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Guessing: why it is not an effective 'reading strategy'

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 1:49 pm
by Debbie_Hepplewhite
This post on the 'How to teach reading' blog is a good explanation of why word-guessing should not be taught, encouraged or caused by default:
Guessing: why it is not an effective ‘reading strategy’

Guessing

The problem with implementing good, systematic phonics teaching in schools isn’t that is difficult to get right, it really isn’t. The problem is that it’s also easy to get wrong, especially if training has been inadequate. One particular problem area I’d like to consider here is the deliberate or accidental encouragement of guessing from context which, once established as a habit, can cause significant problems and be very difficult to shake.
http://howtoteachreading.org.uk/guessin ... -strategy/