Charles Benkowitz

📚 Steplab Summer Reads is here!

Each week this summer, we’re giving away a brilliant CPD book written by one of our expert team.

Entering is as easy as 1, 2, 3:
1️⃣ Follow us
2️⃣ Like the giveaway post
3️⃣ Repost

Winners will be announced later that week.
Stay tuned - the first giveaway drops tomorrow!

Found this from a lesson I made about five years ago. Clearly before I’d heard about extraneous load/ dual coding etc!

Can’t blame her, to be fair. That is a prime spot!

Here's the pitch:

Almost every primary school I've encountered is worried about the effectiveness of their approach to teaching reading after phonics and whether it provides pupils with engaging reading experiences.

My book offers a tried-and-tested alternative.

Looking forward to being back for the second TDaPE conference!

It's here! Having had a go at some of the lesson structures @suchmo83.bsky.social recommends, I feel they are by far the best way to teach reading I've come across. This book will be the key to maximising their effectiveness!

My new book, Primary Reading Simplified, is released this Monday.

Briefly, I'd like to explain why it exists, who I think will find it useful and where you can find it.

>>

A great day thinking deeply about primary education at #TDaPELondon with some insightful and interesting people!

I have to say I have LOVED this session from @benkowitzprimary.bsky.social

#TDaPELondon

Looking forward to being part of this in Jan!!

Cheers Neil! Yes, that TAF statement seems to be the one it all comes back to. Leads to situations like trying to explain to a Y5 that, although their writing is quality and neat, they're not going to be 'expected' if they don't join by next year...

To what extent should we 'force' children in KS2 to join their letters if they write neatly and fluently? Or is it a case that they'll still be more fluent if they join, so it should be strongly encouraged?

The Science of Reading: It's About Knowledge not "Transferable Skills" - Teach Like a Champion Recently, I shared an overview of the topics in the forthcoming book on reading I’m writing with Colleen Driggs and Erica Woolway: seven key principles of reading instruction that should inform what w...

Imagine a handful of universal tools we could teach students &allow them to understand every text they read.

Who wouldn’t seek “the key to all inferences”?

Who wouldn't dream such a beautiful dream?

The problem is that the evidence is squarely against it.

teachlikeachampion.org/blog/the-sci...

❓ What makes a good Cold-Calling question?
❓ How do we ensure students cognitively engage?
❓ Can subtle tweaks in the way you ask questions help students feel more confident answering?

Let's find out, with help from Doug Lemov 👇
www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/cold-ca...

Classroom Seating and Student Achievement - The Effortful Educator How does the classroom seating arrangement impact student behavior?

Surely rows are best in KS2 and upwards most of the time? Seems like they carry a lot of stigma though...

theeffortfuleducator.com/2024/10/10/c...

The TDaPE Conference for Velindre is designed with primary teachers and leaders in mind.

Speakers will be announced over the coming weeks.

In the meantime, grab your ticket for an amazing day of professional learning in aid of a great cause.

Tickets: lnkd.in/euAWVjeK

Thanks again!

Thanks very much! 10% is still pretty high, but hopefully it's even less by now.
Surprising that 40% of teachers who didn't have them thought they help though...

Similar with reading. Let’s just read interesting books and ask them questions about the story and the language involved. There’s no need to write answers to ‘prove’ we are doing comprehension.

Think it's genuine or a joke?

Golden Silence There's something magical about a silent classroom. Students are focused, heads are down, pens are busily scratching away. Participation Ratio is high, and you can almost feel the learning in the room...

Your Sunday read: Golden Silence

achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2021/11/07/g...

Great stuff, thanks!

YouTube video by Christopher Such The Reading Map - A Primer

Following a few requests from teachers and school leaders, I've made a short video on the key ideas that I think teachers (and parents/carers) need to know about reading development, based on my reading concept map.

youtu.be/JvtUxB5WM1k?...

How I Try to Help Schools to Teach Reading More Effectively Warning: Parts of this blog are going to feel like an advertisement for my consultancy work and books. This is unavoidable as I have written this for those who ask me about the issues relating to read...

I sometimes get asked about the common issues I see across primary schools and the kind of support I offer as a result. This brief blog explains this stuff.

This is my first new blog on Blue Sky so reposts much appreciated.

primarycolour.home.blog/2024/09/08/h...

About a fortnight?

Can't speak for secondary, but still in primary.
I wonder what the response bias would be, though. Are people more likely to be on Teacher Tapp who work at schools with more research-beased approaches and that are in line with better practices?

It's more common than we'd like to think!

🏆🏆🏆

I've learned a lot from your work, Tom: Running the room, guest apps on podcasts and ResearchEd. Thank you!
Sad to see how much nonsense you receive when you've contributed so much.

😂 Or glue Sticks?