WRITE TO READ – The tools for READING and SPELLING success for ALL students.

The WRITE TO READ course consists of Certificate 1 and Certificate 2. Certificate 1 is a 3-day course (15hrs) and Certificate 2 is 5 days (30hrs). The complete training is Certificate 1 and 2 totalling 45hrs. The strength of this method is the teacher training. The most valuable asset to a child’s education is a knowledgeable, empowered, passionate teacher!

WRITE TO READ training is based on the extensive literary research* that has been done over the past decade. It teaches multi-sensory explicit instruction so ALL children can learn using all the pathways to the brain – I see, I hear, I do.

WRITE TO READ ensures children are taught the tools/skills necessary for success. When the teacher is confident and empowered with the knowledge of what to teach and how to teach, he/she produces students who feel confident and in control of their learning. Students become excited by their success and are motivated to keep learning because through real experience they know what ‘being empowered’ by knowledge truly is – not guessing but having the tools to tackle problems they face independently.

Research has found the following components essential for successful literacy instruction. The WRITE TO READ course investigates each of these and how to explicitly teach them.

• Phonemic Awareness
• Explicit Systematic Phonics
• Vocabulary
• Fluency
• Text Comprehension
• Teacher Training

While ALL of these components are essential, the understanding and explicit teaching of phonemic awareness and systematic phonics has often been neglected.

For a student to be successful he/she must understand: the English language is a ‘coded’ language; words are made up of sounds which are represented by written symbols (codes); there are seventy basic written codes in the English language; there are rules which help to read or write words correctly.

For the student to be able to read words accurately he/she must: be able to read and write the seventy codes; recognise them in words and blend the sounds they represent; apply rules when necessary.

Then, context clues, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension strategies give the student access to the meaning of the sentence these words create. All of these components must be modelled and explicitly taught by the teacher, then practised until the student can apply the skills independently.

Students are taught the skills that are essential to learn to read and spell successfully. They become empowered, independent thinkers who are able to clearly articulate their knowledge and are in control of their learning. Students become higher level thinkers who truly experience the joy of learning and achievement.

WRITE TO READ not only teaches these skills but enables the teacher to understand what it feels like to be the student by taking the place of the learner. Understanding what the student is thinking and experiencing is essential for assessing whether knowledge is truly owned. The final assessment is not only a correct answer on a test but whether a student is confident and feels in control of his/her knowledge. The only truth for the child is that which he/she experiences.