Tricky kids, tricky classes
Tricky kids, tricky classes
Playberry Laser Tier 1-2 Literacy Program
Playberry Laser is a proud major sponsor of
the South Australian Catholic Primary Principals Association
New to Playberry Laser in 2024
Morphology Embedded in Phases 2-5 Phases: 6 and 7 - Pure Morphology
​
From 2024, Phases 6 and 7 enter the program. These will take students deep into the Latin and Greek layers of our language, vastly expanding vocabulary and word analysis skills. We have carefully selected morphemes to enhance students' understanding of maths and science vocabulary. Current Phase 2 and 3 users will now find morphology embedded in lesson 4 each week. Phases 4 and 5 will have a fourth (morphology) day in addition to the current three days.
​
We have created a unit of catch-up morphology for current phase 2-5 users wanting to bring their students up to speed.
​
​
Our Independent activity cards can be used as homework or supplementary independent tasks for students to consolidate learning between lessons. Additional Connected Texts that target newly taught morphemes compliment our suite of morphology resources.
​
Phase Zero
for mid-year
Foundation
Intake
Phase Zero has you covered for mid-year foundation intake students to jump-start literacy development with a focus on:
​
-
Alphabet Knowledge
-
Phonological Awareness
-
Basic Phonic Code
-
Establishing Instructional Routines
-
Conventions of Print
​
Tier 2 Intervention Resources
In Playberry Laser, assessment data shows particular GPCs, spelling rules or concepts that students have not mastered. Students needing reteaching and additional practice can be grouped with others with like instructional needs, in small groups for Tier 2 intervention. Teachers choose the particular area that each group needs additional teaching or revision and marks activities to be completed on the lesson planner.
​
Tier 2 intervention follows a similar lesson structure to Tier 1 but without the slides. Groups may be working on the following:
​
-
Alphabet naming and sequencing
-
Phonological awareness activities
-
Reading and Concept Card drills
-
Word reading and spelling (including Heart Words)
-
Connected Text reading
-
Dictation tasks
-
Games containing concepts or GPCs to be consolidated
Now we have you covered from foundation to year six!
Playberry Laser Online Platform
Experience in this space has shown us that the recurring issue with the uptake and effective delivery of quality primary literacy programs comes down to two things: teaching teachers the complex knowledge about the English Orthography and then freeing them from hours of lesson and materials preparation so they can embed new knowledge and rebuild their literacy teaching from the ground up.
With this in mind, we have designed a teacher-supportive multisensory literacy resource for primary teachers to support them to teach in line with research. We take the planning and resource design load from busy teachers to free them to focus on building their content knowledge and developing their delivery. Even teachers who've been teaching in line with structured literacy principles for years are thrilled to get back a few hours of their weekends by not having to create their own materials! For others, we want to help them get where they need to be as quickly as possible. Being up late every night developing materials doesn't achieve this outcome! Our kids need energised, well-slept and knowledgeable teachers who teach highly effectively.
Effective literacy teaching is not 'choose your own adventure', so our resources cannot be altered. We do this to ensure our scope and sequences are adhered to, lesson plans are tight, review is incorporated, and curriculum variance is kept to a minimum. Our diagnostic assessments track what students have retained, making the tricky job of planning for small group (tier 2) intervention easier.
​
Playberry Laser T1-2 is changing the game in schools. This is what teachers have been crying out for.
12 Month Subscription Packages
Prices are subject to change.
The Lone Ranger Subscription
Single teacher / single class
​
2024 Full year
$845+GST (Starter package for new 2024 teachers)
$500+GST (ongoing full-year subscription)
​
Includes Nuts and Bolts training day
​
​
We understand that there are well informed and passionate teachers who want to use Playberry Laser with their own class but can't get whole school buy in. We want to work with these teachers to get them going on the best evidence informed literacy teaching there is. We will train them in all aspects of Playberry Laser and get them on their way.
​
Teachers must have completed the Playberry Laser Nuts and Bolts training before getting access to the Playberry Laser platform. The next training is January 24th, 2024 (unless otherwise arranged).
​
Easy to Find Your Way Around
Our online resource is designed with time pressure in mind. Literacy review routines are fast-paced, so we have designed a platform that takes teachers straight to where they left off and allows them to quickly and easily navigate between the phonology lesson slides and the phonology resources (connected texts, teacher manual, heart word lists, supplementary worksheets, weekly planners and scope and sequence documents).
Over 45,000 Lesson Slides
We are set out day-to-day, week-to-week and term-to-term for foundation to grade six. Lessons contain a review of previously taught GPCs, spelling rules, grammar concepts and morphology. The on-screen slides link to our phonology, morphology and alphabet card decks, so everything is in line. Built-in prompts on the slides keep teaching direct and tight. New teaching points contain embedded voice cues for teachers and prompt multisensory teaching routines. Dictations and connected texts are built in to consolidate learning through scaffolded and independent practice. We have also built in a review schedule so previous learning pops back up just at the right time to be consolidated and retained.
​
Overcoming the Forgetting Curve
"But we taught magic 'e' last year; how come none of them remember it?"
