SLOOM! M is for Multisensory There is no shortage of multi-sensory teaching advice. An online search for the phrase “multi-sensory teaching” (MT) yields tens of millions of results (including plenty of play-dough and a few strange pictures of tongues). This approach was first pioneered by Orton-Gillingham in the 1930s (in name, at least) and promotes giving readers more than one sensory method to learn new skills: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. MT's underlying principle

In the wise words of one 21st century philosopher: Let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it... And do it and do it and do it, do it, do it Let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it, do it, do it, do it again… ​While I don’t think Will.i.am had in mind teaching young people with reading difficulties, and he is by no means a philosopher, it forms a nice (and unforgettable) premise for this week’s theme: overlearning. O is for overlearning (repetition) The wheels on the bi

Little & Often There is no mystery in “Little & Often”. It means to teach in small time frames... often! Rocket science it is not If you’ve spent any amount of time in a school, you know that teacher and support staff time constraints make it difficult to deliver interventions. When it comes to teaching students with literacy difficulties, targeted support ought to be delivered in lengths of 5-20 minute bursts rather than a prolonged, full 1-hour of teaching whenever possible