​The Systematic Literacy Teaching Program (SLT) involves 1:1 tutorials that use an explicit, direct, and systematic method to teach reading, writing, and spelling skills to students who need some extra help. The school closures have provided an opportunity to work with students in online formats.

Here is one example of how we are adapting our teaching method for remote learning:

One of our students is working on reading and writing skills using current events in the news. He reads articles and writes summaries of the main ideas in his own words. To do this, we are using an online news platform called Newsela. He picks the subject and article that interests him. Then, we read the article together on a shared screen. We can adjust the reading level of the article to suit the student’s reading level. We can use the features of the Newsela website to highlight key words and phrases. We review new words and use discussion questions to ensure reading comprehension. The student then writes his summary on paper, section by section.

Using his web cam, he can take a picture of the finished summary and within minutes, the teacher can bring up the document on the shared screen. We use the annotate feature in Adobe Reader to work on proof reading and error correction. We can highlight, circle, and type words in a variety of colours. The teacher keeps track of repeated errors in her own notebook for review next time. The student can make corrections on his original paper copy. When he is finished, he can email the revised copy to the teacher. The original and corrected work can be kept as documentation of student progress.

What we like about this approach: The student is engaged because he is choosing an article on a topic that interests him and the reading and writing process is interactive. The teacher can see his work and they can work on the corrections together. This method works best with older primary students.

The limitation of this approach: The student requires a camera or phone to scan his or her work.

Source:: Mme Christine’s SLT Blog