Decodable or predictable: why reading curriculum developers must seize one

Simmone Pogorzelski, Susan Main and Janet Hunter

By Simmone Pogorzelski, Susan Main and Janet Hunter
Community contribution / June 24, 2021

Despite the promise to ‘improve clarity’, ‘declutter’, and remove ‘ambiguous’ content, the new draft curriculum has left teachers guessing when it comes to when, and how, to use texts in the first two years of school.

The requirement for teachers to choose between two types of texts remains in the proposed new curriculum, revealing a lack ...

Science Teacher Years 7 &8

Science Teacher Years 7 &8

We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced, passionate and engaging Science Teacher to join Penola Catholic College and teach in an innovative and contemporary...

Teaching - Secondary / Jul 22, 2026

Literacy & Numeracy Intervention

Veritas North West London

Teaching - Secondary / Jul 22, 2026

English Graduate TA

Veritas North West London

Teaching - Secondary / Jul 22, 2026

By Simmone Pogorzelski, Susan Main and Janet Hunter

Community

Simmone Pogorzelski is currently completing a PhD on the role of decodable texts in early reading development at Edith Cowan University (ECU). Simmone is a sessional academic in the School of Education at ECU and works as a product developer for MultiLit. Susan Main, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in Education at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. Her teaching and research interests include preparing pre-service and in-service teachers to teach children with diverse abilities, including evidence-based approaches to literacy instruction, managing challenging behaviour, and using technology to facilitate learning. Janet Hunter, PhD, teaches and researches in the area of literacy education at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia. Currently, she teaches both in-service and pre-service teachers. Research interests focus on the development of teacher professional knowledge and how teachers can support students who are failing to make adequate progress in literacy development.

Similar news

Opinion / Masking up in a pandemic and decodable texts for beginning readers: What’s the link? School news / 'Misinformed': experts protest revised curriculum's approach to reading instruction Opinion / Learning to read for pleasure is a serious matter – NZ schools should embrace a new curriculum

Latest comments

Mmm - not convinced. The first example given, Ms Orlando's Y10 science class, would without question be better WITHOU...

— Tony Giles on The Science Of Learning And Genai Align In New Guide For Secondary Teachers

Top events

School news / Teacher strike to go ahead: More than half of Vic AEU members reject Govt’s latest offer

The full-day teachers’ strike slated to take place in Melbourne this Thursday will go ahead, with news Victorian union members have voted to reject the Government’s latest pay and conditions offer.

School news / Calling school support a ‘slush fund’ is offensive to students who need it most

Calling a government program a “slush fund” might be powerful rhetoric, but it is a poor substitute for considering the positive impact that program has delivered for families and students in need.

School news / Golden discovery: lost readers from Whitlam years provide living record of an Indigenous language

Back in 2010, Vivien Johnson and Samantha Disbray were working in the remote desert community of Papunya, way out west of Alice Springs.

School news / ISA campaigns for bigger slice of govt funding, AEU says public funding should be for public ed

Independent Schools Australia (ISA) has launched a major new national campaign, it says, to put parents, school choice and affordability at the centre of education policy.

School news / Call for calm: school knife search powers ruled out after stabbings

School safety fears triggered by two stabbings in as many days are being played down as the Queensland Government rules out expanding knife search powers.

School news / STEM’s big challenge: we risk losing students from science and tech careers by age 11

A divide between reality and rhetoric in prioritising STEM in secondary schooling is very much the case, new research suggests.

School news / Vic Govt bypasses union with pay offer in last ditch attempt to halt school strike action

A last-minute Victorian Government deal seeking to avert a major public school strike next week has been slammed by the state’s key education union.

School news / Timely conversation: system ‘failing’ youth on intimate partner violence

Young people experiencing intimate partner violence are being failed by a system that lacks behavioural change programs targeting boys.

School news / Alarm bells: the maths skills gap impacting our next gen of sparkies and energy workers

As Australia races towards a clean energy future, a concerning maths skills gap is emerging that could impact the next generation of electricians and energy workers.

School news / The science of learning and GenAI align in new guide for secondary teachers

A pioneering new guide for secondary teachers has brought together the science of learning and AI in the classroom, aiming to ensure students’ thinking is actually extended and not outsourced to the technology.

Comments