If last week's posting on my lesson with a ten year old from Falkirk looked remarkable, this week's lesson was stunning. We'd started on Alice in Wonderland, and S. had read the first paragraph with good attention to the phrasing. After some work on spelling, we carried on from that point, and I was pleased with the way S read a really long phrase about the white rabbit. We discussed the use of italics, and I mentioned in passing what she might like to read after we'd finished Alice. "I haven't finished Alice," said S. "I've nearly finished Alice in Wonderland, but haven't started on the Looking Glass. It's got 153 pages, and I've got to page 129." Her mum was sitting beside her, and she really had read all of this. S., I should have added, is home-educated, so she could spend as much time on it as she liked. I was, after the first reading lesson I ever taught, nearly conned by a pupil who said he'd read 65 pages of 1984 - I was saved only because I thought of asking him to read p.30. But this is the real deal.
Followinng the first posting, I had private messages of support from two leading international figures in research and linguistics. A third, Sir James Rose, advisor to the previous government, has agreed that I can quote his comment - "Well done, John. More of these success stories , with such a strong endorsement from parents, should be made available."
The teacher of the other pupil I taught on the same day has written this:
Dear John,
I would like to offer both my extreme gratitude and appreciation for the work that you have recently been doing with a 7 year old pupil from my Key Stage 2 class. Accepting that this work is really in its very early stages, a wide range of people (teachers, TAs and parents) have all commented upon a marked improvement already. The young man is beginning to read far more fluently, he now reads words rather than battling with letters and sounds in each and every word encountered. This in itself is enabling him to start reading for meaning. Above all, I am stunned by the effectiveness, relevance and sheer simplicity of your approach. It requires no specialist resources - simply an appropriate book, a mini white board and/or set of magnetic letters.
I also love the fact that your starting point is premised TOTALLY upon exactly where the reader is up to. This generates totally personalised relevance - building on strengths and openly addressing individual difficulties. No time whatsoever is wasted repeating what the reader already knows or putting them back to an introductory page of a first phonics scheme (when in all likelihood, this hasn't worked in the past for them and at the same time negates anything that they have actually learnt to do). I think it is the fact that your entire approach has the unnerving habit of making complete and utter sense in overall direction and specific detail, that makes me want to become fully competent in using and extending it to a far wider range of pupils of varying abilities who will nonetheless undoubtedly benefit.
Thank you very much for this.
Jodi Storey
Key Stage 2 teacher
Kettlewell Primary School