Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; List of Figures; Series Editor's Foreword; Chapter 1 Setting the Scene; Introduction; The Reading Wars; Scientism; Teaching content and teaching method; Chapter 2 A Critique of Pure Teaching Methods; Natural science and social science classifications; Interpreting teaching and the challenge to consistent classification; Chapter 3 Describing Teaching: The General and The Specific; Classification of teaching: The general; Describing teaching: The specific; Describing approaches to the teaching of reading

General problems with research into teaching and learning?Reading Recovery
a case study; 'Proven' methods justifying universal imposition?; The Phonics Check: Attempting to impose pure Synthetic Phonics; Chapter 4 Teaching, Learning and Constructivism; Introduction: Overview of argument; Relevant conceptions of teaching; Rote learning and 'understood' knowledge; Holism and rich knowledge; Piaget and that relationship between new and existing knowledge; Chapter 5 Reading: A Philosophical Inquiry Into Some Nuts and Bolts; Introduction; Phones and phonemes; The concept of a word1

The 'Simple' View of ReadingChapter 6 So What is Reading?; Reading and guessing; Can reading be defined? Different kinds of reading?; Reading for meaning; Physical sounds and abstract meaning: John McDowell; How the brain learns to read; Chapter 7 Reading, Narratives, Families and Selves; Children who can read before they start school; Rigid phonics diets, stories and the development of selves; Personal identity and selves; Story, narrative and selves; Conclusion; Appendix: A Brief History of Events Leading to This Book; Notes; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 7; References; Index