Cue Learning

Latest Blog - The Wonder of Teaching Vocabulary
Dr Freddy Hiebert

Dr Freddy Hiebert transforms literacy education through her research-backed approach at Text Project, creating nearly 1,000 free texts. She emphasises combining decodable and levelled texts rather than treating them as competing approaches. Hiebert advocates semantic mapping over flashcards, helping students understand English's Germanic, French, and Greek language systems. She demonstrates using AI tools like Claude for vocabulary work whilst warning against formulaic teaching methods that narrow learning opportunities.
Read the blog here: https://www.teachific.com.au/blog/2025/06/17/211/the-wonder-of-teaching-vocabulary-with-freddy-hiebert

Latest Podcast
Part 2: The wonder of teaching vocabulary with Freddie Hiebert

Continuing her revolutionary approach, Hiebert distinguishes between narrative and informational text vocabulary, explaining how stories use varied words for familiar concepts while informational texts introduce new conceptual knowledge. She demonstrates using AI tools like Claude to create semantic maps, providing specific prompts for teachers.
Hiebert warns against overwhelming students with excessive technical instruction, advocating instead for statistical learning through extensive reading. She emphasises children's natural brilliance as word learners, transforming vocabulary instruction from memorisation into joyful investigation while promising practical resources for implementation.
Listen to the podcast here:

Part 2: The Wonder of Teaching Vocabulary with Freddy Hiebert | The Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy Continuing her revolutionary approach, Hiebert distinguishes between narrative and informational text vocabulary, explaining how stories use varied words for familiar concepts while informational texts introduce new conceptual knowledge. She demonstrates using AI tools like Claude to create semantic...

Latest Podcast
Part 1: The Wonder of Teaching Vocabulary with Freddy Hiebert

Dr Freddy Hiebert revolutionises vocabulary instruction by rejecting traditional lists and flashcards in favour of understanding English's systematic nature. She reveals that 95% of texts derive from 2,500 morphological families, where grasping one word unlocks related terms.
Using her "bratwurst in a baguette with yogurt" metaphor, she explains English's Germanic, French, and Greek influences. Hiebert champions semantic maps over lists, demonstrating how students build meaningful word connections. She reassures teachers that many word families require no explicit instruction, focusing instead on systematic understanding.
Part 1:

Part 1: The Wonder of Teaching Vocabulary with Freddy Hiebert | The Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy Dr Freddy Hiebert revolutionises vocabulary instruction by rejecting traditional lists and flashcards in favour of understanding English's systematic nature. She reveals that 95% of texts derive from 2,500 morphological families, where grasping one word unlocks related terms. Using her "bratwurst in...

Latest Podcast
Part 2: Getting Better at Conferring, Years 3-6

In this podcast, Sharon continues describing her conferring approach, emphasising how giving students space to reflect develops their self-regulation. With a second Year 3 student, she identifies his awareness of misreading words without knowing how to fix them. By teaching the strategy "try a different sound," he immediately corrects all errors, making previously difficult text accessible. Sharon notes the importance of recording these strategies on Reading Calendars with dates. She emphasises conferring should occur with appropriately challenging books, helping students develop strategies for accessing increasingly complex texts rather than keeping them in their comfort zone.

Part 2: Getting Better at Conferring, Years 3-6 | The Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy Sharon continues describing her conferring approach, emphasising how giving students space to reflect develops their self-regulation. With a second Year 3 student, she identifies his awareness of misreading words without knowing how to fix them. By teaching the strategy "try a different sound," he i...

Latest Podcast
Part 1: Getting Better at Conferring, Years 3-6

Sharon Callen shares how effective conferring with students in Years 3-6 transforms reading instruction. She introduces the Listening to Reading Protocol that captures the Active View of Reading, guiding teachers through five-minute conferences. Sharon describes working with a Year 3 boy struggling to remember what he reads. By teaching him to keep both "eyes and mind in the book," the student experiences immediate success and independently develops a Post-It note strategy to track comprehension across chapters, demonstrating how targeted conferring leads to self-regulated reading strategies.

Part 1: Getting Better at Conferring, Years 3-6 | The Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy Sharon Callen shares how effective conferring with students in Years 3-6 transforms reading instruction. She introduces the Listening to Reading Protocol that captures the Active View of Reading, guiding teachers through five-minute conferences. Sharon describes working with a Year 3 boy struggling....