Literacy for teens & adults wherever they are
That Reading Thing (TRT) is a linguistic phonics reading method created just for teens and adults.
You won't find a better literacy intervention for students who have struggled with reading for years. TRT is fun but satisfying, challenging but safe - and fast. Students work from sound to print using age-appropriate vocabulary and a combination of decodable practice text and authentic reading material.
Evidence-based
- Built on the core principles of linguistic phonics (speech to print, structured linguistic literacy), and the work of Professor Diane McGuinness.
- Externally evaluated by Greg Brooks, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Sheffield. Download evaluation pdf.
- Supported by the science of reading (SOR). Cognitive neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene describes reading as ‘essentially creating an interface between vision and the spoken language system’ and this is what TRT strives to do in every level and activity.
Age-appropriate
TRT is not for young children. It is carefully structured for older students to work from sound to print using age-appropriate vocabulary and authentic reading material. However, for a student who feels they don’t belong in education, age-appropriate is more than the look and feel of a literacy programme. They also need safety, pace and agency.
- Safety The Deal means a shame-free experience for anyone used to feeling embarrassed by their reading.
- Pace The tightly structured content means a student can keep moving forward while still practicing something that tripped them up at an earlier level.
- Agency Students can self-assess and be involved in pacing their lessons. We always ask if they want to do a few more or if they feel like they’ve got it now.
Transformative
By creating a shame free environment to accelerate learning, That Reading Thing does so much more than improve reading ages. Students learn to read but they also start to see themselves differently.
- Belief They start to re-envision themselves as learners.
- Belonging They feel they belong in education.
- Behaviour They no longer feel they have to behave negatively to cover up their embarrassment.
- TRT background, truly age-appropriate phonics and intro to decoding
- Word reading strategies of struggling and confident readers