I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum this weekend. As I travelled on the underground, I saw lots of signs, many of which had really strange words. I needed to use my decoding to break down these words, as I had never seen them before. When breaking down a multi-syllabic word, one often reads syllables […]
Read MoreApproaches to Teaching Reading
The importance of alternative spellings
One of the most difficult aspects of the English Alphabetic Code is that a sound in a word (phoneme) can be spelled in different ways. In ‘transparent’ alphabetic codes, a sound is consistently spelled the same way. Children learning to read English soon discover that many vowels and consonants can be spelled in different ways. […]
Read MoreIs the word ‘yacht’ decodable?
Read this entertaining post about whether and how the word ‘yacht’ is decodable. Thanks to John Walker of the Literacy Blog http://literacyblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-strange-case-of-word-yacht.html
Read MoreAdjacent consonants – why children need practice
Many children struggle when reading words with adjacent consonants. These are words that have two consonants side by side within a word, e.g. f l a g. The leap from three-sound words (e.g. h a t) to four-sound words (e.g. l i m p) is very difficult for many beginner and struggling readers. The step […]
Read MoreTeaching beginner readers to read and spell – watch this video clip
A great video clip by Alison Clarke from Spelfabet about the confusion beginner readers encounter when phonics is not taught in an explicit, systematic and structured way.
Read MoreHurray! Talisman Card Games now available!
New fantastic card games that help catch-up readers practice reading – out now! https://www.phonicbooks.co.uk/talisman-card-game.php
Read MoreCommon misconceptions about Synthetic Phonics
Here are some common misconceptions about Synthetic Phonics. Thanks to Susan Godsland of www.dyslexics.org.uk for flagging this up. It is on the Reading Reform Foundation message board: http://www.rrf.org.uk/messageforum/viewtopic.php?t=1835
Read MoreThe dangers of guessing as a reading strategy
Happy New year to all! Start the year with this clear thinking post by Gordon Askew
Read MoreWhy letter names confuse
Here is another great blog post from Spelfabet. It explains why we should not teach letter names before letter sounds are secure. http://www.spelfabet.com.au/2013/01/letter-names/
Read MoreEvidence for Common Core State Standards in the Totem Series
Towards our visit to the USA as part of the International Dyslexia conference in San Diego, we are letting teachers know how our books for older, catch-up readers support Common Core State Standards in phonics and learning to read. https://www.phonicbooks.co.uk/pdf/Evidence%20for%20CCSS%20-%20Totem.pdf
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