Dyslexia: Breaking Down the Definition The International Dyslexia Association created the following definition of dyslexia: “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component […]
What is interleaving? You may have heard of interleaving, and wondered what it is, especially within the literacy world. Interleaving is already a well-documented learning technique for studying, and today we will explore what this means when working with a structured approach to literacy. Let’s begin by breaking down the word: The word “interleaving” contains […]
Reflecting on Episode 5 of Love Literacy – Inspired By Heather Down 14 August 2025 Recently, I have had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Eunice Fuchs. If you haven’t already listened to the podcast, you can listen here or watch on YouTube here. I have found myself going back to this podcast several times, […]
By Heather Down, 22 July 2025 A knowledge-rich curriculum refers to a curriculum that is deliberately designed to build students’ background knowledge, vocabulary, and understanding of the world in a systematic, cumulative way. We don’t leave this to chance or assume it will just ‘come along’ with generic reading or experience. (Consider biologically primary and […]
Written by Heather Down, 21 July 2025 Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to attend Lyn Stone’s conference, Spelling for Life. This professional development opportunity was aimed at the upper primary year levels. There was a wonderful mix of attendees and I always love making new connections with teachers and tutors around New Zealand. […]
End of Term 2 Snapshot – Heather Down 23 June 2026 As Term 2 draws to a close, I’ve taken time to reflect on the wonderful gains made by the learners I have the privilege of teaching. Across a wide range of ages and learning profiles; many with dyslexia, ADHD, dysgraphia, or language-based challenges; progress […]
Cursive Handwriting: Benefits and Drawbacks from the Perspective of Dyslexic & Dysgraphic Students Heather Down 14 April 2025 Over the last term, I’ve introduced some of my learners to cursive handwriting. The students I’ve chosen to trial this with have already mastered print, and their handwriting is generally tidy. One of my students, in particular, […]
Reading Data Snapshot, Term 1 2025 by Heather Down 07 April 2025 It’s the end of Term 1 (2025) in New Zealand, and while I don’t complete a full formal assessment for every student, I do monitor reading progress and provide anecdotal feedback on writing. This term, something exciting stood out—students in my tutoring sessions […]
When Is It Time to Stop Tutoring? As a literacy tutor, especially as the end of term approaches (like now!) and I’m planning the next term’s timetable, I often get asked a big question: “How will I know when it’s time to stop tutoring?” It’s a great question—especially for parents of neurodiverse learners who may […]
I thought I might offer something new for 2025. Let’s look at some learning profiles each month to gain an understanding of students. The first learning profile I looked at in January 2025 is a Year 6 male. After the assessment, what did I know? What was I concerned about, and where did I begin? […]
Many older struggling readers have missed key patterns in how English words work—and phonics alone isn’t enough to catch them up. This blog explores how teaching morphology—the study of word parts like prefixes, suffixes, and base words—can be a game changer. Morphology builds spelling, vocabulary, and confidence by helping students unlock the logic behind the words they read and write.
Categorised Resources By Heather Down 18 February 2025 Sometimes it can be a bit of a struggle to find the resources you need, so I thought I might categorise all the resources I have available into a spelling/reading/writing and morphology page. This way you can scroll through and find the one you need. This will […]
