Patrick O'Sullivan

City Kid gone country to Grasmere Primary. Proud Father of 2. Solutions not Problems. Literacy & Numeracy Leader.

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@misskyritsis We extended our Maths Graffiti lesson with a race to fill our tables with supplementary, complementary, opposite angles & lots more! No protractors! Students scored their own tables for number of facts and checked others. #iteachmath @jc_igs @matt_skoss

[Emina McLean @EminaMcLean]

In less than 12 months Victoria has achieved:

1. A new English curriculum with a detailed Phonic and Word Knowledge sub-strand and a brand new sub-strand called Building Fluency and Making Meaning, to prioritise fluency, an essential key to reading. There’s also a much bigger emphasis on vocabulary and reading diverse, rich and complex texts.

2. A Reading Position Statement highlighting the importance of teaching The Big 6.

3. A phonics mandate (25 mins per day of SSP in F-2 from 2025).

4. A free foundational literacy curriculum for F-2 (Phonics Plus) including scope and sequence, lesson sequences and 450 lessons, each an hour long, that teach word level reading and spelling (phonics, irregular words, morphology, spelling patterns, multisyllabic words, phonemic and phonological awareness), decoding practice, reading fluency and handwriting at letter, word and sentence level. 450 hours of instruction planned and ready to teach for schools that wish to adopt it.

5. A new teaching and learning model (VTLM2.0) that reflects more of the evidence on how students learn and some good bets for teaching.

And there’s more to come. I’ve had a number of messages, and I’ve seen a number of posts, about the definition of Decode in the Phonics Plus scope and sequence. It is not a typo or a misunderstanding. This definition is set by the curriculum authority. This is not a new definition. This has been the definition in Victoria for a long, long time. The system is required to use curriculum
authority definitions. Definitions, while very important, take time to be updated when curriculum revisions and policy shifts occur. A similar change process occurred with the revised national curriculum. When a new definition is published, the system can use it. The resource itself is jam packed with systematic decoding instruction.

Any change within any education system is agonisingly hard and yet we have achieved so much so quickly here in Victoria. Coordinating change and achieving consistency across multiple agencies is even harder. There are always compromises. Nothing can or will ever be perfect or to everyone’s liking or at everyone’s desired pace. This is the reality of policy/practice change.

While I get the frustration, a glossary definition (that will be resolved in time) is not the salient thing. There is a bigger picture. An optimistic, constructive, pragmatic response to positive change can go a long way. Let’s focus on all the good.

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@MintSportscomau just heard an Boceli - Time to say good bye during my 3 course lunch on the coast of Italy. I did tear up😪

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@MathforLove Played this great game with my 10yr son tonight. After 5 mins he asked about the possible outcomes. We went through and listed all the possibilities and talked about division and mixed numbers. A quality rich task. Look forward to using it in my 5/6 class.

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@SOLEAust @GregMcmahon16 @BrettMillott @cleary_jp @AusSchoolsPlus @BrettMillott looking very excited

[Emily Hanford @ehanford]

‘Science of reading’ movement spells financial trouble for publisher Heinemann
New today from @CLPeak https://t.co/wftsJftaj9

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@Maybe__Daily Enjoyable episode, shocking sport

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@treykerby @MintSportscomau WTF? What’s Munn’s thoughts

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@matt_skoss @maths300 @openmiddle A great way to apply flexible strategies to a scaffolded open rich task. Promotes great discussions between students.

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@rastokke @burnsmk1 That comment is way off and misleading. I regularly do number talks and target numbers challenges with students of all literacy levels and they can engage and excel. Students working collaborative in mixed ability pairs has been very beneficial. @matt_skoss thoughts ?

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@robelinda2 @deanclements3 🤣

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@TimRasinski1 @leashynichol word ladders

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@TomKilfeather Looks delicious Tommy

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@rachabuck Great data Rachael, how does it compare to PAT Reading adaptive?

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@TimRasinski1 @tcmpub @ILAToday @deanclements3 quality free PD

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@NathanielRSwain hey there, been enjoying the knowledge units with my class on the spice islands you created. Big thanks! Looking to create our own on First Nations unit, where can I find a reliable source of info? Cheers Pat

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@SerpentinePS Thanks, that’s very helpful. Ill check out the Language Arts units.

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@jettybe3 @daisychristo @TroyPrimaryEd @CraigSimpson4 @rhyssy33 @tempyheightsps Yes all staff embraced the experience , the writing hub is a fantastic resource as well.

[Patrick O'Sullivan @possa11]

@pwharris looking for some ideas for 7 & 8 year olds to improve their number facts and flexibility. Does practicing doubles +1 & -1 an effective strategy? We’ve been using I have.. you need… to 10 and 20. Thanks