A new teaching method has been introduced for reading in the early years.
The Municipality of Hafnarfjörður is taking a major step this winter to enhance literacy teaching in the first and second years of its primary schools by using evidence-based teaching methods to strengthen children's fundamental reading skills right at the start of their schooling.
Reading promoted in Hafnarfjörður's primary schools
Around 100 teachers from Hafnarfjörður were in the classroom at Skarðshlíðarskóli this morning. The reason is that the City of Hafnarfjörður is now taking a major step to enhance literacy teaching by introducing the evidence-based reading teaching methods K-PALS and G-PALS in the first and second grades of the city's primary schools this winter.
The aim is to strengthen children's reading development right from the start of their schooling and to ensure they receive targeted support to become proficient readers.
The implementation begins now at the start of the school year, and the emphasis will be on ensuring that school staff receive robust training and support to adopt the methods.
The Municipality of Hafnarfjörður has enlisted one of the country's most skilled dyslexia specialists., Dr Audur Sófía Björgvinsdóttir, a lecturer at the Faculty of Education, University of Iceland. Audur leads the training and professional support for the implementation, as well as overseeing the research on the project on behalf of the Faculty of Education, University of Iceland.
Staff receive targeted training
The first part of the professional development course for the implementation is taking place right now in S.Kardshlíðar School. Here, supervising teachers, specialist teachers, support assistants and teachers of Icelandic as an additional language who work with children in the first and second years of primary school in Hafnarfjörður come together.
K-PALS and G-PALS are based on structured and evidence-based teaching methods where students are given numerous opportunities for active participation and targeted training in the fundamental components of reading.
The teaching methods aim to improve students' phonological awareness, decoding and reading fluency. When working with the K- and G-Pals methods, students work in pairs and help each other to improve their reading. Therefore, a great deal of targeted reading practice takes place when using the Pals methods.
The methods also enable teachers to monitor students' progress closely and to intervene early when additional support is needed.
Placed in a long-term project
Through a joint implementation in the town's primary schools, the aim is to create an even stronger professional foundation for the teaching of reading to the youngest pupils. The research by the Education Sciences Division will also provide important information on how the implementation is progressing and what effect the methods have on pupils' learning and progress.
The project is therefore both a targeted investment in the professional development of teachers and, above all, in the literacy and educational future of children in Hafnarfjörður.
Yes, it's fun to read!