Reading has become a fun activity by Elizabeth Buie October 10, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Early Intervention, Literacy, reading , add a commenthttp://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6003593
TESS reports that North Lanarkshire’s literacy strategy is continuing to make significant gains for all pupils, but particularly the least able, an evaluation published last week has shown.
‘A group reading assessment of P3 children showed that those who had been taught by the “active literacy” methodology were significantly ahead of those taught using more traditional methods, thus maintaining the progress observed in the first phase of the programme.
In the P3 control group, 52 per cent of pupils were performing above the expected average age level while 13 per cent of the below average group had a reading age of only around six years. By comparison, in the active literacy group, 72 per cent exceeded the expected average reading level and of the 28 per cent below average, only 2 per cent had a reading age of around six years…’
Relationships and Participation with Pupils and Parents October 7, 2008
Posted by Joan MacRae in : Additional Support, Early Intervention, Home Teaching, NHS ASL, SFL, Uncategorized, inclusion , add a commentI listened to Charles Leadbeater at the Scottish Learning Festival and was excited by his notions of :”Learning with rather than teaching to pupils ;the learner as participant not an empty vessel; and community being crucial to the learning process”
I reflected on my work with a P.1 pupil who had cognitive difficulties. Her barriers to learning were compounded by social and emotional deprivation and her family had difficulty in providing an environment to offset some of the disadvantages she was born with.
Unfortunately working and learning with parents is time consuming and costly. Leadbeater says that we may have exhausted other avenues for further development in education except in “Personalisation and collaboration.” A redistribution of resourcing and flexibility of provision might reach pupils currently missed.
TESS (3/10/08), reporting on several speakers at the Learning Festival says the emphasis needs to be on “Relationships”.
Martin Rouse called on schools to focus on “relationships,respect and recognition” while Professor Teese said that Scotland should be strengthening relationships within its schools.
Asking four-year-olds to write ‘does more harm than good’ September 19, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Curriculum, Early Intervention, Literacy , add a commenthttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article4783073.ece
Applies to England only. The Times reports that according to a literacy expert teaching four-year-olds to write is about as useful as teaching a dog to walk on its hind legs, as figures showed that one in seven preschool children struggle to write their own name.
The annual assessments of children’s progress during their first year in school found that more than one fifth had problems stringing a coherent written sentence together when they entered their reception year. Nearly a quarter failed to reach the expected levels of emotional development for their age. The findings follow concerns that some of the Government’s early years goals are unrealistic and risk setting back their development.
Sue Palmer, an independent literacy consultant and author of the book Toxic Childhood, said that many under-5s were simply too young to achieve the literacy goals set out for them.
Start children reading early and they’ll keep turning the page May 16, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Early Intervention, reading , add a commenthttp://news.scotsman.com/education/Start-children-reading-early-and.4085968.jp
Caroline McLeod, Bookstart national development manager for Scotland, says Bookstart can help to tackle falling literacy levels.
‘With Scotland currently occupying 26th place on The International Reading League table, and frequent reports in the press about the country’s falling literacy levels, it is becoming increasingly clear that the main answer to the problem is pre-school intervention.
It has been proven by Bookstart, a UK-wide programme administrated by the national independent charity Booktrust, funded by the Scottish Government and supported by more than 25 children’s publishers, that babies and toddlers who are exposed to books on a regular basis are further ahead in reading, writing, numeracy and listening skills when they reach school.
This is because the first three years are crucial in providing the foundations for learning throughout our lives. This is when we learn to talk and it is during this time that our brains develop at a tremendous rate.
Bookstart In Scotland Day gives the gift of free books to all children at around eight weeks, 18 months and three years, along with guidance materials for parents and carers’
Dads ‘don’t read bedtime stories’ April 11, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Early Intervention, Home Teaching, reading , 1 comment so farhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7340720.stm
The BBC reports that less than half of fathers regularly read bedtime stories to their children, research has suggested.
Some 42% of fathers said they were bedtime story readers, compared with 76% of mothers, a poll of 2,207 adults for the National Year of Reading found.
But 60% of fathers blamed long hours and stress. Television was children’s most common pre-sleep activity. Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said reading opened doors to everything. Boys are consistently outperformed by girls when it comes to reading. Last year 87% of girls reached the required standard of reading at the end of primary school, compared with 81% of boys.
Dyslexia link to school failures March 17, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Dyslexia, Early Intervention , add a commenthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7295719.stm
The BBC reports that many schoolchildren could be failing reading and writing tests because they are unaware they are dyslexic, new government-funded research suggests. A study by Hull University academics of 1,300 children said dyslexia was a major cause of failure.
Over half of those who did not achieve expected levels in SATS tests displayed all the signs of being dyslexic. The research has led to calls for more specially-trained teachers in schools as well as better diagnosis.
The Guardian also runs the story:
2m children have dyslexic-type reading difficulty, study claims http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2265283,00.html
The Guardian reports that according to a research study schools are not identifying children at risk, says the research, which reveals that 2 million children have dyslexic-type learning difficulties, more than has previously been thought but in line with research in the US. Only 76,000 children have been recorded as having a learning difficulty and dyslexia groups said it showed that too few pupils are getting specialist teaching.
The research, based on screening 1,341 pupils and funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, suggests that 20% are at risk of a learning difficulty including dyslexia. It found that 55% of pupils who are failing Sats are at risk of dyslexia or learning difficulties.
From The Guardian’s article:
Separate research by the National Union of Teachers last year revealed that the majority of state schoolteachers lack confidence to identify and teach dyslexic pupils.
Fewer than one in 14 said they would be “very confident” in identifying a child with dyslexia.
Comment from the Dyslexia Support Service in East Lothian: I’d be curious to hear whether class teaching colleagues in our authority identify with this research from England. And if so, what can we do about it?
Tapestry Conference 25.9.07 October 11, 2007
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Early Intervention , add a commentSupport for young people http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2007/09/25114355
Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop said on Tuesday 25 September, at the Tapestry Partnership conference, that early intervention to help children get a positive start in life, would be one of the hallmarks of the Scottish Government.
I’m sure all of us in SfL would agree this is good news from the new Governemt Minister.Among the speakers at the conference, at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, was Professor Lord Robert Winston, presenter of the TV series ‘Child of Our Time’. His book, ‘What Makes me Me?’, looks like a useful resource for those of us helping young people to understand more about themselves. Winston writes: ‘Your body, brain and the way you think, act, and behave are all related - and they all contribute to making you different from everybosy else’.The book includes lots of quizzes ‘designed to make it fun to find out just what makes you YOU’.
Winston stressed the centrality of the affective domain in supporting effective learning - no news there then, although presented in an entertaining way. He also mentioned the importance of fish oils - see the earlier post on the Dyslexia Scotland conference. (I still don’t know how to make links. Sorry). And here’s something from an esteemed journal on the same theme:
Pupils’ daily dose of fish oil boosts exam performance http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=481430&in_page_id=1770
There was a distinctly fishy theme. Prof. Winston also showed a short clip of a goldfish swimming aimlessly around its bowl studiously ignoring red worms dropped in to entice it to feed. It then watched a video (I kid you not!) of a mummy fish catching and eating red worms whereupon the penny dropped and it began to feast upon the delicacies. A message for us all about scaffolding,apprenticeship and modelling.
Hilery
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