There are alternatives to England’s focus on synthetic phonics, which teaches children to decode words by learning the relationship between letters and sounds.
A report from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission outlines government and school responsibilities for educating students with disabilities and calls for changes in reading instruction.
Reading fluency and expanding vocabulary are the bridge from decoding to comprehension. Weaknesses in any of these building blocks will limit a child’s ability to read for meaning.
A recently released schools policy guide has been receiving some criticism. Reports suggest it instructs teachers to not use terms like “boys and girls”, for instance. This is not entirely correct.
Australia’s curriculum is being reviewed for the first time since 2014. The proposed changes include positive additions to acknowledge our many cultures. But there are some reductive changes, too.
If families embrace reading as fun and routine and teachers work more closely than before with the families of their students, it’s possible that remote learning won’t be a huge obstacle to literacy.
Two literacy scholars share their concerns about growing pressure on educators to emphasize phonics to teach reading. In their view, critiques of other methods often rest on a false premise.
A whole language approach to teaching reading gives kids a whole linguistic picture of how words work. This includes teaching individual letters and sounds, as well as what the words mean in context.
English is a code-based language, with 26 letters to represent 44 speech sounds. Children must first learn to master the code if they want to be successful readers.
Early experiences sharing and developing positive connections, language and communication set the stage for home reading to start children on the path to literacy.
For learners in the early stages of reading, the best way to counteract the loss of literacy skills over the summer is not by forcing study but by boosting play that develops fine motor skills.
It would be wiser to spend money on policies that allow teachers to teach in ways that nurture children’s sense of belonging and making sure children are not hungry when they are trying to learn.
Senior Research Fellow, The Centre for Independent Studies; Associate Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University