Professional Development for English Spelling, Reading & Structured Literacy
Suitable for: Teachers, teacher assistants, literacy leads, educators, speech pathologists and professionals supporting reading and spelling development.
This professional development workshop explores the structure of English orthography and how the written language represents sounds, patterns, syllables, word parts and meaning. Participants develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between phonemes, graphemes, spelling patterns, syllables and morphemes, and how these elements work together to support reading, spelling and writing.
Understanding English orthography can help educators move beyond memorising individual spelling words and develop a more systematic understanding of how English spelling works. The workshop explores how sound, spelling and meaning are connected, providing practical knowledge that can be applied to classroom literacy instruction and targeted literacy intervention.
Participants explore how phonics, phoneme–grapheme relationships, syllable structures and morphology contribute to accurate spelling and word recognition. The training also considers the role of spelling knowledge in developing strong reading and writing skills, particularly for students who experience dyslexia and other literacy difficulties.
The workshop includes practical, evidence-informed strategies for teaching reading, spelling and written language explicitly and systematically. Content can be adapted to suit the experience and professional needs of your team.
Training can be tailored to your organisation and staff needs, including your students, year levels, literacy priorities and existing approach to reading and spelling instruction.
Goals of the Training
- Develop a clear understanding of English orthography and how spelling represents sound, structure and meaning.
- Explore the relationship between phonemes, graphemes, spelling patterns, syllables and morphemes.
- Strengthen knowledge of phonics and phoneme–grapheme correspondences to support reading and spelling instruction.
- Develop confidence teaching spelling explicitly, systematically and sequentially.
- Explore how morphology and word structure can support spelling, vocabulary, reading and written language.
- Apply an Orton-Gillingham Language Approach-aligned approach to structured literacy instruction.
- Develop practical strategies to support students with dyslexia and other literacy learning difficulties.
- Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion.