the cycle is considered the most important aspect, and is often overlooked. It is recommended to avoid low-impact co-planning (e.g., today’s lesson, tomorrow’s lesson, one one graphic organizer). To work towards high-impact co-planning, where each partner is seen as an equal, it is recommended to focus more on unit planning, student groups, assessments, extension activities, curriculum mapping and lesson and language sequencing. Developing an ongoing document, such as a unit plan organizer, can help work towards high-impact co-planning.
Some key questions to consider during co-planning
What are content learning goals? What are the language learning goals?
Both the content teacher (classroom teacher) and resource teacher (MLL Support Teacher) bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to co-planning. Below is a list of some of the skills (not comprehensive)
Content Teachers
MLL Support Teachers
Set content objectives and learning cycles
Knowledge of the MLL learners, including their STEP levels and background history (with a focus on strengths)
Curate Resources, and knowledge of curriculum content
Scaffold access to resources, including technology
Create content specific success criteria and assessments
Differentiate content, process, and product in linguistic and CRRP lens, while advocating for identity affirming interactions
Co-Teach: There are many models of co-teaching. This is time to identify co-teaching models, considering the learning environment and learning goals. The most common models includes:
Team Teaching: both teachers providing instruction at the same time
Lead support teaching: one leads, other supports instruction
Parallel Teaching: two teachers providing instruction to two different groups at the same time, process might look different although content may be the same
Station Teaching: students in small groups, multiple stations, and each station has a different task, each teacher manages their own station
Co-Assess: Assessment is usually established during co-planning; therefore both teachers share the responsibility of assessment (e.g., rubric, success criteria, observation log). It is recommended to also create a reflection collaboration log to record reflections during the co-teaching experience.
Co-Reflect: During the co-reflection meeting, teachers should discuss successes and refinements by using the assessment as their guiding tools. This will in part support the next co-teaching cycle to be more successful.
In 2022, I started to build my co-teaching capacities as a means to improve outcomes for all students through my role as an MLL support teacher. In Part Two I will share my reflections, including the benefits, and advice of how to get started !
The Footbridge Framework was honestly quite natural to follow. Having applied this framework with my classes, I appreciate that it encourages self-reflection on my own position as a settler. As educators, we are all on our own journey of refining our practices. This framework stood out to me because it allows us to identify learning and unlearning that is needed without judgment. Since this learning series, I have spent the time reviewing the author’s narrative to share with students, first as an appreciation, and then discussing the reason the text was written. This has helped my students build key critical literacy skills, and add more depth to their responses to the common question “What is the purpose of this text? Why did the author write it?”. As the number of resources available to educators increases, I value that framework emphasizes the careful consideration that must be given to the authenticity and the contexts in which the resource might be used. Additionally, this framework aligns with the TRC’s calls to action:
“We call upon the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada to maintain an annual commitment to Aboriginal education issues, including: Developing and implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve curriculum and learning resources on Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of residential schools.Truth and Reconciliation Commission delivered its Calls to Action” TRC # 63,
I highly recommend all educators to review this resource as part of professional learning, as a means to equip themselves with the tools to bring FNMI voices respectfully in their classroom.
M’lot, C., & Adamov Ferguson, K. (2022). Resurgence: Indigenous narratives and expressions in the classroom. Portage & Main Press.
I had the opportunity to participate in professional development focused on amplifying First Nations, Metis and Indigenous (FNMI) voices in the classroom. This professional development was timely, considering the revised Ontario language curriculum is now focused on approaching learning through a CRRP (Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy) lens. Strand A, ‘Applications, connections and contributions’ highlights that:
Students apply language and literacy skills in various contexts, and make connections to the contributions of a diversity of voices, experiences and perspectives, including those of First Nations, Métis and Inuit individuals, communities, groups and nations. (Ontario Language Curriculum, 2023)
As a racialized educator and settler, I really appreciate this change as it recognizes the vast diversity in the students and a clear response in regards to working towards Truth and Reconciliation (TRC). It pushes teachers to provide learning opportunities that continue to build on and learn about other student identities and experiences (i.e., windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors). In this learning series, we explored the Footbridge Framework (from Resurgence) as an approach to explore Indigenous texts and use them authentically.
The Footbridge Framework: A means to become ‘story ready’
Firstly, it is important to note that the Footbridge Framework was authored by Christine M’Lot (Anishinaabe educator) and Katya Ferguson (early years teacher) both of whom reside in Manitoba. They both worked with other Indigenous contributors to construct this framework. The Footbridge Framework was formed to guide us to consider context, authenticity, representation and educator learning or reflections. Although it appears as a step-like process, the framework is actually represented in a thread-like structure; every story learning will branch out to different thinking and connections. The five stages of the Footbridge Framework allows you and your students to engage with Indigenous voices and texts with purpose and meaning.M’lot and Ferguson provided questions within each step to help educators work through the framework.
Preparing to Set Out (p. 12): In this step, time is encouraged to be spent on researching the author’s narrative, identity, other contributions and their relationship to place and their work. During this research, educators are encouraged to self-reflect and form personal connections and consider their own engagement with Indigenous texts and content (e.g., How do I bring Indigenous voices in the classroom? What learning do I need to do to support students?).
Leaving Shore and Cross the Bridge (p. 14-15): Educators decide the learning focus, and share the text with students. Educators move from initial engagement to deeper understanding of the theme by encouraging students to first form connections to self, community and then an inquiry. The authors shared that this will allow them to engage in critical thinking with relation to issues of power, and agency (p. 17). By asking students “What is the Author talking back against? What forms of oppression is the author talking back against?” it will allow students to explore the deeper meaning of Indigenous texts. Students can then explore specific tensions between Indigenous peoples and settlers using the various inquiry prompts outlined in the Resurgence text, thus determining what they want to inquire about further.
Reaching the Shore and Beginning a New Journey (p. 17): As educators and students reach the shore, M’Lot and Ferguson share that introducing other Indigenous resources will help guide students to return to the text with a new lens. It can also include reading a different Indigenous text to start a new journey.
In part two, I will share my experiences, and reflections for next time.
M’lot, C., & Adamov Ferguson, K. (2022). Resurgence: Indigenous narratives and expressions in the classroom. Portage & Main Press.
