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 Taking a moment to reflect on how far we have come in our journey with structured literacy is truly rewarding. As an individual, my exploration into this field began in 2018. It was then that I wrote my first blog post, sharing my initial insights into the fascinating world of the reading brain at the end of April that year. From that initial step, my passion for learning and implementing structured literacy practices has continually moved my teaching approach forward. In May 2018, I shared another blog post, expressing my excitement about decodable books and phonics. This was just the beginning. By 2019 and 2020, our entire school was engaging in structured literacy learning, leading to rapid growth. Our journey has been marked by an ongoing cycle of reflection, refinement, and adaptation. A crucial element of our progress has been our willingness to acknowledge and learn from our mistakes, which has empowered us to deepen our understanding. The self-driven nature of our learning...

  Whole Class Teaching - What Could Go Wrong? If you have followed any of my posts over the last few years, you will know I am an enthusiastic advocate of whole class teaching. I have employed this method in mathematics for a long time and transitioned to using it in literacy a couple of years ago. The Success of Whole Class Teaching I am deeply passionate about whole class teaching, and when I reflect on the progress of my class over the past couple of years, compared to when I was teaching in smaller groups, I am convinced of its efficacy. It is not just working well but is highly effective. Addressing Diverse Needs A primary concern often raised concerning whole class teaching is how to cater to the diverse needs within a classroom. How can educators effectively address the needs of every child? Does whole class teaching imply that everyone receives identical instruction? Potential Pitfalls of Whole Class Teaching This concern leads to the crux of this discussion: where could wh...

Well, it has been a little while since I actually sat down to write a blog post so I thought it was about time I got back into it. For those that have been following my journey, you will know I started whole class teaching for literacy in 2023.  It has been one of the best things I have ever done as a teacher and I want to urge others who may be considering it, to leap in and give it a go. You can read back over my blogs, but the main reason I started whole class teaching for literacy (had always done so for maths) was that I felt I was spread to thin across my class, that I was not having a positive impact on all of my groups and it was impossible to deliver any extra support for those that needed it, I just did not have the time.  Sometimes, I would find myself, with the end of the day looming, squeezing in a reading group, just so I felt better that I had seen them that day.  Value added = 0. My main concern about whole class teaching was the broad spread of abilities ...