You can watch my short video on book gifting on my YouTube page, ‘Exploring Evidence in Education‘: If you cannot read, you cannot access the school curriculum and so much more beyond. If you have little or no access to reading, you are unlikely to practice reading habitually. In turn, you are unlikely to thrive […]
The Promise and Perils of ‘Book Gifting’ Read More »
Over the past couple of months, I was asked to write about reading given interest in my new ‘reading gap’ book. Below is a list of the articles you can access online, along with a short summary: ‘Motivating children to read during lockdown’ – see HERE. This short piece, for Families Magazine, has a target
5 Recent Articles on the Reading Gap Read More »
When it comes to reading, teachers are a little like Goldilocks. When it comes to spotting difficult texts – whether it is the class reader in year 5, or a maths word problem at GCSE – teachers know what is too easy, what is too hard, and what is just right for their pupils. However,
Tricky Texts and the ‘Arduous Eight’ Read More »
Nearly two years ago, I began researching and writing ‘Closing the Reading Gap’. After writing my book on vocabulary, I knew that reading was the natural next step. I knew that every teacher understands the tremendous value of reading – for school success and so much more – but not every teacher is trained equally
Introducing ‘Closing the Reading Gap’ Read More »
Have you ever considered the shape of a story? Perhaps it is a tale that undulates and dips, before rising to a finish. Or it is a story that is jagged, with stiff cliff faces. Within most of us, since childhood, is an individual wealth of stories from which we can form shapes and sense.
The Shape of Stories Read More »
There are memories and moments that form who we are and what we become. I cannot recall exactly when reading for pleasure became a part of me, and what I would become – a teacher, dear reader – but it happened before I’d ever realised. Perhaps it was my father perched at my bedside reading
The Power of Reading Read More »
In education today there are few topics that receive the unanimous support of all educators like the value conferred upon literacy and particularly the importance of reading. The evidence regarding how literacy can impact upon life chances is incontrovertible and the ‘riches’ provided by reading are very real: literally, in terms of average wages and
The Spark of Reading Read More »
