Building Literacy Bridges

A pattern has followed me from classrooms in Canada to my current dual-language classroom in Texas. A student may struggle to explain a passage in the language of instruction, yet speak with insight and confidence when the topic connects to a home language, a family story or something the student already knows. The ability is present. The bridge to show it is missing.

That distinction matters in Canadian schools. According to the 2021 Census, more than 3.1 million Canadian households, or 21 percent, used at least two languages at home. In many classrooms, multilingualism is part of the daily reality of teaching and learning.

For more than 30 years, I have worked with children and families across languages and school systems. I have learned that literacy grows when we teach foundational skills clearly while also giving students meaningful reasons to read, talk and write. Students need explicit instruction. They also need their languages, knowledge and families to be treated as resources for learning.

Throughout my teaching career, I have found that students’ reading can be strengthened by making connections in five areas: language, knowledge, conversation, family and evidence. I have come to think of these connections as literacy bridges. They help me reflect on what a student needs and decide what to try next. When a connection is missing, the learning expectations remain high; the support becomes more specific.

Begin with a clear view of the reader

Before choosing an intervention, I try to separate what the student can do from the conditions under which the student can show it. Can the student decode the words? Understand the vocabulary? Explain an idea orally? Connect details across a text? Does the answer change when the student can first discuss the idea with a partner or use a familiar language to organize thinking?

This short diagnostic conversation helps me avoid treating every difficulty as the same problem. A student who needs systematic instruction in sound-symbol relationships requires a different response from a student who reads the words accurately but lacks background knowledge or confidence speaking in front of the class.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read inquiry emphasized the importance of evidence-based, systematic and explicit reading instruction and early support. That foundation is essential. In my multilingual classroom, I pair foundational teaching with opportunities for students to make meaning, discuss ideas and draw on their experiences. I want students to develop the skills to read a text and the understanding to engage with it.

Build five literacy bridges

Bridge one connects languages

A home language should not disappear when a child enters an English- or French-language classroom. Students can compare cognates, annotate a difficult concept in another language, rehearse an idea before sharing it and notice how sentence patterns differ across languages. These practices help students draw on what they already know as they learn to work in the language of schooling.

A simple routine is to ask, “How would you explain this idea at home?” Students may answer in the instructional language, use a bilingual glossary, draw a labelled sketch or talk briefly with a partner who shares a language. I then guide them to express the same idea in the language required for the task. The home language provides a starting point for further learning.

Bridge two connects text and knowledge

Before introducing a new text, I consider what knowledge students will need to understand it. I invite them to study the title, images, headings and key vocabulary. We build a small knowledge map together: what we know, what we think and what the text may help us discover. After reading, students revise the map with evidence.

Text selection matters too. A classroom library can offer windows into unfamiliar lives and mirrors in which students recognize themselves. A familiar food, celebration, neighbourhood or migration experience may give a child an entry point into a text. From there, I can guide the student toward inference, comparison and analysis. Unfamiliar experiences also offer opportunities to build knowledge, provided students receive enough support to understand them.

Bridge three connects reading and conversation

Some students understand more than they can initially express independently on paper. Structured talk gives me a chance to hear their developing comprehension and identify the support they need before writing.

I use a short talk-write routine: students read a section, answer one focused question with a partner, point to evidence and then write. The partner discussion is brief and accountable. Both students must be ready to explain the idea.

Useful prompts include “Which detail changed your thinking?” and “What does the illustration add that the words do not say?” These questions move conversation beyond retelling. They also give students language they can carry into written responses.

After the discussion, I look at what students can explain independently. This helps me decide whether they need further support with understanding the text, organizing an answer or expressing an idea in writing.

Bridge four connects school and family

Family literacy engagement should not depend on a parent knowing the school’s teaching vocabulary or speaking the language of instruction fluently. Families already tell stories, explain traditions, read messages, follow recipes, compare prices and solve everyday problems. Schools can recognize those practices and make participation manageable.

Teachers can begin with one clear weekly invitation. A child might interview a family member about a saying, read a short text aloud, explain a new word or bring back the title of a song or story connected to the week’s topic. Families can respond in any language through a note, drawing or short audio message. Teachers can offer an in-class alternative when participation at home is difficult.

