We know how to use quizzes to support knowledge retrieval. We often aren’t as good at applying that knowledge, which … More
Tag: education
Rich and Connected Science Texts
I’m more excited about this post than I’ve been about any post I’ve written in recent years. I’ve been building … More
What Is the Point of “Reading Comprehension”?
Is the goal of reading something to comprehend it? In class, we give our students a text and then ask … More
Some Thoughts on Reading Fluency
We often think of reading fluency as speed: the faster you read, the better reader you are. Or, we may … More
Tier 2 Experiences
This post is the result of a conversation with the great Alistair Gittner on Bluesky. We go back a way … More
How Reading Comprehension Happens
Clue: it all depends on your background knowledge. I think we all agree don’t we? Reading is the most important … More
Should We Explain a New Concept to a Class, or Ask Pupils to Read an Explanation Instead?
Could teachers make their lives easier by giving their pupils a well-crafted science explanation to read instead of explaining it … More
Reading for Learning or Learning for Reading?
Back in 2014, when I started this blog, I was a primary school teacher with a special interest in science … More
What Makes an Explanation in Science Lessons Effective?
A review of “Towards a framework for effective instructional explanations in science teaching” by Christoph Kulgemeyer (2019) This paper provides … More
“Lovely rich tasks” Vs “Tedious exercises”
Hands up if you’ve never set your pupils a block of practice questions that are all similar but slightly different. … More
Reading for Learning 