Jane Dupree's training day

It was good to get back into the classroom last week as a consumer and not a provider. Jane took us through the models of reading development and explained decoding skills. I also learnt a new readability formula. Created by Edward Fry. It was easier to apply than SMOG. She then went on to discuss comprehension and we looked at different levels of questionning using Bloom's Taxonomy.

Memory skills formed the next topic. We considered techniques for developing memory. The ones that I remember best are the 'Number Peg rhyming system' and 'Sequencing a story'. Perhaps I remember them best because we practised examples of these.

To conclude, we did some mind mapping. I have read about these and I have seen many examples and even played with the computer version. However, there was nothing like having it explained particularly since I had blurred the distinction between mind maps and spider diagrams. We were then given a piece of written information to represent as a mind map.

Overall, I found the day very worthwhile. It was interesting and practical and has armed me with strategies to use when developing students' reading and memory skills.