Literacy and Numeracy Strategy


Fall 2011 Resource Package from the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat

Resource Package from the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat

The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat's Fall 2011 Resource Package is being mailed to schools, district school boards and faculties of education. The package is now available online for easy download, sharing and duplication. All resources are new.

Paying Attention to Mathematics, K-12 (PDF, 215 KB)
outlines seven principles to guide improvements in mathematics teaching and learning in Ontario schools:

  • Focus on mathematics
  • Co-ordinate and strengthen mathematics leadership.
  • Build understanding of effective mathematics instruction.
  • Support collaborative professional learning in mathematics.
  • Design a responsive mathematics learning environment.
  • Provide assessment and evaluation in mathematics that supports learning.
  • Facilitate access to mathematics learning resources.

Webcasts for Educators provides video clips of expert practitioners putting "best ideas" into practice in Ontario classrooms. Videos segmented for easy use. DVD & viewer's guide.

  • Discovering Voice follows a Grade 7/8 class as students seek answers to the question,
    Who has "voice" in society and who is marginalized, and why? Students discover their own voice in the context of their inquiry. Features commentary of Drs. David Booth and Jeffrey Wilhelm who address issues of student identity and how to build engagement in curriculum.
  • Engaging Students in Mathematics explores a mathematics lesson taught within a three-part lesson framework. Throughout, the teacher assesses, prompts and allows for differentiation in how students learn. Focuses on accountable talk in a technologically rich environment.
  • Honouring Student Voice in Mathematics features practical approaches for building constructive working relationships in the mathematics classroom. Respectful interactions, student engagement, meaningful student talk and dynamic groupings are highlighted as ways to foster a community of math learners. Shows a three-part problem-solving lesson.
  • Kindergarten Matters: Intentional Play-Based Learning explores how educators are re-thinking teaching and assessment practices in order to engage young children in thinking creatively, solving problems and sharing their learning with others. Features classrooms where educators engage children in authentic inquiry that sparks curiosity and motivates learning. Commentary by Stuart Shanker on developing self- regulation in young children.
  • Teaching Mathematics through a Social Justice Lens shares one school's approach to improving student learning in mathematics – an approach called "social justice math" which involves working with real numbers to solve real-world problems. The video follows both the job-embedded professional learning that took place at the school as well as an actual classroom lesson.

Capacity Building Series provides summaries of promising evidence-based practices, including tips on how to get started in your school and classroom. 4 or 8 pages.

  • Asking Effective Questions in Mathematics addresses not just how to plan a good problem question but how to engage in the kind of ongoing questioning that draws out student thinking and moves students forward mathematically. Includes sample questions and prompts to facilitate student sharing and reflection.
  • Maximizing Student Mathematical Learning in the Early Years suggests ways for educators to take advantage of the mathematical knowledge and experience children bring to early primary classrooms. Describes key characteristics of the early mathematics learner and outlines some ways to begin acquiring mathematics for teaching.
  • Grand Conversations in the Junior Classroom follows up on an earlier monograph that focused on the kind of classroom talk that fosters higher-level comprehension skills in the primary years. Explores how conversation can become a vehicle for deepening thinking in the junior grades. Features a sample process for preparing for grand conversations and a sampling of venues.
  • Getting Started with Student Inquiry is based on the understanding that inquiry is not an occasional classroom event, but lies at the heart of learning in all subject areas. Designed for teachers who are beginning to include inquiry as an approach to learning, it anchors the inquiry process in four key phases and identifies teacher and student actions for each.

What Works? Research into Practice provides research syntheses of latest thinking on instruction and learning, highlighting implications for classroom practice. Written by university researchers for classroom teachers. 4 pages.

  • Word Problems: Connecting Language, Mathematics and Life reports that students often struggle with word problems because they treat them too realistically and suspend their own sense-making abilities. Gives examples of teaching students how word problems work so that they can mathematicize real-world scenarios appropriately and solve problems they have not encountered before.
  • The Voice of Text-to-Speech Technology: One Solution for Struggling Readers advocates for the use of TTST for students who struggle with decoding as both a support for meaning-making and a valuable lifelong tool for accessing information. Gives scenarios of how to implement TTST with the whole class, in a way that benefits those who need it.
  • Teaching for Ecological Sustainability: Incorporating Indigenous Philosophies and Practices shows how indigenous perspectives can help to engage all students in curriculum and foster responsible environmental citizenship. Provides tips for teaching aboriginal content in mainstream classrooms.
  • Supporting Early Language and Literacy summarizes research on early language and literacy development and offers some practical research-based strategies for those who work with young children in school settings. Tips range from engaging children in conversation to intentionally building phonological awareness.

Contact: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat