This document explains the philosophy of SoundPrints and its role in a balanced literacy program. If you are not familiar with SoundPrints, please read this document first.

This document provides a one-page 'walk-through' of the six SoundPrints blocks—emphasizing the power of balancing content enrichment and word study. If you are not familiar with SoundPrints, please read this document second. :)

This template (a companion to the above 6-Block document) provides teachers with guidelines/space to plan their weekly SoundPrints sessions. Spiral-bound booklets providing a year's supply of 6-Block templates, as well as Situating our Learning planners, are available to trained teachers through their Board's ISN contact person (booklet image to come).     

This graphic organizer helps teachers and students to 'situate' their reading in time and place, and to identify the vocabulary necessary to explore/understand a given theme. This mini version of the template may be used by teachers for lesson planning, or by pairs of older students comfortable with the process (typically, Grade 4+). An enlarged version of the planner (see below) may be used by teachers to model/record the process with younger students, and during group discussions among older students.      

Please refer to the above document description.     

The margin of the Wired Words template may be glued to the upper-back cover of students' World Knowledge writing journals (photo to come). Flipping the template upward permits students to see their spelling priorities regardless of the page on which they are writing.  Please select only 2-3 words at a time, choosing those that the student often uses in his/her writing.  Additional words may be added once those currently listed are 'wired for life' (spelled effortlessly in context).      

This template, a companion to Wired Words (above), is attached to the upper-front cover of students' World Knowledge journals to remind them of their current writing goal (challenge). Please select/record only one priority at a time; additional challenges may be added once current goals become habits of mind. Please select goals that are within students' developmental reach—and that have been modelled and practised with support. The Writing: Teaching with Purpose template identifies key areas of writing development to explore with students.       

WORD SORTER-11x17 (Thematic Vocabulary)

This template serves as a mini theme-word wall. Each week, teachers/students discuss new thematic (Tier 2) vocabulary drawn from their reading, recording each word in the quadrant that represents its structure/role. Each question signals a part of speech: (a) What is this? = nouns (quarry, fossil, archaeologist...), (b) What is it like? = adjectives (ferocious, transparent, fragile...), (c) What does it do? = verbs (flutter, grip, leap...), and (d) How does it do this? = adverbs (rapidly, frantically...). The questions provide students with an accessible introduction to language structures/purposes, and facilitates later use (e.g., all actions grouped together for reference during writing).      

WORD SORTER-8.5x11 (Thematic Vocabulary)

This mini version of the above (group) template may be used by teachers for lesson planning, or by pairs of older students comfortable with the process (typically, Grade 4+).   

BURNING QUESTIONS (Student Template)

This template is used to model, develop, and celebrate intellectual curiosity. Students are encouraged (via teacher modelling) to ask/record burning questions for later research and discussion. This template is used by older students to independently record their questions, or by teachers to transcribe the oral questions of emergent writers. Sticky notes may also be used to record questions/responses. This is an ongoing, natural process (e.g., I saw something on TV last night that...)—not an assignment. Burning Questions are open to all; when posted beneath the Burning Questions Mini-Poster (below), any student interested in researching a response is welcome to do so.  

BURNING QUESTIONS (Mini-Poster)

Please refer to the above description for information regarding this companion resource.

BOOKLIST: LET'S READ-AND-FIND-OUT (LRAFO) SCIENCE COLLECTION

This document is an annotated list of LRAFO science picture book titles. Given the variety of topics/themes available, and the books' narrative structure (which draws-in readers), many schools choose to use titles from this collection as anchor texts for SoundPrints-based discussion, reading, and writing. Please recall that these are anchor (mentor) texts—'texts-in-common' used within a rich array of thematic texts/resources.