Teaching children to read is complex.

InitiaLit makes it simple.

InitiaLit is a three-year program that helps teachers to get most students to mastery from an early age. It is designed by experts and grounded in the methods science has shown to be the best way to teach literacy skills in the early years.

Great for schools, great for teachers, great for students.

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InitiaLit at a glance:

  • Used in over 1700 Australian schools
  • A turnkey solution, ready to implement
  • Built-in assessment to measure student progress
  • Designed by specialists, backed by rigorous research
  • Explicit, sequenced, comprehensive
  • Australian Curriculum-aligned
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A literacy program like no other

Developed by experts and grounded in the methods that science has shown to be the best way to teach early years literacy, InitiaLit is designed to help teachers provide all children with the essential core knowledge and strong foundations to become successful readers and spellers. 

The three-year integrated program covers the Five Big Ideas of reading, is curriculum aligned and provides the basis of a strong Response to Intervention (Rtl) or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework that proactively prevents the need for intervention.

Read our essential resource on how to lighten the intervention load for your school with exemplary literacy instruction.

Download now

Discuss how InitiaLit can benefit your school

Giving teachers the resources and confidence
to adopt best practice

Voices from InitiaLit classrooms

"The time saved in lesson preparation has allowed me to focus on other areas of instruction in more depth – including planning and differentiation." Kindergarten teacher, InitiaLit school "From a teacher’s perspective, the planning is done for you. For those experienced teachers who feel like they will lose their way of teaching…no, you won’t, it enhances it."Teacher, InitiaLit school "I had a student who could not read or write and was achieving less than 40% on the Cumulative Reviews, but after 2 terms of InitiaLit is now achieving around 70–80%."Teacher, InitiaLit school "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc a mauris maximus, facilisis magna ac, imperdiet nibh. Aliquam in purus venenatis, euismod libero vitae, ullamcorper nisl."Teacher, InitiaLit school
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Designed with teachers, for teachers

Tested by real teachers in real classrooms, InitiaLit provides all the tools for impactful evidence-based instruction. Efficient, effective curriculum planning and high-quality resources, mean teachers can shift focus to their classroom delivery and to supporting individual students’ needs.

Explore the InitiaLit kit and supporting resources
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Differentiation made doable

Some children learn to read easily, while others need more instruction and practice. With opportunities for differentiation and extension built into lessons and resources to match to your gaps, InitiaLit takes the difficulty out of giving each child the right support.

InitiaLit for every skill level

50%

of teachers surveyed report
InitiaLit saves at least 4 hours a week
in planning and lesson preparation

Save hours by using scripted lesson plans and an extensive suite of decodable readers, workbooks, posters, flashcards and assessment tools. Avoid the Great Resource Hunt and select from hundreds of conveniently organised downloadable worksheets and activities, available in the Members' Area.
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Make strong instructional decisions, driven by data

Integrated and easy-to-use assessment tools provide rich and timely data so teachers can respond to the needs of individual students and reduce the risk of children falling behind.

Assessment tools for literacy

Want to learn more?
Speak to one of our consultants

The centrepiece of a school’s literacy strategy

66%

of InitiaLit—2 teachers surveyed reported fewer students struggling
at the bottom of the class and requiring intervention.

Voices from InitiaLit classrooms

"All our teachers across all classes from Prep to Year 2 are equipped to provide evidence-based instruction and all students are supported to learn to the best of their ability. Importantly, parents can see that the difference is palpable."Head of Primary, InitiaLit school "We do things this way because the evidence says it’s the most effective way and we have the proof in our students’ results."Principal, InitiaLit school "This is my 31st year teaching. I have been using InitiaLit for the past 6 years. I know I’m teaching a quality, effective program and my finger is on the pulse of each and every student."Teacher, InitiaLit school "This year, our Year 3s have shown fabulous NAPLAN results. They have been involved with InitiaLit since Prep."Head of Primary, InitiaLit school "Previously, we would have about a third of Year 1 students taking part in literacy intervention outside of the classroom to try to get them up to minimum standard. However, within one year of adopting InitiaLit, only 15 per cent of Year 1 students required intervention"Head of Primary, InitiaLit school
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Up and running with speed and ease

Whether a fresh graduate or seasoned practitioner, InitiaLit helps teachers embrace best practices with confidence, right from the start. Supported implementation, professional development, manuals, sequenced lesson plans and a wealth of high-quality resources ensure your school quickly achieves instructional excellence across all classrooms.

