Bringing high quality, research-supported literacy instruction to teachers and families

Hi, I’m Lyn Stone.  You can find out more about each of my roles and our tutoring team. We have free videos, low cost online courses, books about literacy for parents and teachers, a literacy blog and a wealth of resources to help you in your journey toward lifelong literacy for all.  I am a:

• linguist in private practice
• author
• education consultant
• mother of diverse learners
• dyslexia advocate.

New South Wales Australia lockdown:

I remember week after week, while Victoria was locked down, looking at the numbers, waiting for the announcements, watching my friends and my family miss out on important occasions, treading water, anxious about what was round the corner. No one really knew. What we did know was that life would never be the same again. The feeling of uncertainty and powerlessness remains.

I can’t do all that much on a personal basis except get vaccinated, check in and mask up, but I can show my solidarity with you in New South Wales right now by reducing the cost of all my online offerings to anyone who might find them useful. Until restrictions ease, you are entitled to 25% off all online courses on this site. Just punch in the code LOCKDOWNLOVE.

This applies to schools and educators in the Greater Sydney area including  the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour.

One-off live webinars:

Lockdown has scuppered my plans to be in beautiful Cairns and Townsville this month (it’s postponed and can be registered for here), so I’ve decided to use the time that I would have been there to throw a  couple of live events via Zoom.

I’ve done dozens of these for schools that I couldn’t go to, and the feedback has been spectacular.

So if you’d like to do a live PD without the uncertainty of lockdowns, without the hassle of travel and parking, but filled to the brim with useful strategies and understanding of spelling and reading, do come along.

They’re being held on Saturdays so that teachers can attend without having to get replacements. They’re being held at an Australia-friendly time to help us cope with the pressures of lockdown.

The recording will NOT be available afterwards. These are one-off live events. If asynchronous is what you like, just sign up for the online courses.

Spelling for Life live workshop:

WHEN: Saturday August 7th 9:30am – 3pm MELBOURNE TIME

WHERE: ZOOM! We will send you a link when you register

WHAT: You’ll get into a Zoom room with Lyn Stone and we will cover:

• Orthographic mapping
• Rule breakers
• Vowels and consonants
• The Letter Y
• Syllables
• Schwa
• Doubling
• Morphology
• All your questions re tricky words and spelling patterns
• A guide to our K-6 Spelling and Handwriting scope and sequence document

You’ll also get links to:

• Optional pre-workshop videos on broken rules, Final Silent E and the Letter Y
• A downloadable handout with printable worksheets to keep forever

COMPETITION: One lucky registrant will go in the draw to win a signed copy of the second edition of Spelling for Life (released August 31st 2021).

PLEASE NOTE: We offer a 10% discount for school teams of over 5 people. Please contact us to enquire.

Reading for Life live workshop:

WHEN: Saturday August 28th 9:30am – 3pm MELBOURNE TIME

WHERE: ZOOM! We will send you a link when you register

WHAT: You’ll get into a Zoom room with Lyn Stone and we will cover:

You’ll also get links to:

• Printable manual
• Online resources hub
• Discount voucher for Lyn Stone’s online courses
• Certificate for 5 hours of professional development

COMPETITION: One lucky registrant will go in the draw to win a signed copy of the Reading for Life book.

PLEASE NOTE: We offer a 10% discount for school teams of over 5 people. Please contact us to enquire.

Face to face courses:

CAIRNS

TOWNSVILLE

New edition of Spelling for Life now available for pre-order!

August 16th will see the long-awaited release date of edition 2 of Lyn Stone’s highly acclaimed Spelling for Life book.

What’s new:

This new and improved edition includes updated spelling techniques as well as new chapters on orthographic mapping, spelling assessment, teaching consonant clusters well and suffixing rules.

Aided by example lessons, formative assessments, unique tools, a scope and sequence and extensive practice lists, this highly acclaimed overview of spelling succeeds in developing theory and practice in the writing system for teacher and student alike.

Saturday Spelling Symposia

On Saturdays, 11am Melbourne time, Lyn will be holding a 90 minute live webinar on all things spelling until the release of Spelling for Life Edition 2.

YES. THERE WILL BE A RECORDING FOR ALL WHO REGISTER.

Webinars so far (click on the picture):

Online Courses

Tutoring for Life Online – New course

We live in times where demand for tutoring is at an all-time high. We have a responsibility to make the delivery of extra support for struggling children the highest quality it can be.

Lyn would like to share her tips for successful tutoring sessions both online and face to face. All activities are aligned with the Science of Reading and the Science of Learning.

In this workshop we will cover:

• Memory and processing – what you can and can’t change
• How to build a tailor-made bridge to the curriculum for your student
• Carer coaching: Getting the most out of this valuable resource
• The importance of progress monitoring and feedback
• How words are the key to success
• A run through some recommended resources

Course outcomes:

• Improved confidence in your skill as a tutor
• Faster progress for your students
• Access to resources that work
• A certificate of completion that makes you stand out in the crowd

Learn more or register for the Tutoring for Life course

Lyn Stone’s Books

Language for Life Book by Lyn Stone: Where Linguistics Meets Teaching

We all recognize how important first impressions are, something often formed by how well we speak and write. Language for Life shows how language can be mastered by children and how what they have learned can be carried throughout their lives. This i...

Reading for Life Book by Lyn Stone: High Quality Literacy Instruction for All

  Why is it that so many people can't read and write? Why are there still so many vastly different methods of teaching literacy? Why do people still argue about it? Reading for Life examines these three questions, addressing the less evi...

Spelling for Life Book by Lyn Stone: Uncovering the Simplicity and Science of Spelling

There is a myth that English spelling is unnecessarily complex. It is spread by those who don’t understand the writing system. Spelling for Life offers lucid, accessible tools which help to reveal that, when explicitly and systematically taught, s...

School Consultation

We have spent many years consulting to schools throughout Australia. It gives us great pleasure to watch them go from good to great.  Learn more about our school consultation service.

The video below outlines our role. Do get in touch if you would like to book a consultation.