Deb Sukarna is an Educational Consultant, and a leading educator for over 43 years. Deb has an expertise and passion for Literacy learning and teaching and her workshops are based on her own classroom practice from Early Learning to Year 9. Deb works in schools with leadership teams and in classrooms, modelling practice in Literacy. She presents and creates school based professional development programs for State, Catholic and Independent schools. Deb’s real love is working with kids and learning from them, as she continues to research effective teaching of Literacy. She works closely with a school to establish, and translate a common pedagogy, into consistent classroom practice throughout the primary years. In 2011 Deb was the recipient of the Australian Council of Education Leadership Hedley Beare Educator of the Year Award and received a Fellowship in Leadership from ACEL in 2014. Deb has been both a Primary Principal and Principal of a Balinese Community School. Deb was Head of Plenty Campus (Foundation to Year 12) and Deputy Principal of Ivanhoe Grammar School (2004-2016). Deb has worked in the United States and has co-authored several books on literacy education.

About Deb
Working with schools
ORGANISATION OF WRITERS WORKSHOP
Tuesday 25 February
2:30pm – 5:30pm * Australian Eastern Time
Online Learning for Foundation to Year 2 Teachers presented by Deb Sukarna
Cost: $210 per person including gst
Young writers are a joy to work with, but require us to organise in a way that caters for the range of development in our classrooms.
The session will include:
- How voice and choice engages and influences young writers.
- The importance of developmental play, the arts, inquiry, language experience and quality literature.
- Establishing a writing Environment – immersing children in possibilities.
- Structure of a Writing Session and organisation required.
- How to establish an independent routine for young writers.
- Purpose and structure of Conferences – interacting with young writers.
- The place of Focus Group Teaching – needs based.
- Importance of teacher monitoring – systems in place for assessment.
- Oral language is the treasure in our classrooms.
- What the Victorian Curriculum Version 2 is telling us.
ORGANISATION OF WRITERS WORKSHOP
Wednesday 5 March
2:30pm – 5:30pm * Australian Eastern Time
Online Learning for Year 3 to 6 Teachers presented by Deb Sukarna
Cost: $210 per person including gst
We can maximize our teaching time in Writers Workshop by organizing for learning in a structured and manageable way. It is the structure that allows for flexibility and differentiation as we interact and respond to students.
The session will include:
- How voice and choice engages and influences writers.
- Establishing a Writing Environment – the Writers Notebook; Seed Walls and Seed Shelves.
- Structure of a Writing Session and organisation required.
- How to establish an independent routine.
- Purpose and structure of Conferences – providing effective feedback.
- The place of Focus Group teaching for common needs.
- Resources that make a difference..
- What the Victorian Curriculum Version 2 is telling us.
TEACHING SPELLING – Focus on Phonics
Thursday 20 March
3:00pm – 5:00pm * Australian Eastern Time
Online Learning for Foundation to Year 6 Teachers presented by Deb Sukarna
Cost: $150 per person including gst
An understanding of how children learn to spell will be clarified, with a focus on English Orthography and the implications for the teaching of phonics and spelling.
The session will include:
- Understanding key terminology in regards to building Linguistic Knowledge- Phonological Awareness,
Phonemic Awareness, Phonology, Morphology, Etymology. - How to explicitly teach and build Spelling knowledge.
- A framework for planning –using a Spelling Menu (resource provided).
- A simple structure for Spelling sessions – lots of sample lessons!
- Differentiating spelling in writing.
- Creating hands on resources for students.
- Word inquiry based on an understanding of how English orthography works.
- What the Victorian Curriculum Version 2 is telling us.
ORGANISATION OF READERS WORKSHOP
Monday 31 March
2:30pm – 5:30pm * Australian Eastern Time
Online Learning for Year 3 to 6 Teachers presented by Deb Sukarna
Cost: $210 per person including gst
This workshop will focus on how to structure a reading session and establish an independent purposeful routine, so that teaching time can be maximised.
The session will include:
- Getting the ‘Reading Buzz’ in our classrooms.
- Features of a comprehensive Reading Program.
- Setting up Classroom Libraries – real purposes for reading and viewing.
- The ‘nitty gritty’ organisation of a Readers Workshop – structure; key elements.
- Establishing an independent routine that differentiates and develops self-regulated learners.
- Effective conferences that enhance comprehension.
- The importance of Focus Group teaching based on student needs.
- Independent reading linked to purposeful text response.
- What the Victorian Curriculum Version 2 is telling us.
ASSESSEMENT IN WRITING – Writing Analysis to Inform Teaching
Wednesday 23 April
3:00pm – 5:00pm * Australian Eastern Time
Online Learning for Foundation to Year 6 Teachers presented by Deb Sukarna
Cost: $150 per person including gst
Teachers will be provided with a Writing Analysis template that allows for a more detailed assessment on different aspects of student writing – meaning, text structure, language, vocabulary, mechanics.
The session will include:
- Learning how to analyse children’s writing. (resource will be provided).
- Assessment that strengthens our planning and differentiates.
- Gathering rich and valid data for monitoring and reporting on progress.
- Improving how teams moderate writing.
- What the Victorian Curriculum Version 2 is telling us.
** Teachers to bring a sample of student writing
TEACHING GRAMMAR – Essential to improving Student Writing
Thursday 8 May
3:00pm – 5:00pm * Australian Eastern Time
Online Learning for Foundation to Year 6 Teachers presented by Deb Sukarna
Cost: $210 per person including gst
This workshop is about building your confidence to understand English Grammar so you can teach in ways that will help students progress as writers. The workshop will be full of practical examples for teaching Grammar and creating student resources.
The session will include:
- Help! What Grammar concepts am I meant to teach?
- Using Foundation to Year 6 Grammar Menu for individual class and whole school planning (resource will be provided).
- Teaching of concepts and terms that will help students improve sentence construction and expansion, revision and editing.
- A practical framework for planning the teaching of Grammar – a simple routine – you will love it! (Planning Framework for creating lessons will be provided.)
- Using Mentor texts to teach aspects of Grammar at paragraph, sentence, phrase, clause, word level- exploring patterns, not rules!
- Linking Reading, Writing and Grammar teaching.
- What the Victorian Curriculum Version 2 is telling us.
ASSESSEMENT IN SPELLING – Spelling Analysis to Inform Teaching
Wednesday 14 May
3:00pm – 5:00pm * Australian Eastern Time
Online Learning for Foundation to Year 6 Teachers presented by Deb Sukarna
Cost: $150 per person including gst
Teachers will be introduced to Spelling Analysis as a means to monitor progress and inform teaching.
Key principles for guiding teaching and spelling:
- Spelling Development Stages – knowing what to look for.
- Writing samples – what are they are telling us?
- Spelling Anaylsis to inform planning (resource will be provided).
- What the Victorian Curriculum Version 2 is telling us.