The next step is to bring those contributions into classroom learning. A student might explain a family saying, compare two versions of a story or connect an interview response to a text. This gives the family’s contribution a clear purpose.

Communication must also travel in both directions. A translated newsletter is helpful, but families also need a simple way to ask questions, share observations and tell us what helps their child persist as a reader.

Bridge five connects instruction and evidence

Assessment data can identify patterns, but I need several sources of information to plan instruction. I collect small pieces of evidence: a decoding check, an oral explanation, a written response, a reading conference note and a sample completed with limited support. Over time, these pieces help me examine whether a student is becoming more accurate and independent.

I also record the conditions under which the work was completed. Did the student respond after a partner discussion? Was vocabulary explained first? Was the task completed independently? Those details help me understand what the student can do and what support is still needed.

This evidence improves family conversations. I can explain, for example, that a student now reads the vowel patterns we have practised accurately but still needs support using details to justify an inference. The next step becomes visible and teachable.

A six week starting plan

Schools do not need to introduce all five bridges at once. A small team can explore the approach in one grade or course for six weeks, using existing planning time and classroom work where possible.

At the end of six weeks, the team can examine three questions: Did students participate more independently? Did the quality of their explanations or written responses improve? Did families contribute information that helped teachers plan instruction?

Teachers should also consider other explanations for any changes they observe, including differences in text difficulty or the amount of support provided. These classroom observations can inform next steps alongside formal assessments.

What school leaders can do

Teachers can build many of these connections inside one classroom, but school leaders help create the conditions for sustained work. Leaders can protect time for teachers to examine student work together, make family communication accessible in the languages used by the community and support staff in examining both language development and reading skills when a student struggles.

Leaders can also invite libraries, cultural organizations and community volunteers to extend opportunities for reading beyond the school day. Partnerships are most useful when they respond to a clear need, such as access to books in home languages or opportunities for families to participate in shared reading.

The evidence teachers collect should help them make instructional decisions. A one-page record of a student’s strength, current need, strategy and response can provide a useful starting point for discussion. Leaders can help teams keep that process focused and manageable.

Literacy grows through connection

Canada’s classrooms contain many languages, histories and ways of knowing. Clear, evidence-based reading instruction helps students develop essential skills. Attention to students’ knowledge, language experiences and family relationships helps teachers plan how students will engage with that instruction.

When a student struggles, I return to a practical question: which connection needs attention? Perhaps the student needs more explicit decoding instruction. Perhaps the text assumes unfamiliar knowledge. Perhaps the student can explain an idea orally but needs support moving it into writing. Perhaps the family has insight that I have not yet invited.

Thinking in terms of literacy bridges helps me locate a missing connection and respond with greater precision. My aim is for students to develop the skills and confidence to enter new learning, draw on their languages and experiences, and carry their reading between school, home and community.

Reflection questions

• Which students in your setting may understand more than their current reading or writing data reveals, and what additional evidence could help you see their strengths?
• Which of the five literacy bridges is strongest in your classroom or school, and which could you explore through one small routine during the next six weeks?
• How can families contribute language, stories and observations in ways that are manageable and meaningful to them?

References

Ontario Human Rights Commission. (2022). Right to Read inquiry report.
www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report

Statistics Canada. (2023, June 21). Multilingualism of Canadian households.
www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-X/2021014/98-200-X2021014-eng.cfm

Meet the Expert(s)

Yoimar Falcon

Teacher, International Leadership of Texas

Yoimar Falcon is a trilingual international educator with more than 25 years of teaching experience in Canada and the United States. She currently teaches 4th Grade Reading, Language Arts, and Gifted & Talented students at International Leadership of Texas in Pearland, Texas, while also serving as an interim Grade Level Administrator. Born in Venezuela and shaped by her years living and teaching in Canada, Falcon brings a global perspective to literacy instruction by integrating cultural connections from English, Spanish, and French into her classroom. Her work focuses on culturally responsive teaching, multilingual learning, student identity, family engagement, and meaningful academic experiences that help students build empathy, confidence, and global awareness.

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