Submitted by: Cindy Pellerin Thank you for the support from MAME and the Professional Development for Executive Members fund, I had the opportunity to attend the 30th anniversary of Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning in New Orleans. It was an informative , 3-day experience focused on literacy for all learners through evidence-based practices and collaboration. The conference had incredible presenters, some hands-on sessions, and valuable teaching strategies that I am excited to bring back to the classroom. Here are a few sessions that I attended: Dr. Robert Brooks – Building Resilient Learners Dr. Brooks emphasized the importance of: Positive relationships between students and adults—and among peers. Focusing on students' strengths, not just their challenges. Creating a sense of competence , which boosts confidence, friendships, and academic engagement. Linda Farrell – The Fastest Ways for Students to Catch Up When They Are Missing Orthographic Skills Linda shared strategies for students struggling with foundational reading skills: Teach letter names first , then sounds , and finally shapes . Encourage students to look at the letter when making sounds—not the teacher. Keep instruction focused—avoid overwhelming them with too much at once. Practice Activities: Alphabet songs (with and without visual aids) Vowel identification Random letter/sound recall High-frequency word reading Flashcard Strategy: 12-card decks per student: 4 known letters 2 just learned letters. 6 new letters Mastery : 3 days of all-correct responses More info: Readsters.com Andrea Harrell – Comprehension: The Ultimate Outcome Andrea reminded us that reading is more than decoding—it is about meaning . Surface-level reading : Reading for speed or score Deep reading : Thinking, questioning, and applying background knowledge. Strategies: Sound chaining (e.g., not → nod → pod) Phoneme-grapheme mapping Fluency trees : Building sentence fluency step-by-step Beth → Beth has → Beth has two → Beth has two dogs. Syntax building with sticky notes and index cards: who do Example: The frog swims in the pond. Phrasing practice : Read in chunks, not word-by-word. Fluency cycles : 2 days on a passage, 2 days on a new passage then assessed with a new passage on Friday. I have already started using syntax and phrasing activities in class to improve descriptive writing and fluency. Dr. Kastner- Getting Started with Structured Literacy Grades 3-5 this session emphasized the importance of daily reading and writing in every classroom. Key points: Build background knowledge : through read-alouds, visuals, art, texts, discussions, and content-rich media. Encourage talking about reading to deepen understanding. Explicit vocabulary instruction : Pronunciation Meaning Examples Checks for understanding Based on work by Anita L. Archer Helpful Resources from these and other sessions: CollinsDictionary.com Learning Without Tears Amplify Heggerty UFLI I am incredibly grateful to MAME for making this professional learning experience possible. Not only did I come away with new ideas and research-backed strategies , but I also felt validated that I am already doing many things right. I have already started weaving these techniques into my multi-age classroom to better meet the diverse needs of my students and I am excited to see their literacy skills continue to grow! **The next Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning conference is being held March 11-13, 2026 in New Orleans.

Submitted by: Lisa McAvoy Grade 1/2 Marion School MAME Executive Member & Blog Editor In February 2025, with the support of funding provided by MAME, I attended the 30th Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning conference in New Orleans. This three-day conference is presented each year by the Center for Literacy and Learning and focuses on evidence-based reading research and strategies for educators of all grade levels. I attended a number of very informative and useful sessions. Two sessions I attended focused on increasing student engagement and provided a lot of simple ideas I could start using in my classroom immediately.  The first session was presented by Dr. Anita Archer. Dr. Archer argues that hand raising is inequitable and she encouraged teachers to use structured coral responses rather than asking students to raise their hands to answer questions. When teachers ask for raised hands we only hear one student’s voice and can only assess that one student’s knowledge. Often we see the same students raising their hands and this can discourage others from participating. With structured coral responses all students are expected to respond to questions. They are actively engaged, thinking and responding throughout a lesson. Structured coral responses are used when answers are short and the same. For example, when a teacher is showing a series of letters and students are responding with the corresponding letter sound, or students are reciting times tables or addition facts. To prevent students from blurting out, teachers can use a hand signal to indicate thinking time and then another signal when students can respond. (e.g. opening and closing your hand). Dr. Archer also encouraged the use of class coral reading from projected slides and the use of group cloze reading, where the teacher reads and then students fill in missing words. Other suggestions for whole class responses were to have students hold up fingers to indicate a certain answer or have printed response sheets where students could hold up a piece of paper to indicate a response. For these hold up questions, Dr. Archer says questions should be clear, students need think time, and they should wait until the teacher asks for responses to be shown. Another presenter, Jake Dagget also encourages structured coral responses. Many people may know Jake Dagget from his popular Instagram videos where he uses songs, chants and gestures to teach and reinforce concepts and encourage active student engagement. You can see some of Jake’s chants on his Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jake_daggett/?hl=en You can also learn more about structured coral responses and adaptations that can be made for students with additional needs at this website https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/teachers-and-staff/teaching-and-learning/literacy-and-numeracy/foundations-of-effective-instruction/engagement-strategies/choral-responses. The next Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning conference is being held March 11-13 2026 in New Orleans. Check out https://www.mycll.org/plain-talk for more information.

Submitted by: Kathy Klenk A big thank you to MAME for the $1000 Special Projects Grant to purchase an iPad as an Augmentative and Alternative Communication device for the H.S. Paul School team to use to model language with their students. This device will have a profound impact on students with autism by significantly improving their communication skills. Many children with autism face challenges in verbal communication, making it difficult for them to express their needs, emotions, and thoughts. An iPad equipped with AAC apps, such as Proloquo2Go, provides a user-friendly and customizable platform that enables nonverbal or minimally verbal students to communicate effectively. In addition, we were able to purchase the Pictello app which will be able to showcase the learning that students are doing. This technology fosters independence, reduces frustration, and enhances social interactions by giving students a voice. Additionally, iPads are portable and versatile, allowing seamless integration into various learning environments, including classrooms, therapy sessions, and home settings. By investing in this tool, this grant directly supports the students' ability to develop language skills, build confidence, and engage more fully in their education and daily lives.

