Let’s Think in English blog
This page features news from the Let’s Think in English team, and blog posts from our wider community of schools.
Delayed gratification in LTE
Tom Leigh, long time LTE teacher reflects upon the different mode created in Let's Think in English lessons. I have been teaching Let’s Think in English for over a decade now, and for the majority of my career this has been in upper key stage 2, and year 6 in…
LTE in BSAK Abu Dhabi
In this blog post, Luzardi Fisher at The British School Al Khubairat (BSAK) in Abu Dhabi explains their rationale for implementing Let's Think in English and its impact. As Head of the English Department at The British School Al Khubairat (BSAK) Abu Dhabi, the decision to introduce Let's Think in…
LTE Case Study: Four Marks CE Primary School
As part of a Let's Think in English submission to the Oracy Commission we've asked our LTE Network schools about the impact of the programme in their setting. Here Veronica Stoodley, Headteacher at Four Marks CE Primary School in Hampshire shares their experiences with the programme. Four Marks Primary School…
Understanding why and how schools commit to the ‘hard case’ of Let’s Think in English
Raising standards for all through challenge: understanding why and how schools commit to the ‘hard case’ of Let’s Think in English Abstract Teaching for the development of students’ thinking through a Cognitive Acceleration programme like Let’s Think in English has the potential to significantly raise standards, particularly for lower and…
Sticking with it: how dialogic habits take time
Cath Dawson from Bexley Grammar School shares her thoughts on how Let's Think in English helps develop cognitive and dialogic habits over time. Early sessions of Let’s Think sessions can feel much more stilted and less satisfying than later sessions where the skills and practice have a deeper foundation… Having…
The Wavell School, Ofsted and LTE
The Wavell School in Hampshire was visited by Ofsted on the 9th and 10th November 2021. They saw English on the first day and you can read the full report here. Megan Hill is English KS3 Co-ordinator and Pastoral Assistant at Wavell School. She started teaching Let's Think in English…
What might happen next? Internal models and the power of prediction.
“Prediction, not narration, is the real test of our understanding of the world.” Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2010). “The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable Fragility"”, p.133, Random House As mentioned in my previous blog post, every year I try to teach Let’s Think in English (LTE)…
Scaffolding in Let’s Think in English
Scaffolding in Let’s Think in English “We may let the scaffolds fall Confident that we have built our wall.”. "Scaffolding" from Opened Ground: Selected Poems 1966–1996 by Seamus Heaney. Every year I try to teach Let’s Think in English (LTE) on a regular basis. As part of LTE training, tutors…
Vocabulary development: more than words
Vocabulary development: more than words Children’s range of vocabulary is a predictor of future success in education although I’m still uncomfortable with the statement published on the Ofsted Curriculum workshop slides in autumn 2018: “Simply put: knowing more words makes you smarter!” Leaving aside the unnecessary exclamation mark, we’ve all…
The Power of Stories 2: Narrative structure and lesson design
I decided to reread Daniel Willingham’s excellent “Why don’t students like school?” recently and as with all second readings you review certain aspects in a new light. In Chapter 3 Willingham draws our attention to the power of stories, which I wrote about in my previous blog here. He explains…
The Power of Stories
Stories have special powers. While most of humanity learnt to read and write in recent history - only 12% of the people in the world could read and write in 1820 - narratives have been central to human life for thousands of years. Cave paintings from 30,000 years ago appear…
Collaborative learning and group work: the why and the how
Collaborative learning and group work. Of late there appears to be a growing scepticism towards group work as an effective instruction tool. Teachers on social media explain how they were once forced to use group work during teacher training or in their schools despite their own reservations. The charges levelled…
