They didn’t publish my letter to the editor (http://successwithreading.com/core-words/), but, a few days later our local newspaper, The Mercury, published an article on the five pillars of teaching reading. This one, talking about the features of evidence-based teaching, was excellent (http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-five-pillars-of-teaching-reading-crucial-to-health-and-wellbeing/news-story/cf1a227b8f0ee6189b38b7fcf928584b).
I had been thinking that I should do a series of articles summarising the research on the effects of different methods of early reading instruction. This could include long term studies following students’ progress, brain scans showing the neural pathways used, measurements of eye movements, etc. But at least some of this is covered in the latest article in The Mercury by Terese Phillips, currently manager of education services for Independent Schools Tasmania.
So I decided to try a shorter letter to the editor supporting Terese’s article:
Talking Point: Five pillars of teaching reading crucial to health and wellbeing, August 10th, was a timely reminder of the scientific evidence for effective teaching of reading – phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. This is particularly important for boys, and students at risk because of social disadvantage or dyslexia.
If we could implement the type of teaching shown to be most effective by various major international studies we would see dramatic rises in the literacy levels of our students with the flow on effect of increasing our retention rates. However, to see these results, this type of teaching would need to replace whole word / whole language / real books / balanced literacy, not simply be tacked on the end, at least for the first three years of school.
I wonder if they will publish this one, and, if so what the response will be. Maybe Tasmania can lead the way??!??
If the link to the original article stops working click here.
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