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.
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…
Let’s Think in English online?
Let’s Think online? A conversation with Myfanwy Edwards by Leah Crawford Let’s Think is a classroom intervention whose powerful ticking engine lies in the social construction of understanding. The safe, meaning making community that we work so hard to develop over time, is built on carefully mediated dialogic exchanges. Yet…
In praise of neutrality
In Let’s Think in English (LTE) we support teachers to review their practise providing recommendations for them to trial and reflect upon while teaching our lessons. Without doubt the recommendation that creates the greatest emotional response is adopting a neutral stance in LTE lessons and avoiding explicit praise. This is…
Leading LTE Course Review
The “Leading Let’s Think in English” course was designed for experienced primary and secondary LTE teachers leading the programme in their setting and wishing to develop their teaching, leadership and understanding of LTE. In many cases participants had been teaching LTE for over 5 years. The objectives were to provide…
Thinking hard or Supportive Challenge
EBE Great Teaching Evidence Review In June 2020 Evidence Based Education published their Great Teaching Toolkit. It provided evidence-based insights and focused on areas of practice with potential to improve student learning and outcomes. The review identified four priorities for teachers who want to help their student learn more: …
Structural prior knowledge and the power of prediction
Structural prior knowledge and the power of prediction From reviews of effective teaching instruction to insights from neuroscience and cognitive science, there is consensus on the importance of assessing, adding to and linking prior knowledge. This could be summarised as: New learning needs to be connected to and build upon…
LTE in Lockdown
Let’s Think in English in Lockdown By Leah Crawford This blog grew out of a short email exchange with a very experienced KS2 English leader and teacher of Let’s Think, Tom Leigh, who works at Fryern Junior School in Hampshire. Tom contacted me and a few other Let’s Think teachers…
Some advice on teaching LTE in a COVID safe classroom
Some advice on teaching LTE in a COVID safe classroom Below is guidance on teaching LTE in classrooms at the start of the 2020/21 academic year. Some of the solutions are supported with a video clip from a Year 6 classroom for LTE Network teachers only. This has been circulated…
The Mirror: Effective Professional Development
The argument for continuing professional development Education Policy Institute (EPI) undertook a detailed review of the evidence on the impact of teacher professional development. The report examined 52 randomised controlled trials evaluating teacher development programmes, in order to establish their impact on pupil and teacher outcomes. Unsurprisingly, they found continuing…
