I hope you’ve had a good week. This week there is a link to a free book that talks about why some children learn to read easily and others don’t; an interesting interview with John Hattie on uniforms, homework and extra curricular activities; the problems with whole language; good ideas to simplify STEM for little learners; and why the latest miracle cure for something may not be so. Happy reading!
Prof. McGuinness’s ‘Language Development & Learning to Read’ // Diane McGuinness
This is a link to a free PDF of Professor McGuinness’s book: Language Development & Learning to Read. The Scientific Study of How Language Development Affects Reading Skill. I’ve started reading a number of Diane McGuinness’s books and they have been quite eye opening and I’ve been learning so much about research and what constitutes good research and how you can tell the difference. This book is a companion for the Early Reading Instruction book that discusses the methods of reading instruction. This book talks more about why some children learn to read easily and quickly, while others don’t learn to read at all. I have been learning a great deal from Professor McGuinness’s books and if you’d like to know more about reading instruction then these are a must read.
Homework In Primary School Has An Effect Of Zero // Visible Learning
This is a short extract of an interview with John Hattie on BBC radio. Some of the issues discussed include: uniforms, homework and extra curricular activities. His views on homework are interesting and I agree with some of his assertions; reinforcing concepts learned I think is key. But setting homework for the sake of it and the big projects….in my opinion are a waste of time and doesn’t make a difference. What do you think?
What Are The Problems With Whole Language And Why Doesn’t It Work? // The Literacy Blog
If you’ve been using a whole language approach to teach reading, then you need to read this article. John explains the problems with this approach and what you should be doing instead.
6 Ways To Simplify STEM For The Youngest Engineers // Stem Activities For Kids
There are some good ideas here for getting started with STEM activities for your Kindy and PP kids. My little girl is always inventing, creating and building various structures, from billy carts to kites and even air crafts. I’d love to see more of these type of activities in early childhood classrooms. If you teach the little kids what type of STEM activities have you incorporated?
5 Reasons Why Anecdotes Are Totally Worthless // The Logic Of Science
Oh yes, this article resonated with me this week! I meet so many people who are adamant about the latest miracle cure for dyslexia or similar. I think the conclusion sums it up nicely, “if you want to know whether or not X causes Y, the one and only way to do it is by conducting large, properly controlled studies that account for confounding variables. Nothing else will suffice.” Keep this in mind when you’re hearing about the latest and greatest miracle 🙂
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