Fireside chat: A live question and answer discussion on best practices in early years’ literacy instruction (Junior & Senior Infants)

Listen to Niamh Watkins (President of Literacy Association of Ireland) chat with Dr Tara Concannon-Gibney (Dublin City University Institute of Education) and Dr Jennifer O’Sullivan (Marino Institute of Education) about what matters in early years’ literacy instruction. 

• What are research based best practices in early years’ literacy instruction?
• What matters in teaching phonics/comprehension/vocabulary?
• How to embed early literacy skills in meaningful contexts?
• How to plan for best practice approaches in the classroom?
• What matters in teaching literacy in the first term in early years’ classrooms?

Panellists:

Dr Tara Concannon-Gibney lectures in the area of literacy in D.C.U. (St Patrick's Campus). A former primary school teacher, she has worked with pre-service and in-service teachers in Ireland and in New York for over a decade. She is a past-president of the Literacy Association of Ireland. She is very interested in the teaching of early literacy skills in meaningful contexts. Her book Teaching Essential Literacy Skills in the Early Years: A Guide for Students and Teachers was published by Routledge in 2019.

Dr Jennifer O’Sullivan is a lecturer in literacy in Marino Institute of Education.  Prior to joining the staff in MIE, Jennifer taught in a DEIS junior school.  She is the co-author of the Sounds Like Phonics programme, which is aimed at junior infants to second class children.  She has also just launched The Literacy Channel on YouTube with her colleague Clara Maria Fiorentini, as a means of sharing literacy-based ideas, activities and practices with both parents and teachers.  Jennifer is currently president-elect of the Literacy Association of Ireland and her particular interests lie in areas such as visual literacy, early reading and assessment of reading.  She has a love of children’s literature and has written numerous reviews for the Children’s Books Ireland magazine Inis.

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