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Incredible value, enduring impact

Over a five-year implementation of InitiaLit, the average cost per student in a four-stream school is $86.50/year.

Quality, evidence-based whole-class instruction also makes it easier and less costly to establish a well-targeted RtI framework that supports struggling students.

Reducing intervention costs with InitiaLit + school case studies
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Five years development in one comprehensive program

Developing curriculum material for one subject for a year can take 500 teacher hours, according to research by the Grattan Institute.

InitiaLit, based on the best learning science and crafted through five years of meticulous development and testing, is a teacher-friendly program that adheres to a structured scope and sequence, offering an explicit and effective model for consistent instruction across classrooms from Foundation to Year 2.

INITIALIT DEVELOPMENT:

  • Over 96,000 hours of development, testing and production
  • 14 product developers, 3 designers, 8 illustrators
  • Over 4800 pages of lessons
  • 240 readers produced
  • 400 downloadable resources per year of InitiaLit
  • Every lesson and resource reviewed by researchers
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Proven to work, tested in Australian schools

InitiaLit’s rigorous testing gives you confidence in its effectiveness.

Our trialling covered:

  • 32 schools, public and private, regional and metro
  • over 4300 students
  • over 200 classrooms
  • new and experienced teachers
  • 2 states
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MultiLit, your partner in literacy

MultiLit’s School Partnerships Team is on hand with advice and information for a smooth and successful implementation process.

Benefit from the depth of expertise of the MultiLit network. Access free community resources through the Five from Five education initiative and Nomanis publication or join our vibrant Facebook community to connect with other passionate educators.

MultiLit has been providing effective literacy programs for over 30 years. We work with almost 7000 Australian schools from all sectors and train more than 9000 teachers each year.

Speak to us about InitiaLit for your school

A program children thrive on

Voices from InitiaLit classrooms

"I have a better understanding of my students’ ability and am able to provide help to those children who need it when analysing the testing data."Teacher, InitiaLit school "Effective, ready to go and kids love it."Teacher, InitiaLit school "Rolling out InitiaLit forced us to become more proactive: we were providing consistent, high-quality instruction to all our Prep, Year 1 and 2 students and there was a confidence in knowing there was a Plan B or a Plan C in cases where students weren’t progressing at the rate they should."Principal, InitiaLit school "The time saved in lesson preparation has allowed me to focus on other areas of instruction in more depth – including planning and differentiation."Teacher, InitiaLit school
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Every child entering a classroom in this country, wherever it is, whatever their circumstances, should be able to receive evidence-based instruction in reading.
Dr Robyn Wheldall, Co-Founder and Director of MultiLit and Director of the MultiLit Research Unit
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Give children the best possible start

When children receive quality whole-class teaching from the beginning, fewer encounter reading difficulties as they progress. Tested in Australian classrooms, InitiaLit’s consistent approach is proven to get all students off to a strong start and help teachers pinpoint what children need so they don’t fall behind.

Read our essential resource on how to lighten the intervention load for your school with exemplary literacy instruction.

Download now

Make learning child’s play

InitiaLit is packed with fun characters, interactive activities, actions, songs, poems and games to make learning to read a fun part of children’s days.

What's next? You’ve taught them to read,
now they’re reading to learn.

With foundational skills in place, the majority of students are ready to tackle the curriculum.
MultiLit has programs for Year 3 onwards, and for the few students who need extra support with reading and writing,
we’re here to help them too.

Ready to discuss InitiaLit for your school?
Speak to our consultants

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