A Structured Literacy Scheme
This comprehensive new literacy scheme is structured around a series of high-interest, low-reading age stories designed specifically to appeal to older students, including those in special schools.
The Kaos World Chronicles developed out of my frustration at the lack of engaging but accessible texts for the students that I worked with. My students had Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD) or Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD). Now they have Social and Emotional and Mental Health difficulties (SEMH). Call it what you want, the effect is the same. They often struggle to engage in classroom learning and most have difficulties with their literacy. (Many of the students I worked with were so disruptive they weren’t allowed on the school site. We had to work in a variety of outreach bases.) They were in Year 9-11 but they couldn’t read- some of them couldn’t even write their own name.
Once you got over their initial hostility and fear, many were desperate to read but the only scheme that they could access was too baby-ish for them. Street-wise teenagers didn’t want to read about happy, care-free children and their adventures in school. That didn’t resonate with them. The students I worked with lived post-apocalyptic lives- often on the edge of society and in the realms of lawlessness and chaos. It was a different world to mine. (If you want an insight into this world – Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew by Bernard Hare paints a suitably bleak picture.) And so The Kaos World Chronicles were born.
Actions carried out in a post-apocalyptic world didn’t have the same morality as actions in our world. There are lots of chases and violence and fear in the stories. That’s how my students lived- in a world of chaos where the rules of survival were very different. Kaos World allowed me to discuss big issues with them. We talked about violence, and bullying and relationships and loss but also the environment, animal-rights, society and what it means and friendship and love and hatred and a whole load of other topics. And we talked a lot about death. The majority of them had experienced death and loss in many forms and at a very young age. Now we are much more trauma aware but then these young people carried a huge amount of pain and had no way of dealing with it. Then, eventually, we talked about hope and about their dreams and aspirations. The stories raised these issues and we would talk about them. They could relate to the stories and the world and the young people. The disruption and the violence declined and their literacy improved.
As an English teacher in a special school I had always been frustrated about the discrepancy about the amount of work that students would produce in Maths but how unsettled they would be in my lessons. They would often re-act explosively to attempts to get them to read and write. Illiteracy is a massive stigma to young people and anxieties relating to addressing these difficulties are massive. They were embarrassed and ashamed that they couldn’t read. It made them different, in their eyes. They saw themselves as “failures” or “thick”. They carried their illiteracy around with them like a terrifying demon. “I’m thick” is a phrase I heard over and over again. Getting someone to the point that they felt confident enough to face their demons was the first step. Then you need engaging and accessible stores.
I would write and illustrate the stories in the evenings and use them in the lessons during the day. The stories and the characters evolved following discussion with the students. I started producing worksheets to go with the texts. As an English teacher I had been taught to think that worksheets were bad and not proper teaching but they seemed to work in Maths. In the classroom next door, the students were engaging and making progress because things were broken down into achievable, manageable chunks. They could see that they were completing work and they could see they were making progress. This wasn’t so intimidating.
“Reading” and “Writing” seemed too big for my students. The gaps they had in their learning were massive. Many of them had rarely attended primary school. I started creating worksheets that went right back to basics- the alphabet, initial sounds and CVC words. As a secondary teacher I had not been taught about this. It was a steep learning curve.
The speech of the characters in the early stories is written with 1 sound picture per sound. Some students found this hard to read. We talked about why that was. Spelling had never made sense to them but slowly they built up their phonic knowledge. They became more confident in attempting to write. There suddenly was a logic to what they were doing. It made sense. We talked about why English words can be so difficult to spell and the evolution of the English language. This gave them confidence to attempt writing. They started listening to the sounds. This was a massive step.
Worksheets were a means to an end and they worked. Students who previously wouldn’t attempt any work (and I had many who ran away or hid or kicked off or self-harmed rather than attempt work!) suddenly were engaging and setting themselves targets. I will read X amount of words (every page of the reading books has the number of words on that page specifically for this purpose) and complete Y worksheets this lesson.
The idealistic English teacher in me didn’t like it but it provided a much needed structure and achievable steps to confront what had seemed an insurmountable problem to my students.
These worksheets developed in a structured and coherent way from phonic knowledge through word, sentence and text activities relating to the stories. They gradually increased the level of challenge. Activities were scaffolded and developed. The text activities developed and explored ideas and themes from the stories and looked at character and events and slowly increased the amount of writing required. They became the four Teacher’s books. They developed in a logical manner with small steps. There were recording sheets to track progress and certificates to reward success.
When LDA said they were keen to publish the scheme, I discussed the illustrations and the ideas with the students. The early books were built with my students. My original picture of Travis – one of the main characters has changed significantly as a result of these discussions. And the main female character became much feistier. (I get many letters from girls saying that they like this a lot!)
