About

The Author

After many decades teaching in Australian Primary and Secondary schools, Ellie has spent the last 10 years putting the practical experience of classroom into books that are readily accepted and absorbed by both students and teachers.

Ellie is a fully qualified and experienced primary teacher, literacy specialist, piano teacher and composer, writer of children’s plays and performance poems, music education specialist and classroom management problem solver/consultant.

To fit in all these qualifications and experience means she is no longer a young chick but a wise older lady with a lot to give to those still travelling the road.

Books authored by Ellie Hallett

The Loud Phonics Series

  • Alphabet sounds
  • CVC – a in the middle
  • CVC – e in the middle
  • CVC – i in the middle
  • CVC – o in the middle
  • CVC – u in the middle
  • y as a vowel – CVC and READER
  • Lots and LOTS of teaching ideas
  • CVC – a in the middle READER
  • CVC – e in the middle READER
  • CVC – i in the middle READER
  • CVC – o in the middle READER
  • CVC – u in the middle READER

The Teach Yourself to Read Series

  • Bouncy Vowels
  • Consonants in Rhyme
  • CVC book – bus peg fan
  • CVC book – cat bag dog
  • CVC book – Is this a cat or a cot?
  • CVC book – Is this a fin or a fig?
  • Decoding four letter words – pond belt pram
  • Is this about kick or cake?
  • The other day I hurt my leg
  • Have you ever seen a flea jump over a knee?
  • Are these birds or beads?
  • One hot day I lost my hat.

The Reading Works Series – advanced and comprehensive English literacy essentials

  • Vowels
  • Consonants
  • Blends
  • Digraphs
  • The Schwa
  • Silent Letters
  • Contractions
  • Homophones and Heteronyms
  • Uncountable Nouns (Collective and plural nouns without s on the end)
  • A-Z Letters and their Sounds
  • IPA Sounds and their Letters
  • Wonder Words (word families)
  • Nuts and Bolts – Literacy Teaching Manual

Oral Language and Speech

  • The World’s Toughest Tongue Twister
  • Mighty Mouth Movers Student Book
  • Mighty Mouth Movers Teaching Manual
  • Oral Language for Pre-Schoolers and Pre-Readers
  • Oral Language for Beginner Readers
  • Oral Language for Budding Actors

Classroom Management – Super Teacher Series

  • Getting to the Heart of Learning Problems
  • From Bully to Model Citizen
  • Fixing Bad Behaviour

LOUD Poetry for Shared and Class Reading and Performance

  • Toad
  • The Three Little Pigs in Rhyme
  • Captain
  • Storm!
  • Slick Limericks – 35 original limericks
  • Loud Poems for Noisy Kids

Music books, songs and teacher resources

  • Accurate First Time Piano Scales
  • We All Live in Australia – from the Dreamtime to the present time, we honour and cherish Australia because it is our home
  • Earth Song – We are riders together on this fragile planet – SATB a capella
  • When Your Pants Begin to Go – Words Henry Lawson
  • Internet Song
  • It’s Time to Sing! (Children’s Songbook/Reader; Teaching Manual)
  • Learn to Read Music by Drawing – workbook
  • Music Lesson and Practice Logbook
  • The New Alphabet Song

Our websites

Education

  • Grafton NSW High School
  • Wollongong Teachers’ College – Primary: two years full time
  • Sydney Conservatorium of Music – Secondary Music and English: four years full time (Dip.Mus.Ed. with Merit)
  • Piano Teacher Accreditation – Sydney Conservatorium of Music

In-service courses

  • Dorothy Heathcote Drama
  • Classroom Art and Creative Colour Techniques
  • Gifted and Talented Education
  • Orff Schulwerk Music
  • Kodaly music
  • Lindemood Literacy
  • Spalding Literacy
  • Speech, Poetry and Movement in Creative Performance

Choral Experiences

  • Member of various choirs from an early age
  • Sydney Opera House choir and orchestra performances conducted by Richard Gill
  • Sydney Philharmonia Choir
  • Performing Arts Association Choir, Coffs Harbour NSW

Teaching summary

  • Khancoban Public School (Snowy Mountains NSW) class teacher
  • Manly Public School (Sydney) class teacher
  • St Mary’s College, Wollongong Music Co-ordinator Yrs 7 to 10 and cathedral organist for school events;
    public concert organiser, organised coach travel and subscription ballet excursions to SOH over several years;
    piano accompanist for G and S performances
  • Ravenswood, Sydney Lower Primary music specialist, accompanist; musical play author and producer
  • Waterloo, Erskineville, Newtown (Sydney) Three-year Disadvantaged Schools Program as a Years K – 6 Creative Arts Demonstration teacher, Art, Music and Drama.
    (Twenty-two demonstration lessons per week; organised public art exhibitions, concerts and drama performances for the three schools.)
  • Knox Grammar School – Yrs 1 to 4 Art teacher and later Year One class teacher; author and producer of end-of-year musical plays; accompanist for musicals and violin soloists
  • PLC Melbourne – Year 6 class teacher;
    commissioned to write a 90 minute multicultural musical play for Years Five and Six (which I wrote and composed)
  • Ascham, Sydney; Lower primary class music; integration of the creative and performance arts with literacy; (informal) consultant for high-level class Assembly items; wrote/composed/produced/directed end-of-year musicals.

Retired from class teaching – moved from Sydney to Coffs Harbour NSW

  • Coffs Harbour Regional Conservatorium – piano teacher Preliminary to Grade 8 to twelve years (part time)
  • President of 80-member North Coast Performing Arts Association choir and orchestra
    Choir rehearsal accompanist and organ soloist
    Designed and co-ordinated combined choir and orchestra concert programmes for public performances over six years (volunteer position)
  • Musicianship teacher – small group
  • Choral Director and Accompanist – Coffs Harbour Conservatorium Singers; ‘Tone Deaf’ Choirs

Moved to Toowoomba, Queensland in 2015

Private piano teacher; speech and English literacy coach.