Here is Ruth Miskin's description of how 'first, fast and only' is the method that should be used in the early stages of learning to read: It's an extract from the handout sheet for her training and initiation into the Read Write Inc Phonics programme.
" It is fully explained why early readers need to be given books
that they can read (decode) so that they build up
confidence in this strategy and are not placed in positions
where they have no alternative but to ‘guess’ at words
from supposed context clues. It is helpfully suggested
that, in the early stages, children themselves read only
such texts. At the same time teachers should build up
love of a wide range of books by reading picture books
and other suitable quality texts to them."
(Source: http://www.ruthmiskinliteracy.com/docs/Byron%20Wood%20ESPO%20report%20Feb%2012.pdf )
Now imagine the classroom where under direction from the government, that same class will learn to recite poetry. The only option open to the teacher is that he or she recites poems to the children and they recite them back. As I said in an earlier blog:
TEACHERS, DO NOT SHOW POEMS TO VERY YOUNG CHILDREN
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
