Reviewing research on the best methods for teaching pupils literacy skills, this collection will make for interesting reading for teachers with literacy responsibilities or those responsible for pupils with special educational needs.
What works for children and young people with literacy difficulties? The Effectiveness of Intervention Schemes
Synopsis
Reviewing over 50 literacy interventions for mainstream and special educational needs pupils, this collection summarises some of the key innovations around literacy.
Over the course of the literature review, it draws familiar conclusions, yet ones still worth reiterating. It finds that while good classroom teaching is the bedrock of effective practice, most research suggests that children falling behind their peers need more help than the classroom normally provides. This help requires coordinated effort and training.
This is likewise the case for children with spelling problems: they need schemes tailored to their preferred ways of learning and delivered systematically 'little and often'. The research reviewed finds schemes that work particularly well enable pupils to grasp relatively regular patterns of spelling, and that work on phonological skills for reading should be embedded within a broader approach.