A presentation given by Samantha Jaspal Steed at the LearningWorks Conference for English Teachers

1. Leading
Change
with Parents
18th November 2014
Moor House
Samantha Jaspal Steed, B.A. (QTS)
Headteacher, Berkhamsted Pre-Prep

2. What do we mean by progress?
Learning to Read
Hothousing:
Learning to Read and Write
Communication Friendly Spaces
How to Develop Mastery:
Austin’s Butterfly

3. What do we mean by progress?
Learning to Read

4. How to Challenge in the Pre-Prep
What do we mean by Progress?

5. What do we mean by Progress?
Learning to Read
Ik heet Irene en ik lees graag.
Ik lees graag longe boeken.

6. What do we mean by Progress?
Learning to Read
Ik lees graag korte boeken.
Ik lees graag boeken met plaatjes.

7. What do we mean by Progress?
Learning to Read
Ik lees graag verrietige boeken.
Ik lees graag grappige boeken.

8. What do we mean by Progress?
Reading Challenge
Reading Task: The Krinklejup
A krinklejup was parling a tristlebin when a barjam
stipped. The barjam then grupped the krinklejup.
The krinklejup zisked zoelly.
Comprehension Exercise:
What was the krinklejup doing?
What stipped?
What did the barjam grup?
How did the krinklejup zisk?
parling a tristlebin
a barjam stipped
the krinklejup
zoelly

9. What do we mean by Progress?
Reading Challenge
Reading Task: The Krinklejup
A krinklejup was parling a tristlebin when a barjam
stipped. The barjam then grupped the krinklejup.
The krinklejup zisked zoelly.

10. What do we mean by Progress?
Reading Challenge
Reading Task: The Krinklejup
A krinklejup was parling a tristlebin when a barjam
stipped. The barjam then grupped the krinklejup.
The krinklejup zisked zoelly.
Comprehension Exercise:
NOUNS: krinklejub, trislebin, barjam
VERBS: was parling, stipped, grupped, zisked
ADVERBS: zoelly

11. What do we mean by Progress?
Reading Challenge
Reading Task: The Krinklejup
A krinklejup was parling a tristlebin when a barjam
stipped. The barjam then grupped the krinklejup.
The krinklejup zisked zoelly.
Comprehension Exercise: Questions that probe deeper
Describe what a krinklejup/ a tristlebin / a barjam looks like.
Why you think the barjam grupped the krinklejup?
Describe how to stip, grup and zisk?
What would make you zisk zoelly?

12. What do we mean by Progress?
Reading Challenge
Reading Task: The Krinklejup
A krinklejup was parling a tristlebin when a barjam
stipped. The barjam then grupped the krinklejup.
The krinklejup zisked zoelly.

13. How to Challenge in the Pre-Prep
What do we mean by Progress?
Reading Task: The Wolf
A wolf was chasing a little girl when a huntsman
appeared. The huntsman then shot at the wolf.
The wolf ran away frightened.

14. What do we mean by Progress?
Reading Challenge
Reading Task: The Wolf
A wolf was chasing a little girl when a huntsman
appeared. The huntsman then shot at the wolf.
The wolf ran away frightened.
Comprehension Exercise 2:
Describe what a krinklejup/ a tristlebin / a barjam looks like.
Why you think the barjam grupped the krinklejup?
Describe how to stip, grup and zisk?
What would make you zisk zoelly?

15. How to Challenge in the Pre-Prep
What do we mean by Progress?
It is too easy to think that a
young child has grasped a topic,
idea or skill.

