Author | Lightnews

The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · 1d

No problem at all – I enjoyed reading it and writing the review! Explaining why a letter is in a word is a really powerful tool when you’re dealing with teenagers who think the English language has been designed that way just to annoy them! Your book should be a really useful resource for teachers.

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · 1d

Highly recommended if you’re looking for some etymological half-term reading 😊 Full review here: www.theliteracyhub.co.uk/recommendati...

Why Q Needs U — The Literacy Hub

Dr Katharine Barden from The Literacy Hub reviews Why Q Needs U by Danny Bate

www.theliteracyhub.co.uk

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · 1d

Just finished ‘Why Q Needs U’ by @dannybate.bsky.social and it’s so good that I had to update my list of Top Etymology Recommendations for Literacy Teachers to include it!
www.theliteracyhub.co.uk/recommendati...

Top etymology recommendations for teachers of literacy — The Literacy Hub

If you’re a teacher of literacy who’d like to improve your knowledge of etymology, take a look at these resources

www.theliteracyhub.co.uk

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · 2d

Great news!

With so much focus on phonics, I think we sometimes forget the amount of reading it takes to develop fluency.

Anything that will get publicity for the fantastic books out there for upper primary is a big win!

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

Booker prize launches £50,000 children’s award

Children will help judge the new prize along with children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce

www.theguardian.com

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · 4d

Recommended listening for anyone (like me!) who is teaching reading in Wales.

ImpactWales @impactwales.bsky.social · 5d

🎙️ On tomorrow’s Impact Podcast, we’ll be discussing the latest announcements from the Welsh Government.

📚 We’ll also be joined by special guest Rob Randel to discuss developments in reading.

🎧 Listen on your podcast platform, or on our website at impact.wales/podcasts

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Reposted by The Literacy Hub

Writing for Wellbeing @writeforwellbeing.bsky.social · 20d

Please share!
Free place in
Let your Words Flow
Online workshop
for Sat 18 Oct 10am-12pm (UK time). A regular participant has generously sponsored a place for anyone needing the assistance of a free place. Message me here on Bluesky if interested.
www.writingforwellbeing.co.uk/therapy-and-...

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · 29d

Also need to consider the lost learning time caused by testing. Every year I have to take time out of my job (which is to support struggling readers at secondary school!) to help out with administering national tests.

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Jon Biddle @jonnybid.bsky.social · Jul 20

This short paper about the decline in volitional reading is definitely worth ten minutes of your time.

"In an ecosystem which supports volitional reading, young people flourish and encourage each other as readers and learners."

@teresacremin.bsky.social

shorturl.at/PquEf

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Jul 18

Interesting article suggesting that making "high-low" books more mainstream might help children make the transition to reading longer books. In our school library, we certainly have pupils who are 'stuck' on Dog Man! It's inspired me to try promoting our high-low books more next year...

Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · Jul 16

The drop in reading stamina starts way before college. I’ve an article in @thebookseller.com about this, and how we might slow down that slide.

www.thebookseller.com/comment/pull...

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Christopher Such @suchmo83.bsky.social · Feb 17

It's half term, which means I have a copy of Primary Reading Simplified to give away.

Simply *repost* this post for your chance to win.

I will choose a winner at random this Saturday (22nd February).

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Jan 21

Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart, Skandar series by A.F. Steadman, Pages & Co. series by Anna James, and Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. All with strong fantasy and/or adventure elements, which sounds like a good fit with the ones you mention.

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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · Dec 21

How to gift wrap a book… my cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com books.

Title: How to gift wrap a book

A book, scissors, sellotape and giftwrap on a table. The book has a friendly face and says "1. Roll out your chosen paper and put the book on it."

The book continues, saying "2. Take a moment to consider the book as an object." and "3. Ask yourself "Will the intended recipient fully appreciate this book and accord it the respect that it truly deserves?"

"4. Correct. They will not. Put the book on your shelf and replace it with a different gift."
Socks, chocolate, whatever.
Repeat steps 1-4 for any other books

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Geoff Barton @realgeoffbarton.bsky.social · Dec 7

Love this (from the Literary Review):

Wally, in distinctive striped sweater and hat, making small talk at a party

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Dec 5

Agree that using dyslexia diagnoses to allocate funding reinforces the disadvantage gap. I've received staff emails such as 'X has a dyslexia diagnosis. Please make sure they are on your list for intervention.' We should give help to pupils who need it most, whether or not they have a diagnosis!

The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Dec 5

For dyslexic pupils, I still need to do the same reading (ORF, single word reading, nonsense words), spelling and writing assessment that I use for other pupils who may need intervention.

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Dec 5

Completely agree. As a reading/spelling intervention tutor at a secondary school, I don't find a dyslexia diagnosis/report helpful for deciding what to teach a pupil - the information is not specific enough to tell me exactly what their difficulties are.

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · Dec 4

The Welsh Government has published details of its Literacy Expert Panel.

This panel has been tasked with reviewing the development of steps being taken to improve literacy in Wales.

Updated guidance is expected to be given to schools in the New Year.

www.gov.wales/literacy-exp...

Literacy Expert Panel [HTML] | GOV.WALES

The panel will review and inform the work to improve literacy standards in Wales.

www.gov.wales

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Nov 30

*nerdiness (need to work on my morphology 😉)

The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Nov 30

Thanks - I agree 🙂 That bridge between research and teaching is a really interesting place to be - you get the interest of keeping up with the latest papers plus the satisfaction of trying to make a practical difference to students!

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Nov 30

Thank you. I took a look at the Morpheme Mapper this morning after seeing your post. Definitely planning to use it in the future! Totally understand the nerdiest - it's very satisfying to discover links between words that you hadn't realised were there!

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · Nov 28

Thread on need to fight for evidence-based policy - a response to Trump's cabinet picks.

Based on new @bmj.com article by me, @martinmckee.bsky.social & @kentbuse.bsky.social

TLDR: Now is the time to stand up for science, not appease those in power attacking it

www.bmj.com/content/387/... 1/14

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Nov 30

And (a non-literacy teaching pick!), our book club enjoyed reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah this month, and a few of us listened to this History Extra podcast to give some of the wider context behind the story. www.podbean.com/ea/dir-s3jxf...

Women secret agents in Nazi-occupied France

Kate Vigurs discusses the 39 female agents of the Special Operation Executive’s F-section, a diverse cohort of women recruited to carry out resistance work in occupied France during the Second World W...

www.podbean.com

The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Nov 30

To go alongside, Sue Hegland's Beneath the Surface of Words is one of the most readable and informative guides to the logic of English spelling that I've found.

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Nov 30

In this recent episode of the Triple R podcast, Pete Bowers introduces Structured Word Inquiry. Having attended his training, I've found word sums and morphological matrices great tools for helping adolescents understand the logic of English spelling. www.podbean.com/ea/dir-jwpv7...

Structured Word Inquiry - with Dr. Pete Bowers

192: Dr. Pete Bowers explains "structured word inquiry," an exciting type of instruction that engages learners of all ages in making sense of our (surprise!) logical spelling system. In this episode, ...

www.podbean.com

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The Literacy Hub @katharinebarden.bsky.social · Nov 30

A great companion to The History of English podcast is David Crystal's The Stories of English. A less in-depth but probably more teacher-friendly overview of the history of English spelling is Crystal's Spell It Out.

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