To begin with I need to re-state what is at the heart of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), according to its proponents John Sweller, Jeroen van Meriënboer, Paul Kirschner, Daniel Willingham and others. What CLT emphasises is that working memory is severely constrained in terms of both capacity and duration. The argument is that we can… Continue reading The Reading Achievement Challenge revisited and Cognitive Load Theory (2 of 3)

A very short message but a no less powerful one for that! Frances Woodward, one of our team of Sounds-Write trainers tells me that yesterday she finished another training at Potton Lower School in Bedfordshire. She was also able to pass on that she has just ‘finished a course in Potton, Beds. The school now has… Continue reading Potton Lower School in Bedfordhsire

The following is a short video of Dr Louisa Moats talking about how “spelling deserves much higher status in the attention of reading educators”. We, at Sounds-Write, have always argued this, which is why we have collected so much data on children’s spelling. Below is a verbatim transcript of why Dr Moats believes spelling is… Continue reading Dr Louisa Moats on spelling

I’ve just been asked a question that comes up with unfailing regularity: what should the advice to parents be ‘if a school insists on students learning “key words” by sight and asks you as a parent to help’. The sad truth is that if a school is sending words home that are to be learnt… Continue reading Should key words be taught as ‘sight’ words?

I have recently been asked how many phonic patterns (sound-spelling correspondences) I would teach pupils in a half-hour session on average. Though at first sight this sounds pretty straightforward, in reality, it’s a complex question. I’m going to assume that the pupils are beginning readers, aged between four and five years. I’m also assuming that… Continue reading How many sound-spelling correspondences to teach in a phonics session?

I’ve posted this on my blog because I couldn’t post such a long answer on Chris’s blog. You can read what he had to say here. Hi Chris, You’re right about lots of the things you say in this posting. Spelling does ‘bug’ lots of people. It is accorded far too much importance partly because it… Continue reading The hydra of spelling!

What a week! My visit to Blackthorns Primary School in West Sussex turned out to be hugely enjoyable. I was shown round the school and into all the classes by Marianne Brand, the school’s new head teacher. Years ago, Marianne was a teacher at my daughter’s former primary school, St Thomas Aquinas, and so it… Continue reading My week in the round

All this talk about nonsense words! In the words of Alison Clarke of Spelfabet, they’re simply words we haven’t yet come across. Now, if you should happen to be lucky enough to visit the beautiful city of Perth in Western Australia, and you should take a walk through King’s Park very close to the King’s… Continue reading Nyoongar words

This posting is a plug for the latest issue of Scientific American Mind magazine (September/October 2013 issue) because it is chock full of pieces all teachers need to be cognisant of. The list includes: an article on consciousness in infants; a very thoughtful piece entitled ‘Letting go of self-esteem’, their cover story; a special report… Continue reading Hands help us to see!

In this final posting on the teaching and learning values of Barak Rosenshine, I shall be looking at his fifth and sixth principles of direct instruction. The fifth principle is providing enough opportunity to engage in independent practice. In regard to the teaching of literacy in the early years, I believe that many programmes, such… Continue reading Barak Rosenshine’s principles of direct instruction 3