Youth Work & Literacy

posted in: Success Stories, Youth Work & Literacy |

That Reading Thing came into being because of young people I met through youth work. It was originally a youth work tool and used mostly by youth workers and volunteers trained to work in youth projects. They did such a spectacular job that schools took notice because their furthest out students were beginning to come to class on time, in uniform and able to engage. Why? Because youth workers had helped them, for the first time, discover how the English … Read More

The School That Got Teens Reading

posted in: Secondary literacy, Thoughts on Education |

I finally got to watch the BBC2 programme, “The School That Got Teens Reading” (on iPlayer until Nov 27th). Most of the show was about encouraging a group of year 10 teens, who can but don’t read, to engage in the wonderful prose poem, One by Sarah Crossan. That’s not the remit of That Reading Thing, but the one student who did spark my interest was Olivia. Olivia is in year 10 and diagnosed as dyslexic. It was hard to … Read More

A Conversation with Amy

posted in: Secondary literacy, Success Stories |

Amy was in Year 10, almost 15, very artistic, and refused to read even one multi-syllable basic code word on the TRT assessment. ‘I don’t read words like that.’ Me: Amy – when you read, do you get pictures in your head? (This is a standard That Reading Thing question for teens who often say, ‘I didn’t know I was allowed to do that anymore.’) Amy: (with feeling) I hate reading. I just hate it. I hate reading. Me: Well, … Read More

Grammar Schools: the cost of excellence

posted in: Thoughts on Education |

When I arrived on the Wirral*, all bright-eyed and Canadian way back in 1994, I learned four things in quick succession: Liverpool is not at all like Manchester. The other mummies don’t wear wool socks and Birkenstocks. Tea is something you eat. And 4. My children were going to write an IQ test called the 11+ (even though one of them would only be 10 at the time) which would essentially determine their educational futures and probably colour their whole … Read More

The Long and Short of Vowels

posted in: Resources and Lesson Ideas, Spelling |

Alison Clarke of Spelfabet wrote this great post about vowels. If you read it, I don’t have to explain my 20 different vowels to you. They sound different from Alison’s but I have them – and so do you, give or take. I wanted to give my own brief rationale for not using the terms “long” and “short” in the remedial setting of That Reading Thing. Our learners are all older and the only ones who might actually need the … Read More

How to make phonics suitable for teens and adults

posted in: Post-16 & Adult Literacy, Secondary literacy, Thoughts on Education |

When people hear “phonics” they think “childish”, and not without reason. Most phonics programmes are childish, but not because they teach reading using the sounds and symbols of the language. They’re childish because they’re created for little children, emergent readers who have no history of trying and failing to learn to read. There are some wonderful programmes for little ones. The problem with using any teaching method intended for young children is that you automatically infantilise the learner no matter … Read More

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