BillH, Author at Playberry Laser Multisensory Literacy Program

Updated 2026 Teacher Manual

This is the blog post form of the Teacher Manual.

Playberry Laser T1-2 Newsletter 7

In this edition: Avoiding lethal mutations in teaching … Word Rap has arrived … Ratcheting up retrieval effort during review…New look Heart Words for 2026 … Structured Writing now spans R-2 … Getting your Sounds Pure … New Demo Lessons … Take-home Phase 1 Reading Cards … Tier 2 and 3 Training…Who’s Your Captain?

Playberry Laser T1-2 Newsletter 6

In this edition:

Multisensory Teaching and Learning – What is it? … Report Writing – What data do I use to report on reading and spelling? … Upcoming training dates …
End of year data analysis and sessions … Year One Writing is DONE! … Phase 7 has landed … Keeping Reading Card Decks Tight and Tidy.

To stream or not to stream in structured reading and spelling lessons?

‘Streaming’ is a dirty word in education, but so was ‘phonics’ not all that long ago. We think that general beliefs about streaming (ability grouping) deserves a rethink. What if we consider ability grouping from a standpoint of targeted reading and spelling instruction? Does differentiation offer what it promises, or is it a poor remedy for low-quality teaching and high-variance curriculum? And, given the huge variance of basic literacy skills in most Australian classrooms, can we really teach all students reading and spelling at grade level?

Playberry Laser T1-2 Newsletter 5

In this edition:

To Stream or Not to Stream? … Tier 2 Training … Phase 0 Training … Literacy Leaders” Session … NEW Phase 2 Structured Writing Resources …
… Explicit Maths Program (EMP) Discount … Ollie Lovell & Craig Barton Maths PD discount … Tier 2 Games Packs Pre Orders … Extra Reading Revision Slides and Worksheets (Phase 1 and 2)

Playberry Laser T1-2 Newsletter 4

In this edition:

Tier two progress monitoring … Tier 3 Intervention …When to start Playberry-Laser: YESTERDAY! … When can we allow students to read non-decodable books? … Upcoming Nuts and Bolts training… Explicit Maths Program (EMP) Discount … Ollie Lovell & Craig Barton Maths PD discount…New teacher tips…

Playberry Laser T1-2 Newsletter 3

In this edition:

Tier 2 resources facelift, Changes to the platform, Updated phase spreadsheets and assessments, Explicit Maths training with Dave Morkunas.

Playberry Laser T1-2 Newsletter 2

In this edition:

Assessment: There’s tests and then there’s tests! …
The difference between assessing reading and spelling…
New Assessments on the platform…

Pure Sounds: avoiding schwabecues

Pure sounds are crucial to forming accurate mental representations of speech sounds (phonemes). Most of us have taught from programs that are a little sloppy on phoneme pronunciation and have formed not-so-great pronunciations. This video covers some of the trickier phonemes and their pronunciations in Playberry Laser T1-2. Some schools use this video in staff meetings to get sounds pure and have a good laugh at each other! Some teachers show this to students, and some even send it home to parents.