When someone from the publishers wanted to see the scheme in action, some of my students volunteered to demonstrate their engagement. I was terrified. They often reacted badly to people they didn’t know due to anxiety and fear. They could sabotage the whole thing.
“Don’t worry. We won’t let you down,” they said, and they were true to their word. They talked about their difficulties and how the scheme had helped them. It was a proud moment and LDA published the scheme.
They wanted me to change the way the characters spoke but my students liked it, so I argued to keep it. Some students find it really hard but it does raise questions about how they read and their phonic knowledge which I think are useful and informative. It is quite often students who have less phonological awareness that struggle with it which can be a useful teaching point.
Since the scheme has been published, there has been an increase in so-called high interest-low ability schemes. I don’t think any meet the needs of students like mine. I don’t think they are “gritty” or “real” or “mature” in the way my stories ar. They don’t deal with big and real issues and big emotions in the same way. I don’t think they have the same focus on developing writing skills at the same time as improving reading. I don’t think they were developed with the students they were written for. The environmental issues raised in the stories and the break-down of society as we know it are also particularly relevant to young people at the moment.
I am now publishing the scheme myself. LDA were taken over as a company and all the commissioning team and the people I had worked with to develop the scheme left, saying the new company had different priorities. I believe in the scheme and feel that it makes a difference so have taken over the publishing. This has been another massive learning curve but the letters I receive from readers shows that it is making a difference. Many students who haven’t enjoyed reading or writing tell me that they love the stories and it has improved their literacy significantly. This makes all the hard-work worth-while.
I think the books are reasonably priced. My intention has always been to improve the lives of young people not make myself rich! I came in to teaching to make a difference and have spent the majority of my career working with the most disadvantaged young people in our society. I believe it is essential to give our young people the skills to survive and thrive. I believe that this scheme has a massive impact and can significantly improve the literacy of often hard-to-reach young people. I publish it because I believe in it. It changes lives.
Future developments;
Immerse yourself in a post-apocalyptic world. It’s a dangerous world, full of horror, where survival is a constant battle and the future is bleak. Society has broken down and the environment is suffering. Is there any hope for the future, the environment and for humankind?
Guide students through the post-apocalyptic, dystopian future that is Kaos World. Comprehensive notes, worksheets and assessment sheets help you to support young people in their reading journey through this world, motivating them to enter this world and inspiring them to read more.
The teacher’s books contain a range of worksheets to support the story books. The worksheets have a clear progression and develop in small steps.
"I was very impressed with the stories and how engaging they were for the boys I was teaching, with the added bonus of simpler versions of the text.
In addition the clear and progressive resources are useful for students and teachers.
Overall this is one of the best literacy schemes for students with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties I have seen so far in terms of the resources provided and I would recommend the use of these with small groups.” Teacher AS
"This is an excellent resource for teachers who teach literacy to older students. It is presented as a teachers' book, which contains comprehensive notes and explanations, useful worksheets, assessment sheets, certificates and a CD, and then as individual books for readers. I've read books 1 - 5 and I am very impressed. The stories are ideal for readers who are struggling because they are well-written and well-packaged. Students won't feel patronised or be embarrassed about having to read the books (as they often do with other reading books that have been aimed at younger people).
The author obviously has a great deal of experience with students who have behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, and this comes through in the books. They are set in a post-apocalyptic future and are written in the first person, which, in my opinion, helps to bring the stories to life and helps students identify with the main character. Issues of rebellion, rules and regulations, law and order, loneliness, relationships, loss and bereavement are all covered without being obvious. The author doesn't preach, but helps to raise issues that are important to these students through the story and characters. The first book contains discussion points, such as "If this were you, what would you do?" This helps students to work through the scenarios, empathise with the lead character and immerse themselves deeper in the story.
Teachers have all the instructions and support they need to help and encourage their students. Each book contains useful word counts on every page and a list of difficult, new words at the end of the book. The books get a little longer and a little more detailed, to reflect the way that students progress with their reading. There are useful re-caps at the beginning of each new book and the story flows like episodes of a TV show or film, which I think will help encourage students to continue with their reading. The author is able to paint an excellent visual picture - I feel I have watched a futuristic film and want to see more. The Kaos World Chronicles are excellent and I look forward to the next instalment."
“The language builds up in complexity so the students do not notice the increased challenge.” Teacher SH
“The characters are engaging and there is lots of action which keeps the students engaged.” Teacher SH
“The class has really enjoyed the programme and it has had a huge impact on their learning and confidence.” Teacher JK
“The books were pretty spectacular.”
“I loved them. Please write more.”
“When I first came to Year 7 I really could not read but I have improved 3 years in the period of 4 months and I am really proud of myself.”
“Thank you for all the books. They are amazing!”
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