Anita Harley, Phonics Lead at Princecroft Primary School in the rural town of Warminster in the UK, describes how a focus on teacher development and using Sounds-Write with fidelity has resulted in increased attainment in phonics and spelling for children, the vast majority of whom now meet or exceed expected standards. [For the complete volume,…

Prior to implementing Sounds-Write in 2016, phonics attainment in Year 1 at Selby Primary School in North Yorkshire (UK) was at or above the national average, but little progress was made by the weaker readers by the end of Key Stage 2. Emma Darwin, Phonics Lead at the school, presents data for a Year 4 cohort who have been taught using…

In this case study, Sarah Horner and Jane Orr from the Bloomfield Learning Centre, a specialist literacy clinic run as a charity and serving the poorest parts of London, report on how Sounds-Write helped a student regain his self-confidence and motivation for learning, after difficulties in reading had led to behaviour problems and a dislike of…

In this case study, Charlotte MacKechnie reports on improvements in reading and spelling for all children at Angel Oak Academy in South East London following the adoption of Sounds-Write. They use a three-teacher model to support small-group and one-to-one 'keep up' interventions to ensure children are not left behind in their phonics learning.…

St George's Primary, in Battersea, south London, began using Sounds-Write in 2011. Alexandra Hammond, current Key Stage 1 and Phonics Lead, presents spelling test data to illustrate progress and achievement for a group of twenty students from Year 1 to Year 6. [For the complete volume, "Systematic Synthetic Phonics: Case Studies from Sounds…

Kendall Hammond, Associate Principal at Nollamara Primary and Intensive English School in Perth, explains how their commitment to explicit direct instruction made Sounds-Write a natural choice for the teaching of reading and spelling in a school where three-quarters of students have English as an additional language. [For the complete volume,…

Naomi Stockley, Rianna Tatana, Roshni Kaur, and Alice Reynolds offer some early insights into the implementation of Sounds-Write at The Pavilion School, a specialist provision in the northern suburbs of Melbourne for vulnerable students who have been excluded from mainstream education and face significant personal challenges. [For the complete…

In this case study, Katie Eichhorn, Kathy Gilbert, Myra Hall, Gretchen Lawyer, and Jill Nunez from Johnson STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, share data showing improved reading results after their first year of implementation of Sounds-Write, including a successful partnership with a local middle school to use Sounds-Write with Grade 7 students…

In 2013, the so-called Viducation project was launched at the Institute of Romance Studies at the University of Kiel4 (CAU) as a reaction to the new Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts degree programmes in order to improve students' learning skills and core competences by creating subject-related videos. Filmmaking by students is already widely…

In this chapter, the authors argue that there are five different dimensions of continuing professional development (CPD) crucial to its effectiveness. It should be: (1) systematic; (2) collaborative; (3) innovative; (4) reflective; and (5) digital. For each dimension, they give several concrete examples to illustrate the kind of CPD that they are…

Sounds-Write is a systematic synthetic phonics approach that has been successfully used to teach students to read and spell for the last two decades. This volume brings together twelve case studies -- written by practitioners -- of implementation of the Sounds-Write programme in different settings and geographical contexts (Europe, US, Australia).…

As seen in previous chapters of this volume, student involvement in the proPIC Europa project differed at each partner university. For some, engagement rewarded students with formal credits towards a Master's programme. For others, the project offered an opportunity to experience another education system and broaden their knowledge of mobile…

Aimed at fostering student engagement using remote communication tools to restructure language teaching, the "Newcastle Calls" project was piloted in early 2020, providing Newcastle University's Italian language students at intermediate level with a chance to be involved in the production of authentic material. Thanks to technology, they…

In this case study, Angela Helsloot, Principal at Allambie Heights Public School, on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, uses data from standardised tests and benchmark reading assessments across the school to show the positive impact that Sounds-Write instruction has had in Kindergarten and Year 1. [For the complete volume, "Systematic Synthetic…

This chapter illustrates how Continuing Professional Development (CPD) can be put into practice in the context of foreign language teacher education. After outlining the overall structure of the CPD framework developed in the proPIC project, five sessions are introduced in detail. They include: (1) Session 1: What is CPD?; (2) Session 2: CPD as…