Submitted by: Kara Grant Springwell School  We at Springwell School would like to thank MAME and their Special Projects Grant Fund for providing us with funds to kick-off our STEAM Based Collaboration area in our school library. This area will promote collaboration, creativity, hands-on learning, imagination, and a variety of learning opportunities for our K-8 students for years to come. Creating a place in our school for students to focus on hands-on activities, to elevate their learning, and to learn together has been a goal of ours for the last couple of years. We hope to eventually expand the space to include a 3D printer to further our technology and art skills but for now we will focus on the circuits, gears, magnets, and coding activities that have been purchased with this grant money. We hope to incorporate exploration and collaboration time for our early years and middle years students as often as we can!

Submitted By: Kara Grant Springwell School Title: An Educator’s Guide to STEAM Author: Cassie F. Quigley and Danielle Herro Our school is well on our way to incorporating more STEAM learning options for our students. I felt at a loss and was unsure where to even begin! Other than constantly scrolling various websites for ideas, activities, and ways to link the ideas I had to my outcomes and curriculum I decided to begin my hunt for the perfect book to help me figure this all out! Which led me to my purchase of “An Educator’s Guide to STEAM.” Although this book was not completely what I expected it really enlightened a new way of teaching for me! This book did not focus on the hands-on activities which I have learned to be STEAM activities, this book focuses on teaching in a STEAM way; meaning that the focus is on making and teaching lessons in a problem-based, real-world connections kind of way. The lessons are organized to involve each STEAM component (inter-curricular). This book provides multiple examples of how other teachers use STEAM in their classroom, (often for research and problem-solving tasks/projects) and it highlights how they incorporate technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics to a science-based outcome. This book emphasizes the importance of keeping tasks in a problem-solving manner, incorporating student choice, allowing for multiple solutions, using technology, and reminding us how important teacher facilitation is. There is also a section on STEAM assessment. If you are looking for ways to incorporate hands-on activities into your lessons to deepen the learning of your students this is not the book for you, but if you want ideas on how to teach the STEAM way, then this is definitely going to open up some new ideas and add to your daily teachings.

Submitted by: Laura Rheault Lavallee School We are thrilled to share the success of our recent family night, an event that brought together families, educators and our children for an evening of connection and math activities. This memorable gathering was made possible thanks to the generous grant from MAME that allowed us to purchase tables to create a welcoming and comfortable environment for all attendees. The evening featured an engaging presentation by Sarah Melo, who shared practical math strategies and conversations, that families can incorporate into their routines at home. There was a lot of smiling, laughing and participation from the students in attendance. Adding warmth to the event was a dinner of delicious Bannock tacos from the restaurant Feast Café Bistro. The combination of learning and sharing a meal, created a relaxed friendly atmosphere where relationships could grow. Thank you, MAME, for helping make our Family Night a resounding success and for supporting our mission to foster learning, connection, and community.

Submitted by: Tina Arnott A huge thank you to MAME for helping launch the Grade 5-8 Arts and Crafts Club at Victor Mager School! This club was created in response to student interest and is held weekly in the library. During our first session, we made Mindfulness Glitter Jars! The club offers a fantastic opportunity for students to connect with peers across different grades while expressing their creativity through arts and crafts. We're so grateful to have used the funds to purchase supplies, and we’re excited about upcoming projects, including diamond art magnets, sun catchers, bracelets, slime, snow globes, dream catchers, and crocheted items. We can’t wait to see all the amazing creations that will come to life in future Craft Club days!

Submitted by: Taylor DeCaigny Hastings School I want to start by thanking the Manitoba Association of Multi-Age Educators for the generous grant that has aided in the success of multiple students within my grade seven and eight classroom at Hastings school within the Louis Riel School Division. When I first introduced the recent technology into my classroom, which consisted of two iPads, two wireless keyboards and three pairs of headphones, the smiles and cheers from my students already made me realize how important working technology can be. After learning how they will be used in the classroom and how we treat technology, we quickly jumped into using them in multiple ways. One area that has made a difference already is having access to the two iPads when needed, for example there are multi language learners working within my classroom, but they do not have access to technology all the time, this hinders their performance, when needing to translate something quickly in order to go to the next step of an assignment. Multi language learners have started three-point dictionaries on the iPads, which they use in every subject, when they are completing this on paper, it would take them most of the class to complete these to gain an understanding of the task before they even got started. They are now able to use technology to help in the process of learning the English language especially in areas like Science and Social Studies where the vocabulary is difficult. We also have a small g roup pull out for these students. We use the iPads as a way of manipulating letters, listening to letters, and reading decodable texts. Again, this is something that we can now use every day at the same time because the iPads are within our classroom and accessible at all times of the day. Another area where the iPads and wireless keyboards have aided in the success of students is individuals who have learning gaps or have been diagnosed with learning disabilities. Students have used these to listen to books if they have difficulty reading books at the same level as their peers. Students use Duolingo to learn basic math facts with automaticity. Students can log into their Duolingo account at home and school and continue their progress. They can independently work at their level and feel successful while also working to bridge gaps with their learning. The headphones and iPads have been used a lot when a student might need to regulate, they use music, breathing videos and relaxation apps to be able to have success within their school day. Others will listen to music to try and focus on the task at hand and not be distracted by the external stimuli. Overall, the iPads, headphones and wireless keyboards have become an access point within the classroom to ensure that all students can have success throughout their day.