Mistakes in children’s writing
Children make many mistakes. As teachers, our views about those mistakes can be radically different if we closely observe children in the PROCESS of making the mistakes, rather than simply see the end products.
Literacy and Metacognition
We often find pupils performing tasks without wondering why they are doing it. They seldom question themselves about or evaluate the efficiency of their own learning strategies.
Literacy enhances subject learning
There have been a number of research studies which have explored the effects on pupil subject learning of embedding within subject teaching a specific attention to literacy skills.
Literacy – A cross-curricular skill
Is literacy a generic or a specific skill, and what are the implications of this for teaching it?
Text complexity and primary classrooms
The texts we use with learners in primary schools need to be rich and complex, because only then can they help prepare children for the complex texts they meet in the world outside the school walls.
The implications of text complexity
If we want students to achieve mastery over complex texts a first step is to have a deliberate strategy for introducing progressively more complex texts.
Readability revisited
The concept of readability was once considered a very important topic for those responsible for matching those texts to the abilities and needs of learners. It had gone out of fashion until the issue was redefined as one of text complexity.