[NIFL-LD:4682] Re: Synthetic phonics a silver bullet?

From: Mary Bowman-Kruhm (marybk@jhu.edu)
Date: Tue Apr 12 2005 - 07:21:49 EDT


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From: Mary Bowman-Kruhm <marybk@jhu.edu>
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Subject: [NIFL-LD:4682] Re: Synthetic phonics a silver bullet?
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What is their definition of "reading"? And how was it tested? I have 
worked with too many students who sound out the words without even a 
vague sense of what they are "reading" or the background experiences to 
provide context.

==Marby

John Nissen wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>Please excuse the cross posting.
>
>A remarkable study in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, showed that 300 children,
>taught synthetic phonics from the start, were over three years ahead of
>their peers by age 11.  The boys were as advanced with their reading as the
>girls.  The Commons Select Committee on Education and Skills reported on the
>study on Wednesday, April 6, and the report was mentioned on BBC news and in
>The Times (on the front page and in the Leader) the following day.  This
>report said that the government should review the National Literacy Strategy
>in the light of the Clackmannanshire study, since currently around 17% of
>pupils cannot not read by age 11 and this was a national disgrace.
>
>The Leader in the Times said that synthetic phonics was unlikely to be a
>silver bullet; however the synthetic phonics method had everybody reading
>within a short time, which is a silver bullet by my book.
>
>A few weeks ago, having read about the Clackmannanshire study which prompted
>the report, I wrote about the implications for dyslexia, and how technology
>can help, see:
>http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/synthetic-phonics.htm.
>Now, in the light of the committee report, I've just posted some notes on
>our web site, see:
>http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm.
>
>Cheers from Chiswick,
>
>John Nissen,
>director, Cloudworld Ltd
>
>
>Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
>maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
>Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
>Email: info@cloudworld.co.uk
>
>
>  
>

-- 
Mary Bowman-Kruhm, Ed.D.
Field Experience Coord., Special Education
Johns Hopkins University, School of Professional Studies
   in Business & Education
Email: MaryBK@jhu.edu
JHU voice mail: 301-294-7046



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