![]() Stanislas Dehaene reminds us that 'exposure' usually only leads to things reaching our sensory memory where they sit for a moment and then disappear. This is exacerbated by a lack of effective phonics instruction which results in memorisation and copying becoming the sole methods of spelling. They never develop the automaticity of segmenting and transcribing that is necessary for effective writing. Children are then so reluctant to write for themselves for fear of making an error, that they are crippled by the writing process. Instead of developing the skills they need to make decisions about spelling based on phonics, morphology and etymology, they learn that words are something you copy, not write yourself. The idea is that with enough exposure to the words the children will remember how to spell them, but I have seen this go very wrong for our most vulnerable children. Word walls are often put up to provide a resource for children to be able to copy words they don’t know how to spell. Ask your children to stand with their backs to the wall and tell you about what’s on it. If you are now wondering how much your children are getting out your hard work in putting up displays, take note of what happens if you don’t mention them. ![]() The children then glance at the display every now and then, hardly noticing the purpose the teacher intended when putting all that time into the work. The teacher spends hours in front of the television laminating and cutting and then another hour putting things on the wall. These displays seem more decorative than interactive (despite often being identified as such). The thing that I have noticed about all of these examples is that every one of them is a printed and laminated resource that the teacher has likely placed on the wall before or after school. ![]()
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