Literacy, a person’s ability to read and write and to understand what they are reading and writing, is a core skill that many take for granted. In Australia, however, about 44% of adults have very poor literacy skills (Level 1 and 2) and only 15% of the adult population have acquired the highest level of literacy.
Fundamentally, the ability to read and write affects an individual’s approach to many important aspects of life: self-confidence, self-esteem and interaction with others. Those with good literacy skills often have access to better jobs and consequently, enhanced lifestyles.
With educator’s increasing reliance on technology as a teaching tool in classrooms, young children are utilising programmes and applications on their computers and tablets that correct spelling and grammar every day. There seems to be less and less emphasis on kids today learning the art of handwriting, developing their spelling abilities or learning how to construct and use meaningful sentences.
More than 20 years ago, Judy Frost, with a lifetime’s experience working as a teacher and with a keen interest in the publishing industry, focused her passion for improving literacy skills into the development and publication of a series of reading and writing technique books that serve as a guide to success with literacy in children. With her insight into teaching styles and techniques and with an understanding that individual students can require individual approaches to education, Judy developed her own two techniques, TAPPS and CODES, that can be readily integrated into all styles of learning and are proven to be highly effective tools in improving literacy.
Judy’s book, ‘Now Read This’, designed to help improve reading, is not solely focused on young children but is also appropriate for older students too. It encourages students to take risks with their learning and to understand that making errors is a crucial part of the learning experience. The supplementary book, ‘Now Write This’, will improve writing and spelling skills whilst also giving the opportunity to perfect hand-writing techniques – a skill that is sadly being eroded by the use of digital platforms.
If you are searching for ways to improve the literacy skills of students and in particular, books to help with spelling, the third book in the series, ‘Which Word is Witch’, explores the world of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings, that often lead to confusion and frustration for students.
English is considered to be a tricky language to learn and across the globe presents national and regional variations, but books on literacy skills such as those produced by Judy Frost’s Key Publications can provide the necessary means to learn how to effectively communicate with the written word. As little as 20 minutes a week spent with Judy’s books to help improve reading and writing can have almost immediate results, and with appropriate levels of dedication and determination, are ideal books for parents to help their own children with reading and writing.
If you are searching for books to improve a child’s or older student’s literacy skills, look no further than this Judy Frost series.
