"Teaching reading IS rocket science."
Literacy at the school where I teach is a hot topic currently: we're not very good at it: below national average apparently on various yardsticks of reading proficiency.
What to do about it?
At secondary school, few teachers are equipped to teach reading explicitly - and as Louisa Moats says: it IS rocket science. Because teaching reading is teaching thinking, is teaching the interpretation of the world and all it throws at one - and there is no 'just'.
There is no 'if they could just learn spelling/verb constructions/punctuation/word recognition they would somehow magically be able read.
There are so many aspects of it - and if it has been neglected there are years of frustration to combat, too.
How can we give back to these children the joy, the power and the freedom of being able to read?
What to do about it?
At secondary school, few teachers are equipped to teach reading explicitly - and as Louisa Moats says: it IS rocket science. Because teaching reading is teaching thinking, is teaching the interpretation of the world and all it throws at one - and there is no 'just'.
There is no 'if they could just learn spelling/verb constructions/punctuation/word recognition they would somehow magically be able read.
There are so many aspects of it - and if it has been neglected there are years of frustration to combat, too.
How can we give back to these children the joy, the power and the freedom of being able to read?
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Hey - yes, was tossing out to get ideas.And I do like your essay titles as well as agreeing with you: all you can/must do is get them to think, read and write!
Okay then, but remember I'm not the teacher - you are.
First I'll point out you won't be giving the joy and power and freedom BACK to them - you'll be giving them wonderful and new.
You should make them write lots of essays on things they'll have to think hard about to write it. Like... have them answer opened ended questions. Not stuff like "What did you do for your holidays?" but "Why do you think it important to ... have breaks/holidays?" Or "What would the world be like if the sky was pink?"
'Cos first you have the thoughts and maybe you say them out loud but it's when you have to write them down that you have to put your thinking ducks in a row... else you don't make sense and you know it. (Did that make sense?) And... you can correct grammar and spelling and punctuation all at the same time.