Which words should I teach to a high school student with a small vocabulary?
With thanks to Averil Coxhead, Charles Browne, Nonie Lesaux, Sarah Spencer, Isabel Beck, and Laura Justice, here’s what I say to parents and teachers when…
Why should I learn to write when I can just use ChatGPT and Grammarly?
With thanks to Viktor Frankl, Anne Lamott, Julia Cameron, Steve Graham, Joan Didion, Paul Graham, Shane Parrish, Jeff Bezos, and Jorge Arango, here’s what I…
14 literacy leaders who changed my practice
I’ve spent thousands of hours consuming evidence-based content about learning to read over the last decade; and these are 14 of my favourite literacy leaders who…
Banter Quick Tips: Teach beginners these consonant digraphs (not clusters or blends)!
We have a big problem in written English: we don’t have enough letters for all the consonant speech sounds! So we represent some consonant speech…
Banter Quick Tips: The stretchy-sound trick: How I teach beginners to read their first words
Once a student has learned their first letter-sound links, I step up to words straight away. The whole point of reading is to read words! To…