<< Background >>All the schools participating in this project teach English as a second language. The partners have encountered various difficulties in increasing the level of English and particularly literacy levels. One major concern is the difference in the orthographic depth of the language and the large frequency of irregularities which make it more difficult to learn.The project partners have the following needsNeed 1: To improve the teaching of English in the Early years especially when it comes to reading and spelling Need 2: To improve the provision of support to older struggling students Need 3: To improve the teaching of the native language in early primary yearsNeed 4: To improve the teaching of the native language in upper years in order to reduce struggling readers (in native language)Need 5: To Support students, especially in the upper primary who continue to struggle with spellingNeed 6: To reduce the number of struggling readers (especially in the upper primary years)Need 7: To provide differentiated teaching methodsNeed 8: To provide educators training in the latest research-based methods vs traditional methods of teaching<< Objectives >>Objectives: (obj 1.1) IDENTIFY THE STRENGTHS AND NEEDS OF EACH SCHOOL IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH. Schools carry out a reflective exercise whereby they come up with the strengths and needs of the way how literacy is being taught in schools. Schools shall reflect on whether the teaching is catering to all the different needs of the students and whether it is appropriate for struggling students. Objectives: (Obj 2.1): SHARING OF GOOD PRACTICES IN ORDER TO INCREASE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE TEACHING OF READING AND SPELLING ENGLISH AND/OR NATIVE LANGUAGES IN THE EARLY YEARS/AND LATER IN THE UPPER YEARSEducators gain knowledge and skills about the teaching of literacy in English and where possible reflect on whether these strategies can be transferred to the teaching of their native language. The project school aims to improve the support provided to learners who are still struggling in literacy but also better support through differentiated work high achievers.(Obj 3.1): EXPLORING EXPLICIT TEACHING OF LITERACY TO STRUGGLING READERS INCLUDING THOSE IN THE UPPER YEARS WHO ARE STILL STRUGGLING TO LEARN HOW TO READ AND WRITE (BOTH ENGLISH/NATIVE LANGUAGES)While work shall be carried out to increase literacy levels and reduce the rate of illiteracy, some students might still need some support in the upper years. Therefore this project will look in strategies to support those students still struggling in the upper primary years.<< Implementation >>The following activities shall be carried out:A1All schools registered to Etwinning with at least 10 teachers in the schoolA2All schools create a page on etwinning with evidence of disseminating objectives of the project with the remainder of the schoolA3Project management team meetings A4Activity for schools Preparing for activity C1 A5Preparation for meeting C1 - Meeting for participants to give them information about the activity including preparation for logistical matters.C1Teaching English literacy in the Early Years (An international mobility activity where educators from different countries share methodologies on the teaching of literacy in the early years. Following this international activity, schools shall be implemented the related following activities)A6Each school carries dissemination of skills with teachers in their own school. This could include using project management funds to obtain access to an online portal containing recorded videos of lessons and professional advice.A7Participating schools carry out necessary market research and procure resources to implement strategies covered in C1. Resources should include Picture Mnemonics, Decodable Books, access to online portal and reading and spelling software.A8Project management team meetingA9Parental meeting / or dissemination of newsletter/website / Youtube videos to inform parents of the approach adopted in the teaching of EnglishA10 Participating schools start implementing the teaching of English with at least one classA11Project management teamA12Carry out literacy assessment as recommended in activity C1 (to be used to compare annual results)A13Project management team meetingA14Carry out literacy assessment as recommended in activity C1 / follow up (to be used for differentiated teaching)A15Meetings between SMT and class teachers to discuss the program being implementedA16Meetings between SMT and class teachers to discuss the program being implementedA17Meetings between SMT and class teachers to discuss the program being implementedA18Preparation for meeting C2 - Meeting for participants to give them information about the activity including preparation for logistical matters.A19Project Management Team C2Supporting struggling students.A20Project Management Team meetingA21Each school carries out dissemination of skills with teachers in their own school. With access gained through the online portal, teachers extend their knowledge on supporting students in the upper years.A22Meetings with/between teachers in each school to bridge methods used in C1 and/or C2 to Native languageA23Meetings to bridge between English and native language support in the upper yearsA24Carry out market research and procure resources covered in C2 in either English and/or native languageA25Project Management TeamA26Implementation of daily 20-minute independent reading sessions in grade 3 to 6 (using books in both English and native language)A27Carry out market research and procure resources used in A22A28Implementation of some strategies/program discussed in C2A29Project management teamA30Online sharing of good practice on EtwinningA31Comparision of assessment results before C1 with after C2 in order to evaluate the effectiveness of activities being implementedC3Final Conference - Bringing everything together where teachers share the journey traveled and the learning experiences they have gained.C4: Planning ahead activity whereby the objectives of the project are discussed to evaluate how they can be improved (especially with regards to another Erasmus + application)A32Project management teamTPMTransnational Project Meeting to discuss the way forward for this project and whether this would be extended in another partnership opportunity.