Whether or not you are using the Phonics International Programme, feel free to visit this informal 'Chat' forum!
Here you will find all sorts of interesting articles, links to research and developments - and various interesting topics! Do join in!
Debbie Hepplewhite responds to an invitation from the Department for Education to comment on phonics and reading. Debbie suggests there is a lack of common understanding in the teaching profession about the research findings and effective provision of reading instruction. For more information and free resources go to http://www.phonicsinternational.com
Then, imagine my surprise at this 'synchronicity': Mike Lloyd-Jones's latest blog posting was flagged up to me by Susan Godsland - and Mike had just chosen to highlight the same issue of the unrealistic expectation that teachers can achieve effective phonics teaching in just 20 minutes discrete provision which was point I ended with in my video footage filmed the day after Mike had written his posting!
Successive reports prepared by the National Foundation for Educational Research have shown that phonics is commonly taught alongside word-guessing – from context, pictures and so. In my book, Phonics and the Resistance to Reading, I described this as ‘partial phonics’ – in which bits and pieces of phonics are taught as simply one of a range of cues or searchlights.
A common feature of partial phonics is that the daily phonics teaching sessions are very short. And many schools justify this on the grounds that the Notes of Guidance that accompanied the freely-distributed Letters and Sounds phonics scheme recommended “around 20 minutes” of daily discrete teaching of phonics.
See this very-well written posting via the 'Horatio Speaks' blog...Susan Godsland flagged this up on the Reading Reform Foundation message forum with the comment that Horatio 'nails it'...so true:
In short, reading is so essential to the transmission of culture that to be without it is to be, in every sense of the word, marginalised.
All this, of course, is agreed with by educators everywhere; we see great hand-wringing by politicians, foundations and trusts; we see sponsors lining up to support charities that seek to foster a love of reading; we see much made of disorders and disabilities, and great soothing oceans of sympathy for the afflicted.
And all this is a sham. The great scandal continues, and our multi-billion pound education system continues to churn out tens of thousands of students every year who cannot read or write adequately. What the educators and the sponsors, by and large, do not seem to understand is what it is like to be fourteen and unable to read.
To be unable to read is to be locked out, to be isolated from discourse, to grasp the edges of conversations, to be without the knowledge of one’s companions. It is to be terrified of failure, and haunted by its presence. It is humiliation and frustration, and it builds into anger, or despair. It is loneliness and a formless sense of injustice. It is to be without the words to evince my despair.
Please do read the entire post via the link above.
I've received various kind and encouraging comments in response to the video clip on youtube - here is an example which I've included because it is verifying one of the issues I raise in the video:
Hi Debbie,
Have just had a chance to view your phonics video! Bravo! EXACTLY what I have been experiencing in every school where I teach supply, particularly around the 'Letters and Sounds' brigade. 'We're covering it daily, so we're following the government guidelines!!!'
I am going to take time over the holidays to see how I can 'cross the barrier' between what I have to do and REAL phonics teaching! Will let you know what I come up with!
In the meantime, my delightful 14 year old student, is thriving on our weekly phonics; sound activity sheet (his grapheme choice), followed by the relevant 'I Can Read' sheet, then his own writing, using an illustrated thesaurus to find 'powerful' words. He is loving the way that we can work through each phoneme over the weeks, then revise what we have learnt!
SO good to see that video! Will show to teachers if I can possibly find the opportunity!
