Protecting Instructional Time

Oakridge operates on a Balanced Day timetable, organized into three 100-minute learning blocks.

During each grade's designated literacy block, all students remain with their classroom teacher for the first 30 minutes. Students requiring additional intervention then transition to their Literacy in Motion groups for the remaining 70 minutes.

This structure protects classroom literacy instruction while ensuring students receive consistent, intensive support.

Learning Block 1: Grades 1–2

8:55–9:25 a.m. (30-min Full-Class Literacy)

9:25–10:35 a.m. (70-min LitMo students go for intensive support)

Learning Block 2: Grade 3

11:15–11:45 a.m. (30-min Full-Class Literacy)

11:45 a.m.–12:55 p.m. (70-min LitMo students go for intensive support)

Learning Block 3: Grade 4

1:35–2:05 p.m. (30-min Full-Class Literacy)

2:05–3:15 p.m. (70-min LitMo students go for intensive support)

Three Centres, One Shared Goal

Students participate in three approximately 20-minute instructional rotations within the 70-minute intervention block.

Centre 1: Explicit Phonics Instruction

Led by the literacy teacher, this centre provides systematic, explicit instruction using UFLI Foundations. Lessons are selected according to students' decoding inventory results and instructional needs.

Centre 2: Supported Decodable Reading

A second educator supports students in applying phonics knowledge through carefully matched decodable texts. Resources include Flyleaf, Wilson, and Empower, with attention to reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.

Centre 3: Independent Literacy Practice

Students consolidate learning through differentiated independent activities, including Lexia, decodable passages, word work, sentence writing, and phonics-based literacy games.

Continuous Assessment: Our Six-Week Cycle

Literacy in Motion is a responsive intervention model, not a fixed program with permanent group placements.

We draw on evidence from the TDSB Decoding Inventory, easyCBM, Lexia, and observations of student reading to determine instructional starting points and monitor learning.

Every six weeks, intervention students' progress is formally reviewed to:

1. Identify gains in foundational literacy skills.

2. Determine whether instructional targets need to change.

3. Reorganize flexible groups according to current needs.

4. Identify students ready to transition out of intensive intervention.

5. Welcome additional students whose assessment data indicate a need for targeted support.

Additional progress monitoring between these formal reviews helps teachers respond to learning needs as they emerge.

With over 100 students participating at any given time, this approach allows us to respond to changing needs and support different learners throughout the school year.

The principles underlying Literacy in Motion can be adapted to different school sizes, staffing arrangements, and instructional timetables.

• Step 1: Assess student needs. Use evidence-based reading screening and diagnostic assessments to identify students requiring intervention and establish specific instructional targets.

• Step 2: Protect a consistent intervention block. Create a timetable that preserves access to core classroom literacy instruction while providing additional, targeted teaching.

• Step 3: Group according to skills. Develop flexible instructional groups based on students' assessed learning needs rather than grade placement alone.

• Step 4: Organize coordinated instructional centres. Provide explicit phonics teaching, supported practice with appropriately matched texts, and independent consolidation activities.

• Step 5: Align instructional materials. Use systematic phonics lessons, decodable texts, and independent learning resources that reinforce the same targeted skills.

• Step 6: Monitor and respond. Establish a regular assessment cycle to adjust instructional targets, review intervention effectiveness, and support student transitions.

Research and Professional Resources

• Ontario Human Rights Commission: Right to Read Inquiry Report

• Scarborough's Reading Rope — Reading Rockets

• Ontario Language Curriculum (2023)

• UFLI Foundations

• ONlit: Evidence-Based Literacy Resources for Ontario Educators

The science of reading is a substantial body of interdisciplinary research explaining how children learn to read and which instructional practices most effectively support their development.

Our approach is informed by several complementary frameworks.

The Right to Read: Literacy as a Human Right

The Ontario Human Rights Commission's Right to Read inquiry (2022) identified significant systemic barriers preventing students from receiving effective reading instruction and intervention.

Its recommendations emphasize:

• Evidence-based, explicit, systematic instruction in foundational reading skills.

• Early screening to identify students at risk of reading difficulties.

• Timely access to effective reading intervention.

• Ongoing progress monitoring to evaluate student learning and instructional effectiveness.

• Equitable access to support based on learning needs, rather than requiring a formal diagnosis.

Literacy in Motion represents Oakridge's practical commitment to these principles.

Scarborough's Reading Rope: Understanding Skilled Reading

Developed by Dr. Hollis Scarborough, the Reading Rope illustrates how multiple interconnected skills contribute to fluent, skilled reading.

The model identifies two essential components:

Word Recognition: Phonological awareness, decoding, and automatic recognition of familiar words.

Language Comprehension: Background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge.

As these skills develop and become increasingly integrated, students become more proficient readers who can accurately recognize words and understand the meaning of what they read.

Literacy in Motion places particular emphasis on strengthening the word-recognition strands, especially phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, spelling, and reading fluency.

These skills are reinforced alongside comprehension and language development, which remain essential components of students' broader classroom literacy instruction.

Aligned with Ontario's Language Curriculum

Our instructional approach supports the Ontario Language Curriculum (2023), particularly:

• B2: Language Foundations for Reading and Writing, including phonological awareness, phonics, word-level reading, spelling, and vocabulary.

• B3: Language Conventions for Reading and Writing, including sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation.

This foundational work complements classroom instruction in oral language, reading comprehension, and written composition.

Literacy in Motion reflects Oakridge's commitment to evidence-informed instruction, responsive intervention, and the removal of barriers to learning.

Our work is guided by a belief that reading difficulties should be identified early, instructional decisions should be informed by evidence, and students should receive the support they need to succeed.

By embedding the science of reading into our school-wide instructional structures, we are building a sustainable model that connects research, teaching practice, and student achievement.

Because every student has the right to read - and every reader deserves the opportunity to move forward.