Teach Primary Magazine Reading & Writing Special Issue

Do you remember learning to read? Or perhaps, can you recall ever not being able to unlock the secrets of the written word? Are there memories you can retrieve of living in a world full of complex, coded messages, many of which seemed to be important – but none of which were within your ability to comprehend?

For a very young child, this lack of understanding is just one of life’s many mysteries, to be unravelled and stitched into the bigger picture as she develops into an independent reader and writer. And in the meantime, the grown-ups tell her what the squiggles mean, because she is not expected magically to know. Imagine, though, what it must feel like to live in that same,m encrypted environment as an 11-year-old, when the assumption is that you do know what the squiggles mean. Or as a 16-year-old facing those exams you’ve been told are crucial for your future. Or as a young adult, searching for your first job.

It’s a deeply unnerving prospect, yet one that is still the experience of too many people in the UK, let alone across the globe. And like you, we are determined to do what we can to help. Disrupted schooling; issues at home; special educational needs; arriving in a new country with little or no knowledge of the local language – there are many valid barriers along the road to literacy, and even with no obvious obstruction, every child’s journey will involve challenges alongside, hopefully, plenty of excitement and adventure. With Teach Reading & Writing, our aim is to pull together a wide range of ideas, advice, strategies and suggestions, from which you can pick out elements that might be right for your classroom, and your pupils, whether they are sailing or struggling, or somewhere in between.