Teaching the Rope

Scarboroughs reading rope

Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook for research in early literacy (pp. 97-110). New York: Guilford Press. The Reading Rope was developed by Dr. Hollis Scarborough to provide a framework for understanding the different skills that are necessary […]

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Supporting struggling readers in secondary school

Struggling readers in secondary school

Some years back I worked as a dyslexia specialist in a secondary school.  I often had to seek out my students who were attending other lessons.  The approach was they they couldn’t be withdrawn from their lessons as they had a right to access the curriculum.  Now, these were struggling readers and I always wondered […]

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This summer – an opportunity for catch up reading

Here we are in the last term of school and soon the summer will be upon us. It is really important that during this summer, the ‘summer slump’ of learning loss will not add to the learning loss that has already impacted so many children during the last two years.  A good way to prevent […]

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Why we should be teaching phonemic awareness to address learning loss and equity

I recently listened to a webinar by Dr Susan Brady and there some really important points I wanted to summarise for busy teachers. Focus what is supported by evidence to accelerate learning We are now racing against time to reverse the learning loss that took place over COVID.  It is so important that we focus […]

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What if?

What if a young illiterate man had not travelled to New York from the Bahamas to find work? What if he hadn’t been rejected from the American Negro Theatre in Harlem because he couldn’t read? What if he hadn’t had to work as a dish washer in a restaurant in New York? What if an […]

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Girls can be dyslexic too

In the past, most of the students referred to the Learning Center where I work were boys.  It was thought that dyslexia was a disability that mostly boys had.  Girls were very good at disguising their reading disability with neat handwriting and good behavior.  Sitting quietly at the back of the classroom – while failing […]

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Should we label deprived children as less able?

Is it dangerous to assume that a child who has not had parental input is less able?  Are we setting low expectations from the very beginning? Quirky Teacher presents some important arguments about making assumptions about pupil ability in Early Years assessment. https://thequirkyteacher.wordpress.com/2017/05/13/its-as-if-the-parents-dont-exist/

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Language and literacy policies

For those you who have time over half term I recommend this excellent article by Pamela Snow.  It gives one a very good overview about the politicisation of the teaching of literacy in English speaking countries around the world. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/17549507.2015.1112837

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