16. How to Challenge in the Pre-Prep
What do we mean by Progress?

17. How to Challenge in the Pre-Prep
What do we mean by Progress?

18. Hothousing:
Learning to Read and Write

19. Hothousing
Hothousing “is the process of inducing
infants to acquire knowledge that is
typically acquired at a later developmental
level.”
Sigel 1987, p.212

20. Hothousing
Learning to Read and Write
“One can teach very young children a lot of
material that can be learned in a rote,
mechanistic fashion but without their
understanding. Why bother to spend the
time and energy to teach material earlier,
when the probability is very high that most
children will learn it all later anyway, more
easily and with understanding?
“In sum, my basic argument derived from research on
cognitive development is that acquisition and use of
knowledge involve understanding because understanding
allows for generalisation of acquired knowledge to various
contexts.” Sigel 1987 p.215-6

21. Hothousing
Learning Words
12 months Children move from sounds to words.
18 - 24 months Vocabulary of 20 – 50 words
5 years old Vocabulary of 2000 words

22. Hothousing
Learning to Read and Write
“Categorizing words and learning the alphabet involves attending
to sounds of speech.” p.47
Nursery Rhymes play an important part in this process as they
demonstrate an implicit awareness of the sound and rhythm of
spoken language.
Jack and Jill went up the Hill
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall . . .
Peter Piper . . .
Fee, Fie, Fo, Fum

23. Hothousing
Learning to Write
“Few children will have established the skills involved in
writing until the age of four, no matter how good their
conversational language or how exposed they are to books
and other forms of writing.”
Blakemore and Frith The Learning Brain 2005 p.48

24. Hothousing
Learning to Write
“The brain’s motor cortex, which controls hand and finger co-ordination
is not usually fully developed until five years old . . .
Development continues through the primary school years.
Because there are large individual differences in the speed of
acquiring fine motor coordination, it is pointless to be cross with
a young child who makes little progress in writing simply
because they cannot control their hand movements. Whether
or not coordination should be accelerated through handwriting
or through other kinds of finger exercises is an open question.”
Blakemore and Frith The Learning Brain 2005 p.48

25. Hothousing
Learning to Read and Write
“As vocabulary and grammatical
competence increases, children
become able to give a continuous
account of events – to “tell a story.”
This narrative form of talk is related to
the independent expression of
language need for writing.
Children who have competent
narrative skills learn to read and write
more readily than those who have not
established these skills.” p.48

26. Hothousing Reading and Writing
Summary of Lessons Learned
1. Pictures help children learn to read.
2. Answering questions rote does not
mean understanding.
3. Children develop language skills
through creative role play.
4. Nursery Rhymes help children learn
sound, rhythm and rhyme.
5. Some children will not have
developed sufficient motor skills to
write at a young age.

27. Hothousing Reading and Writing
Summary of Lessons Learned
1. Pictures help children learn to read.
2. Answering questions rote does not
mean understanding.
3. Children develop language skills
through creative role play.
4. Nursery Rhymes help children learn
sound, rhythm and rhyme.
5. Some children will not have
developed sufficient motor skills to
write at a young age.

28. Hothousing
More of the same?
“I really wish I hadn’t told my teachers that I
could write because then they just made me do
it more.”

29. Communication Friendly
Spaces

30. How to Develop Mastery:
Austin’s Butterfly

31. Case Study: Drawing Butterflies
Austin’s Butterfly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqh1MRWZjms

32. Case Study: Drawing Butterflies
Austin’s Butterfly

33. Further Reading and References
• Blakemore, SJ and Frith, U. The Learning Brain, 2005
• Lindon, J. Reflective Practice and Early Years Professionalism, 2010
• Sigel, I. ‘Does Hothousing Rob Children of Their Childhood’ Early
Childhood Research Quarterly, 2, pp. 211-225 (1987)
• Sutherland, M. Gifted and Talented in the Early Years, 2005
• Sutherland, M. Developing the Young Gifted and Talented Learner, 2008
• Wallace, B. Teaching Thinking Skills Across The Early Years – A Practical
Approach for Children Aged 4-7, 2002
• Austin’s Butterfly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqh1MRWZjms

34. Samantha Jaspal Steed, B.A. (QTS)
Headteacher, Berkhamsted Pre-Prep and Day Nursery
Email: preprephead@berkhamstedschool.org
Twitter: @preprephead
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/samanthajaspal
Blog: www.preprephead.blogspot.com