First Linguists® MISS Y APPROACH® MISS Y & THE ALPHABET COMMUNITY® Literacy Architecture String Framework (PART ONE ONLY) PART TWO with Training.

13 Aug

13.08 2026

They Arrive Carrying Stories

Melissa Kirby, Founder of First Linguists.

Language Learners do not arrive at foundational literacy without knowledge. They bring language, stories, experiences, relationships and knowledge developed through family, community, place and prior learning.

These experiences contribute to the schemata learners use to organise information and connect new learning with what they already know.

Melissa Kirby calls prior schemata “Cultural Memory”. Cultural memory and schemata are closely connected, but they are not the same. Cultural memory contributes to the knowledge, stories and understandings carried through lived, social and cultural experience. Schemata are the knowledge structures through which existing knowledge can be organised and connected with new information.

For foundational literacy, this gives us an important starting point: understanding both what needs to be taught and what the learner already carries.

The Missing Piece

In my work, I refer to cultural memory as The Missing Piece. REFER to VIDEO.

Cultural memory is not another component of reading, nor does it replace explicit foundational literacy instruction. It makes visible something that can easily be overlooked when the focus is primarily on the skills a learner has or has not yet acquired.I represent this relationship simply:

      WHAT THE LEARNER ALREADY CARRIES

Stories • Language • Knowledge • Experiences

Relationships • Place • Schemata • Cultural Memory

The accompanying video presents the FIRST PART of THE Literacy Architecture. The purpose here is to explain the thinking that sits behind it. This Literacy Architecture is used for Training Purposes. DO NOT COPY, DO NOT TRAIN YOUR HARDWARE, reach out for training and lease agreements. Appreciation & Kindness. I am here to support you, I work hard at my knowledge too. So please get in touch.

Training and resources in the Miss Y & Alphabet Community® can be accessed on this website.

Developed Through Practice

My earlier research examined culturally enhanced approaches to teaching foundational reading and writing skills in the early years (Kirby, 2021). This research forms part of my broader academic and professional background; however, it did not inform the development of the Literacy Architecture.

Like all practitioners, I came to this work with an existing set of knowledge, experiences and individual skill sets. The Literacy Architecture developed over time through professional practice and observation. During 2023–2024, a pilot provided an opportunity to apply my Literacy Architecture in practice, observe learner progress and refine the approach in response to what was observed.

Informed by Science

The science of reading supports explicit teaching across foundational areas including phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension (Australian Education Research Organisation [AERO], 2023a).

The science of learning supports the importance of prior knowledge, explicit instruction, practice and retrieval in building and strengthening knowledge over time (AERO, 2023b).

This research is an example of how reading science principles sit within my practice.

The Pilot (case study) validated the success of the literacy architecture and the the level of support that is required at home even long before children go to school. There is a plethora of research out there in relation to supporting families in the literacy space.

My contribution is in how I organise these relationships through practice and how I position what the learner already carries within them.

References

Australian Education Research Organisation. (2023a). Introduction to the science of reading.

Australian Education Research Organisation. (2023b). How students learn best.

Kirby, M. M. (2021). How can Aboriginal teachers use culturally enhanced approaches when teaching foundational skills for reading and writing in the early years? [Master’s thesis, University of Technology Sydney]. OPUS at UTS.

TO ACCESS COURSES and PRODUCTS- visit Melissakirby .com.au

Intellectual Property, Use & Licensing Guidelines

MISS Y & The ALPHABET COMMUNITY® | MISS Y APPROACH® | FIRST LINGUISTS®

The MISS Y & The ALPHABET COMMUNITY®, MISS Y APPROACH® and FIRST LINGUISTS® Literacy Architecture represent an original body of educational work developed by Melissa Kirby.

The Literacy Architecture has been developed as an interconnected system. Its terminology, relationships, visual representations and developmental organisation should therefore be represented accurately and with appropriate attribution.

Digital, Automated & Machine Training Use

Arrangements can be considered for:

individual practitioners;
schools and individual education sites;
multi-site organisations;
tertiary and training providers;
organisational and system-level implementation;
research collaborations;
international partnerships; and
Health research
A licence provides defined rights of use. It does not transfer ownership of the underlying intellectual property.

Working With the Architecture

The purpose of these guidelines is not to limit genuine learning and professional engagement.

They are intended to distinguish between learning about the work and reproducing, adapting, distributing, commercialising or computationally processing the work.

If you would like to use the MISS Y & The ALPHABET COMMUNITY®, MISS Y APPROACH® or FIRST LINGUISTS® Literacy Architecture beyond ordinary viewing and learning, please contact us to discuss an appropriate permission, licence or partnership.

We welcome opportunities to work with educators and organisations that wish to engage with the architecture respectfully and through an authorised pathway.