<< Results >>Need 1: To improve the teaching of English in the Early years especially when it comes to reading and spelling The expected results following project implementation:1.1 Improvement in the teaching of literacy in English especially in the early years through the implementation of whole literacy strategies1.2 Students accessing more books in EnglishNeed 2: To improve the provision of support to older struggling studentsThe expected results following project implementation:2.1 Implementation of a literacy programme in the upper primary yearsNeed 3: To improve the teaching of the native language in early primary yearsThe expected results following project implementation:3.1 Following the implementation of activities in the English language, teachers reflect and transfer some of the skills to the teaching of the native language.Need 4: To improve the teaching of the native language in upper years in order to reduce struggling readers (in native language)The expected results following project implementation:Improvement in the teaching and learning of reading and spelling in the native languages.Need 5: To Support students, especially in the upper primary who continue to struggle with spellingThe expected results following project implementation:Teachers gain knowledge and skills to better support learners in the upper primary years Need 6: To reduce the number of struggling readers (especially in the upper primary years)The expected results following project implementation: Reduction of struggling readersNeed 7: To provide differentiated teachingThe expected results following project implementation: Teach different levels of literacy according to the assessments carried outNeed 8: To provide educators training in the latest research-based methods vs traditional methods of teachingTeachers gain knowledge and skills in using research-based methodologies.

CONTEXT The context of the project was such that schools participating in the project wanted to share experiences that would lead to better literacy levels. The context of the Maltese and English school participating in this project and each brought its school action plan with areas that need to strengthen or consolidate. Objectivesi) The experience in this project provided educators with the experiences need to learn new strategies on the teaching of literacy and this has in fact resulted in an improvement of literacy levels recorded through various assessments. Various educators and stakeholders in implementing the school action plan gained experience in how to better implement different parts of the school strategy of literacy improvement. i) The Senior Management Team (SMT) was able to share ideas of how to plan and implement a school action plan. During the activities organized in this project, the members of the SMT were able to share and discuss what components of their own action plans worked. Through the networking between the different schools, SMT members were able to evaluate and amend these in order to improve teaching and learning. ii) Teachers and Learning Support Educators (LSE's)/Classroom Assistants were able to use this action planning in the classroom. The activities included sharing of experiences and strategies that worked for the schools involved. There were also able to work close to their members of SMT to improve the school action plans. Implemented recommendations included: i) More focused teaching strategies using different modalities to better engage students; ii) Use of teaching strategies that worked with different learning styles/levels of ability in order not to exclude anyone from the learning process; iii) better use of text/books that matched the sounds they know so they develop accuracy, speed, and confidence; iv) better identification of struggling readers This was done to ensure high-quality literacy teaching since partners strongly believe that this raises standards of literacy.Our school was able to provide a professional development experience to 30 educators who in turn were able to influence other educators in the school to work together in favor of a school literacy action plan. Over the 2 years, the school saw an improvement in the level of expertise of its educators. Learning Support Educators also felt empowered in the knowledge gained. This knowledge was such that dissemination with other teachers and parents as possible. This dissemination helped other schools and institutions to implement some of the strategies used in this project. Each of the activities focuses on a particular area:Activity 1: This activity helped education leaders to understand what is required as a school in order to have strong leadership skills but also an effective school action plan to guide all the educators to improvement. Schools discussed the different strategies and difficulties and throughout the activity, they were able to come with a plan for the following months. The experience of excellent literacy results obtained by the school in the UK allowed the other schools to visualize what levels were possible for them to emulate. The intervention of a keynote speaker helped the leaders (being school leaders, literacy leaders, and special education leaders) to better understand the need of having action plans for literacy improvement. Activity 2: In this activity, the staff at St George's Primary school were able to share their practices both during their presentations but especially during the classroom visits. This focused on strategies particularly relevant for Grade 1 and 2. The intervention of a keynote speaker helped to bring all the ideas together. Activity 3: School was able to understand what was required in developing literacy following the implementation of the school action plan implemented and discussed in activity 2.Activity 4: Following strategies covered in activities 2 and 3, it was the turn to learn more about the implementation of spelling strategies. Teachers spent time sharing together strategies that worked. Furthermore, teachers were able to carry out classroom teaching where they saw the teaching of spelling. The contribution of the keynote speaker facilitated and aided the sessions.Activity 5: This activity, once again brought together leaders who were able to evaluate progress made through the project especially by evaluating the school action plans. Project Results and expected long-term benefits. An improvement in literacy teaching was noted in the school by the SMT and parents. Improved literacy results were also noted, not only at coordinating schools but also in other participating schools. This has in turn had long-term implications since pedagogical practices are still in place and are planned to keep improving.