"So let's see if I have this straight. There are twelve strands in the UK's National Literacy Curriculum:
1. Speaking
2. Listening and Understanding
3. Discussion and Interaction
4. Drama
5. Word Recognition
6. Word Structure and Spelling
7. Understanding and Interpreting Texts
8. Engaging with and Responding to Texts
9. Creating and Shaping Texts
10. Text Structure and Organization
11. Sentence Structure and Punctuation
12. Presentation"
"That's correct."
"And of these twelve, strands 1 and 2 get the students "booted up", so to speak, and #3 is one application of #s 1 and 2. Yes?"
"I'd say so."
"Alright. #4, meanwhile, is a variation of #3, yeah?"
"In some cases, not just a variation, but a deepening and fleshing out of expression, as well."
"Strands 7 and 8 address reading and comprehension of various types of writings."
"Yes."
"Strand 9 goes from the purely mental activity of reading to the physical activity of writing - not copying other texts, but writing one's own material."
"Indeed."
"Strands 10, 11, and 12 flesh out the writing aspect: the general organization of the text, the specific structure of the sentences that make up the paragraphs and how they are annotated, and finally, the polished presentation. Yes?"
"Yes."
"And you believe that the centerpiece, the sine qua non, of these strands are #s 5 and 6?"
"Yes. Word Recognition and Word Structure and Spelling are the nexus. Every one of the twelve strands draws power from these two."
"How do you mean?"
"Alright, take strands #1 and 2, Speaking and Listening and Understanding."
"Okay."
"Without word recognition, can these strands hold?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because Speaking, Listening, Understanding all have to do with the spoken word. And if you don't recognize that what is said is a word, it doesn't matter if you hear it or not, because you won't understand it."
"Then what about Word Structure and Spelling? How does that fit in?"
"Well, there are many words that sound the same but mean different things."
"Such as?"
"How about 'there', 'they're', 'their'? If you don't know that those are three different words, there's going to be a problem. Spelling really helps you nail down those differences."
"So would you call Word Structure and Spelling a refinement of Word Recognition?"
"I would do."
"As would I. Let's talk more about this tomorrow."
"But...."
"Don't worry. I won't leave you stranded."