​
Sound familiar? Cognitive Psychology has helped us understand the importance of spaced, interleaved and retrieval practice for transferring information into long-term memory and building automaticity. Cognitive Load Theory explains the importance of automaticity. Repeated exposure to new learning is helpful to all students, critical to many and harmful to none. We have done the heavy lifting for teachers in this regard. Our lessons have a built-in review schedule, so previous learning pops back up just at the right time to be consolidated and retained. Our lesson slides utilise faded text to scaffold students toward mastery. Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve (left) is a cornerstone of what we understand about the importance of revision. Learn more here.
Knowledge-Rich Connected Texts
We've written over 500 decodable connected texts (in short and long forms for later grades) embedded in lesson slides for choral reading, read alouds and downloadable PDFs for fluency paired reading, independent reading or home reading. These texts range from zany narratives to procedural and expository texts. Texts for older grades have been written with increasing clause and sentence complexity so they can be used as examples in writing lessons. We cover many high-interest topics to build students' background knowledge and stimulate thinking that can be explored in other subject areas.
​
Integrated Card Decks
Purchase separately at Playberry Laser shop
​
Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondence and Letter Naming routines are prompted by the lesson slides, and each has accompanying card decks. Our lesson planners tell teachers which cards should be in the Reading Card Deck in any given lesson, and teachers can use their discretion about cards that need to stay in the pack for additional review. Reading Cards are double-sided with clue word prompts. All phonemes for graphemes are listed, as well as reminders of any associated spelling rules that apply. Instructions for card routines are clearly outlined in the teacher's manual on the online platform.
​
Letter naming - quickly identifying and correctly pinpointing the letters of the alphabet - is highly predictive of reading success. Our Alphabet Card Deck has a lower case on one side and upper case on the other. Vowels and consonants are in different colours.
​
Weekly Planners
We know from experience how cognitively demanding teaching can be, particularly for teachers new to the Science of Reading and the Science of Learning. Built-in weekly planners give teachers a quick overview of the week's lesson content so they know at a glance what will be in the on-screen slides. Teachers need to be able to focus on multisensory teaching, engagement norms, checking for understanding and diagnostic teaching. The pedagogy is just as critical as the content!
​
Easy Access Overviews
It can be easy to lose the big picture in a comprehensive resource like this, so we have downloadable overviews, scopes and sequences. We want teachers to be able to download what they need when they need it quickly. This is also incredibly handy when teachers need to quickly get their hands on materials for tier 2 intervention groups.
​
Helping parents understand
Evidence-informed reading and spelling teaching looks very different from the disproven whole language and balanced literacy approaches. Student readers come home later and seem simpler, lessons are more structured, and teacher-led, and parents suddenly need to be re-trained to listen to their kids read at home! It's a massive overhaul! Parents have questions, and we get it. We've created this downloadable information sheet to help teachers explain what's changing with how they're teaching and why.
Know precisely where in the Program to start your class.
​
A 169-item diagnostic spelling assessment removes the guesswork from deciding where a class needs to start in our scope and sequence. What students have retained is not determined by year level; it’s determined by how well they’ve been taught. Schools that move over to us decide where the tier-one teaching needs to start within our phases. If students can spell it, they can read it. We have partnered with Progress Educational Consulting to build the data analysis tool that gives a macro and micro view of exactly which GPCs and spelling conventions students have and haven’t stuck for students. This powerful tool informs whole class teaching and provides intervention foci for individuals or groups. We have data-informed teaching covered with Dibels (our preferred whole-school monitoring system).
​
How we work - Trainings ......... and book these too as they will go fast!
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Initial meeting (Linda, Christie or Bill)
Leadership
In this no-obligation catch-up, we will discuss where your school is up to and where to go next. We understand that different schools are at various points, so we will plan a way forward with you that reflects your school's situation and needs.
​
Training Day 1: The Evidence-Based Teaching of Reading and Spelling Kickstarter (Bill)
Teaching staff
Educators need a well-articulated case for changing how and what they teach and are rightly suspicious of the next new thing. Bill carefully and sensitively builds a context for the Science of Reading, explains its long history and its deep, convergent evidence base and makes sense of the essential elements of the evidence-based teaching to come. Click here for more information on this training day.
​
​
Training Day 2: Playberry Laser Nuts and Bolts
(Linda, Christie-Lee or Sarah)
Teaching staff
This full day is about what to teach and how to get teachers started in their classrooms. Spelling rules and conventions, syllable types, lesson content, lesson structure, explicit teaching methodology, review routines and assessment are covered during this day.
​
​
Teaching Demonstrations
(Linda, Christie-Lee or Sarah)
Teaching staff
This is a full day in your school (or more if required) where we work in three classes (upper, middle and junior primary to year one) to model lessons with students as teachers and leaders observe. Please ensure that teachers are adequately released to observe lessons and to debrief following observations.
​
Teaching Observations
(Linda, Christie-Lee or Sarah)
Teaching staff
This is a day in your school (or more if required) where one of us and a literacy leader from your school observe teachers working with their classes. We provide carefully constructed feedback. This day is to be booked personally with Linda or Christie.
