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LET'S DO THIS 2021!

2/1/2021

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It’s no secret I simply adore the fresh energy of a new year. I love the daydreaming, the planning, and the visualising. Like many teachers and writers, I am at my happiest when writing lists and doodling ideas in a blank notebook. This year I’ve got an A4 two pages per day diary to try and keep my schedule and my copious notes all in one place as far as possible. 
 
In the education sector we actually get two new year opportunities – we have the traditional New Year celebration of 31st December/1st January, and we have the start of the academic year in September too. So, I get to indulge in fresh goal setting through most of July and August and then again in December. Heaven! 
 
I don’t tend to set resolutions per se as I struggle to stick to them, but I do set myself goals and think carefully about what I’d like the year ahead to look like for me. 
 
In 2021 I’ve got some very exciting projects in the pipeline and I sense it’s going to a big year so here’s hoping I can keep up with my intentions! Look out for my YouTube channel finally getting going, and my podcast too. I have an entire notepad filled with topics and titles that I need to share with you all. Client work is as busy as ever (blessed and grateful), but it’s all settled down into a fairly manageable routine and it’s all coming together too so it doesn’t feel quite as disjointed as it has in previous years. 
 
They say that sharing your intentions helps with accountability so here are mine: 
  • I’m going to be a better communicator… that means rigidly scheduling time to create YouTube videos, podcasts and blogs – I’ve got a lot to say and a list full of your questions that I need to answer. 
  • I’m going to take more action… less procrastinating, less putting things off until later, increase output, increase efficiency – you get the idea. 
  • I will overthink less… maybe not completely but I can try. I think overthinkers are simply born with super active minds – we can’t switch off our thoughts and our anxieties, but we can try to divert those thoughts more positively.
  • I will create and share content consistently… the other three goals are really the steps I need to take to achieve this one. My brain aches, and I need to share my knowledge and ideas. I’m determined to make 2021 the year of content creation and sharing. If you don’t want to learn from me look away now! 
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#PARENTS

17/6/2019

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PARENTS AS A POWER TOOL: HOW TO ENGAGE THEM WITH THEIR CHILDREN'S LEARNING

It’s an age-old dilemma – how can we get ALL parents to engage with their children’s reading?
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#GLASS CEILINGS

17/6/2019

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MYTH BUSTING: HAVE YOU FALLEN INTO THE CVC WORD TRAP?

This little story raises an interesting question when thinking about the balance of how much differentiation and support to give children in classroom activities…
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#HANDWRITING

17/6/2019

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8 STEPS TO TEACHING THE TRIPOD PENCIL GRIP

Here is some useful info about how to teach tripod pencil grip (commonly recognised as the most effective way to hold a pencil):
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#ALPHABETIC CODE

17/6/2019

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WHAT IS THE ENGLISH ALPHABETIC CODE?

Spoken words can be split up into smaller sounds, of which the smallest units of identifiable sounds in a word are called phonemes. For example, the word ‘peach’ can be split into the phonemes /p//ee//ch/. (A phoneme is expressed within slash marks /-/). The phonemes are then represented by written symbols to create an alphabetic code writing system.
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#PHONICS SCREENING CHECK

16/6/2019

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WHAT A LOAD OF NONSENSE! 

Let's unpick why so many teachers are teaching nonsense words. 
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#TEACHING

16/6/2019

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WHAT DOES YOUR TEACHING AND LEARNING CYCLE LOOK LIKE: EXPLORING DIFFERENT MODELS

The Teaching & Learning Cycle is nothing new, revolutionary or challenging. It's a good ol' fashioned teaching structure. You revisit and review previous learning, you teach or introduce something new, the children practise, apply and consolidate the learning. It's not set in stone, but it provides a common sense structure for phonics teaching - agree? ​
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#PHONICS

16/6/2019

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WHAT ARE THE SYSTEMATIC SYNTHETIC PHONICS TEACHING PRINCIPLES?

When you start learning about phonics, or teaching phonics, you realise that it's not as straightforward as some people think. It isn't just 'a few sounds and letters'. It's actually a bit of a minefield. Especially if you want to do a good job of it.
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#MYTH BUSTING

16/6/2019

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ARE WORD STRUCTURES DEFINED BY LETTERS OR SOUNDS? 

A CVC word is a word like 'cat'.
A CCVC word is a word like 'stop'.
A CCVCC word is a word like 'swept'.
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#MYTH BUSTING

16/6/2019

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DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU ARE USING SOUND BUTTONS?

Why are you using sound buttons and dashes? I want you to dig deep and really think about this one.

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    Abigail Steel is an Education Consultant for Early Years (EYFS) and Primary (KS1 & 2) Language and Literacy. Her specialist area is Synthetic Phonics. 
    Services include:
    • Consultancy
    • Training
    • Curriculum
    • Resources
    • Writing
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    Click here to go to Abigail Steel's Amazon Author Page to browse and purchase her education books and literacy resources. ​

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