1. That's definitely procrastinating and 2. Nice font.

Yes it did!

Interesting... 'after' in your examples implies causality. A physics example might be 'after the parachute opens, the speed decreases.' But you could also use it in a purely sequence sense: "After adding the chemical, heat gently."

I read the paragraph: background knowledge helps a lot. Although I'm a physics graduate, I've watched numerous TV Dickens adaptations (inc Bleak House) - Victorian London is always presented like this. I have vague ideas about Lincoln's Inn. It's enough to catch hold of the meaning.

Really interesting article - thanks Natalie. It would be interesting to see how UK English undergrads performed. We teach a 19th c text at GCSE (16yo) for all students (typically not Dickins - unless Christmas Carol) and I believe another at A-level (18yo) for students who study lit.

I enjoyed this book, which is related: Scientific Babel by Michael Gordin

Concentration is difficult, and I suspect many children need help to remain focused. Don't we all sometimes?

So, teachers can't just use casual checking (it's definitely not an extra PPA) - you need to check relentlessly and support. It's not an easy solution. But it's great when it's used well.

When pupils use it well, they make big fluency and comprehension gains (we've tested by comparing the programme's data to external reading assignments). It's the pupils who don't that we need to worry about.