​
Follow Up Day
(Linda, Christie-Lee or Sarah)
Teaching staff
This is a full day (or more if required) of rolling release where teachers meet with Linda or Christie to ask questions about their specific year levels and cohorts and plan further refinement of practice. This day is to be booked personally with Linda or Christie.
​
Mentoring Visits
(Linda, Christie-Lee or Sarah)
Teaching staff
The more teachers get into the program, the more questions bubble up about the content, lesson delivery and how to cater for tier two. There's lots to think about, and teachers need immediate guidance so they don't accidentally learn bad habits! Schools like to book ongoing sessions with mentors to keep the teaching tight and on track. That's what we're there for!
​
Optional Parent Session
(Linda Clune, Bill or Christie-Lee Hansberry)
Parents and community
A 90-minute session for parents where SoR is explained and the usual questions are addressed, such as decodable vs predictable levelled readers. This day is to be booked personally with Linda.
​
​
​
​
​
​
Teaching Students With Dyslexia Training (TSD) Levels 1-3
(Bill Hansberry, Sally Andrew and Karen Hodson)
Intervention staff
These three levels of training over three days each will build your highly effective intervention team and train them to use The Playberry Multisensory Literacy Program for students with moderate to severe reading disorders (identified or otherwise).
​
​
​
​
​
Word Cracking Morphology Training
(Bill Hansberry and Sally Andrew)
Teaching and intervention staff
This half-day morphology workshop gives class and intervention teachers the introductory knowledge needed to enhance their teaching of morphology across all tiers of intervention.
​
Ready to roll teaching support materials
Teaching staff
The new knowledge involved with evidence-based teaching of reading and spelling is overwhelming, and teachers need support whilst they find their feet. Our suite of teaching and review support materials are ready built to lighten teachers' load so they can focus on getting the teaching routines right whilst learning the material. Our Phonology resources are made to be used by classroom teachers five days per week (Rec-Yr 2) and three days per week (Year 3-5).
Experienced and novice teachers can use the Phonology resources to deliver consistent, accurate and pedagogically sound content across all classes and year levels. The same resources can be used for Tier 2 intervention groups. This is a fantastic resource and is often what's missing when trying to embed sustainable change across the whole school. Subscription packages above.
The training for...
Morphology Training
"Teachers, we've got you covered!"
PROUD SPONSOR OF
Teaching Demonstrations
Date(s) to be organised by individual schools
$990+GST per day
​
Depending in the number of teachers to be observed, more than one day may be required
Teaching Observations
Date(s) to be organised by individual schools
$990+GST per day
​
Depending in the number of teachers to be observed, more than one day may be required
Parent Information Session
Date(s) to be organised by individual schools
$990+GST for 90 minute session
Follow up Day
Date(s) to be organised by individual schools
$990+GST per day
​
Depending in the number of teachers to be consulted, more than one day may be required
The rub!
​
The PDs down the left side (1-6) of the workshops list (above left) are the backbone of getting wave 1 right in your school. Many schools prefer to have these run on-site.
​
Trainings 3 through 6 take place in your school – pricing info is in the drop-down in the events calendar.
On the left are the TSD and Morphology trainings for 2023. Schools should have intervention staff booked into TSD1 ASAP, as the April holiday training is already full. If your school uses non-Playberry intervention programs, TSD is still vital for intervention staff to understand reading disabilities and how best to remediate them. TSD has an international reputation as one of the most comprehensive and rigorous training in this area. Your intervention staff must be your best trained and most knowledgeable. To watch more about quality tier three intervention, click here.
Word Cracking is a stunning training for any teacher wanting to teach morphology well.
Other training events to book
Structured
Multisensory Literacy Teaching and Intervention Across your School
The Playberry Multisensory Literacy Program, developed by Alison Playford and Bill Hansberry began as a tier-three intervention for students with dyslexia and other reading disorders. Our training courses, Teaching Students with Dyslexia (TSD) and Playberry, haven't only impacted intervention programs and profoundly impacted classroom (tier 1) teaching, catalysing whole school change in many schools. Many South Australia's highest-performing schools began transforming because of one passionate TSD-trained teacher.
​
Playberry Tier 3 is now the intervention program of choice in many high-performing schools and literacy practices across Australia.
​
Linda Clune, a TSD graduate and Playberry Multisensory Specialist Teacher at Fullarton House, has helped schools achieve remarkable results with her training, coaching and resources that have Playberry deep in their DNA. Linda's schools have rebuilt their teaching with evidence-based teaching and pedagogy and have dramatically improved their literacy results.
​
Sustainable change is the only change that matters, and this is precisely what Playberry T1-3 offers. It is a complete package for schools with a clear and committed mandate to lift the results of all students.
​
The Official Training for our Tier 3 Intervention Program
Want to do the Playberry T3 recognised training?
​
Teaching Students with Dyslexia (TSD) has been delivered all over Australia for people wanting to learn to effectively support severely dyslexic students who have not responded to mainstream reading intervention programs.
​
Teaching Students with Dyslexia: Levels 1 – 3
3 x 3 Day Workshops