Learning Horizons

The Newell Literacy Programme F.A.Q.:

Q1. Who is the Newell Literacy Programme suitable for?

Q2. What exactly do your receive with the Programme?

Q3. What are the main features of the Programme?

Q4. How is the Newell Literacy Programme different?

Q5. How will the Programme address the needs of students with specific reading difficulties?

Q6. How can I monitor the progress of individual students in my school?.

Q.7 Can the Newell Literacy Programme be used to improve speech and language?

Q1. Who is the Newell Literacy Programme suitable for?

Everyone - from children attending primary school to adults of varied abilities - can excel through exposure to the Programme. From a reading age of 4 up to a reading age of 13 and beyond, the full spectrum of recommended reading, writing and spelling activities is covered. The content in each book is introduced logically and systematically, giving teachers the flexibility to proceed as rapidly or as slowly as necessary, thereby fulfilling the varied needs of a full class, a small group or an individual student.

The Newell Literacy Programme can be applied equally as a remediation programme or to prevent possible failure. It acts as a thoroughly comprehensive resource for students attending Learning Support and Resource Teachers in both Primary and Post-Primary schools. Importantly, the programme retains the flexibility for teachers to dip in and out of specific lessons as may be appropriate for diverse learning requirements.

It is also recommended for teaching English to foreign students, together with children and adults who are living in Ireland and learning English for the first time.

Q2. What exactly do your receive with the Programme?

a) Seven comprehensive training manuals / resource books:

The Newell Literacy Programme comprises seven books, containing over 800 pages of structured, photocopiable activities suitable for students of all ages. A systematic and sequential nature characterises the lesson plans in each of the seven books.

A detailed list of individual lesson content is provided, together with a step-by-step description of the teaching methods and techniques involved. Also included in the pack is a set of 40 flashcards that accompany the Programme.

b) DVD containing a tutorial video:

A specially-commissioned DVD carries a full 40-minute tutorial video illustrating the methodology and techniques involved throughout the Newell Literacy Programme. The video provides individual teachers, parents and entire teaching staffs with the necessary information to implement the Programme.

Q3. What are the main features of the Programme?

* Multi-Sensory engagement
* Links Reading, Writing and Spelling
* Systematic, Sequential and Cumulative
* Brings to life our Alphabetic-Phonic system
* Flexible application to the Individual, Group or Class
* Cognitive, Emotionally Sound approach
* Delivery as a "Remediation Programme" or to "Prevent Possible Failure"

Q4. How is the Newell Literacy Programme different?

* Relevant for all nationalities learning a second language
* Guided introduction to the rules of English language
* Superior structure, introducing only one phonic element at a time
* Less clutter, with no unnecessary text, thus easier to follow
* Starts with simple skills, moving slowly to more complex rules
* Balances cumulative skills acquisition with stand-alone lesson delivery capability
* Authored by experienced teacher / trainer in the field of literacy

Q5. How will the Programme address the needs of students with specific reading difficulties?

The Newell Literacy Programme techniques are designed for systematic teaching which makes the learning process less challenging for students with specific reading difficulties. As the student is never asked to read what he has not been taught, confidence is established. The teacher knows exactly what to teach and when to teach it. Reading and spelling skills progress in parallel.

As an alphabetic-phonic approach using multi-sensory involvement of the eyes (visual), the ears (auditory) and the muscles (kinesthetic), the basic visual, auditory and motor skills are integrated, enabling the use of all the learning pathways to the brain. A student with poor visual memory has an opportunity to learn through other channels e.g. auditory and kinesthetic.

As the Newell Literacy Programme is compensatory in nature, it presents a wide range of strategies, giving the student superior scope for making sense out of the printed word. Streophosymbolia, for example, is a visual disorder in which letters and words appear reversed as in a mirror e.g. ‘on' for ‘no', ‘f' for ‘t', ‘u' for ‘n' and ‘b' for ‘d'. The ability to take a single word apart and reconstruct it is how a student with dyslexia learns. For students struggling with recognition and recall of the orientation of letters and the order of letters within words, the Newell Literacy Programme is an invaluable tool.

Q6. How can I monitor the progress of individual students in my school?

Testing and evaluation are intrinsic to the Newell Literacy Programme, with students receiving constant feedback as each new skill is taught. The systematic steps involved in teaching the Programme draw heavily on the high levels of interaction between teachers and students. Teachers can test, evaluate and monitor student learning and indeed their own teaching. On a day-to-day basis, teachers will observe what the students are attempting, achieving or having difficulty undertaking. Constant observation and evaluation will direct the scope and thrust of teaching delivery. In this way, student strengths and weaknesses are identifiable at all times, allowing teacher discretion as to stay with a task, or move on as appropriate. In the words of Marie Clay, "simply take the child from where he is to somewhere else".

Layout clarity and simplicity of the lesson plans characterise the seven books. This provides an invaluable tool in helping teachers write detailed Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students in the area of literacy. IEPs will later help teachers to evaluate the success of these individual students in achieving recommended standards. Through structured worksheets, students move at their own pace from simple, well-learned material to gradually more challenging tasks. Accordingly, the teacher is the key monitor of individual student progress in school.

Q7. Can the Newell Literacy Programme be used to improve speech and language?

1.It is a multi-sensory approach to support students with weak auditory skills and strengthens the relationship between speaking, reading and writing. 
2. It encourages "good listening and attention" vital for learning.
3. It develops an internal phonological representation by using the auditory, visual and kinesthetic learning pathways which give students a well-established "sound system" as they break gently into the alphabet code i.e. letters represents sounds. 
4. Students are exposed to "good speech" as they are requested to repeat "carefully pronounced" sounds, words and sentences. 
5. Clarity of speech is also improved as students learn the sound of each letter and then blend the sounds together to make "words".
6. It teaches speech and language through reading and writing very simple vc and cvc words e.g. at, in, on, up, cat, dog, bed, sun etc.
7. Art is used to improve comprehension as students draw what they hear, read and write e.g. they draw a cat, a dog, a red box etc. The teaching of semantics is, therefore, taught by using art and also simple games where students associate one word with another e.g. leg-hip, ten-six, sun-fan, bed-cot, run-jog.
8. Students use kinesthetic elements to "tap out" sounds in a sequence e.g. \c\ \a\ \t\ as they feel the position of the sounds on their fingers and also feel the position of words in a sentence. 
9. The repetitive nature of the approach leads to improved control of the muscles of speech as each individual phonic unit is introduced.
10. The regular well-planned exercises for letter formation improve student's fine motor skills and left-to-right orientation.
11. The "body movement" introduced when teaching letter-sound correspondence also improves students' gross motor skills.
12. It improves "confidence" as students feel success as each small step is mastered through the use of a highly-structured approach.
13. It offers a meta-linguistic approach as students can think and talk about the language they are using. Just learning that a letter has a name is in itself a useful piece of meta-linguistic knowledge.
14. Sentence structure (syntax) is easily introduced by using simple sentences e.g. The men got on the big red bus. 
15. It offers continuous monitoring and evaluation of skills taught.
16. Structured vocabulary teaching is skilfully incorporated to maximise students' vocabulary learning potential.
17. It helps word recall, as constant repetition of words and phrases is an essential element of the programme.