Leigh Fettes

Proud TLDSB educator & team member. Reader, Olympic calibre tea drinker, and sometimes runner.

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

Spoken and written language work differently. Writing has to communicate meaning without intonation, facial expressions, body language, or shared context, placing significant demands on students. Learn more: https://t.co/pEGTZn9OFS

[Daniel Willingham @DTWillingham]

Guy I know was complaining about making his 8th grader's lunch. I didn't have presence of mind to say anything so 3 days later I made this. I don't think the guy's is on Twitter, this is my therapy.

[Jamie Metsala 🇨🇦 @JamieMetsala]

Canadian Educators - Please partake in our study on Universal Reading-Screening in schools. Looking for K-3 teachers, interventionists, literacy coaches, admins, SLPs and psychologists working in schools. Click on the link to contribute - thanks!

https://t.co/rTxgKRQ921

[Nellie Caruso @nelliecaruso]

So grateful to have had the opportunity to chat with these two incredible women about some of our favourite topics! @lcfettes @thismomloves @IDA_Ontario

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

Teaching Grade 9 English this year?

Camp ONlit is back with a brand-new series for ENL1W, featuring practical writing, fluency, and syntax resources you can use right away.

Register: https://t.co/QthLP6rMXU

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

Junior educators, Camp ONlit is almost here!

Discover ready-to-use, curriculum-connected Learning Through Literacy writing resources for Grades 4 to 6 and practical ideas you can use right away.

Register: https://t.co/a9ie9IQ663

[SoL in the Wild @SoLInTheWild]

I’m loving my updated “How Learning Happens” knowledge organizer.

Yes, I spend the first couple of days of the school year teaching students the basics of human cognitive architecture. It gives them the lens through which they’ll understand why I teach the way I do and the foundational principles behind our procedures, routines, and instructional practices. Some people will probably be annoyed by that. Let’s all be cool about it, OK?

[Leigh Fettes @lcfettes]

That time I brought my LETRS manual on a canoe trip. 🛶🏕️ Clearly this was a no portage trip.

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

The recording of the Phonemic Awareness, hosted by Angeline Humber on April 22nd, is now available for viewing.

Visit our website to watch it: https://t.co/je1QhxcRkN

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

The recording of the Effective Language and Literacy: Foundational Practices and Diagnostic Interventions in French Immersion, hosted by Caroline Erdos on March 12, is now available for viewing.

Visit our website to watch it: https://t.co/go3PWcTzwP

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

They’re back, and they go fast! If you’re attending the IDA Ontario Literacy & Learning Conference #LitLearn26 this coming weekend, be sure to stop by the ONlit booth to pick up our popular mnemonic cards, while supplies last!

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

Let’s Talk Kindergarten! The Kindergarten program has been updated and revised! The new Ontario Kindergarten Curriculum will be implemented in September 2026. Learn more about the key changes here and check out our blog (https://t.co/Lw49LhWWbH)

[Carl Hendrick @C_Hendrick]

When students can’t find the "main idea", the problem is almost never a missing strategy.

[Carl Hendrick @C_Hendrick]

Reading comprehension is not a skill.
It’s an outcome of what you know.
Strategies plateau. Knowledge compounds.

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

New 3-part series: Intensifying Reading Intervention: A Tiered Approach
Learn how to build on a strong Tier 1, and intensifying Tier 2 and Tier 3 reading intervention with practical, classroom-connected examples.
Register here: https://t.co/6xRLVrXo9V

[SoL in the Wild @SoLInTheWild]

One of the biggest drivers in my shift toward explicit instruction has been simplifying everything. I used to try to gamify, activify, and engagify every lesson—bells, whistles, and all. It wasn’t sustainable, and it wasn’t especially effective. I taught under the impression that I had to “make it fun.”

One of the best lessons I taught all year happened today, and here’s what it required: a visualizer, a blank outline map of the Caribbean, and all the critical content I know to explicitly teach my students with. That’s it. Add in lots of questions, choral response, turn-and-talk, concrete examples, active observation, and show calls, and you have everything you need for an effective and engaging lesson.

In previous years, I would have turned this simple Caribbean geography lesson into a high-energy, activity-based experience: stations, a gallery walk, or some kind of puzzle or game. There would be movement, noise, and “engagement,” but most of the new information would be lost in the shuffle. Working memory would be so overloaded that very little would actually stick.

Now I know teaching explicitly and simply is the most effective way to make learning happen.

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

French Immersion Kindergarteners grow vocabulary in both languages through play, stories, and conversation, with intentional instruction woven in. Join ONlit’s drop-in to learn how to support bilingual word learning across the flow of the day. Register: https://t.co/8v4t4CsFIS

[Leigh Fettes @lcfettes]

@IDA_Ontario @liv2learn It really is!

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

Board Literacy Leaders – our next session is next week. These gatherings help you connect, reflect, and plan for stronger system-wide literacy work. Not registered? Join us:
https://t.co/j5nhUuSwNb

[ONlit.org @ONlit_social]

Join us tomorrow!