A tutor wrote in to tell us about her pupil. She has been working with him since December (for five and a half months) using the Sounds-Write programme and the Dandelion Books that complement it. She wrote: “He is in Year 1 and when he came to me at the end of December he had […]
Read MoreSynthetic Phonics
DfE evaluates Phonics Check
The Department of Education has published this interim report about evaluating the Y1 Phonics Check. Happy half-term reading! Tami Reis-Frankfort
Read MoreWhat is a schwa sound?
We teach children to sound out words when they read and to sound out words when they spell. Does that really work all the time, though? Actually, many words are not spelled exactly as they are pronounced. Thanks to Susan Godsland of www.dyslexics.org.uk for flagging up this article by John Walker from the Literacy Blog, where you can […]
Read MoreHow to decode ‘tricky words’
The Synthetic Phonics approach to reading is to encourage beginner readers to sound out graphemes in a word and blend them together into a word. What to do when they encounter common words with ‘tricky’ graphemes they have not yet been taught? Here is an explantion of how to teach ‘tricky words’ to beginner readers while staying faithful to blending strategies and […]
Read MoreNew Department for Education leaflet for parents about phonics
Thanks Susan Godsland of www.dyslexics.org.uk for flagging up this new leafler for parents about teaching reading with phonics. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/learning-to-read-through-phonics-information-for-parents
Read MoreExplaining Split Vowel spellings
Thanks to Susan Godslandof www.dyslexics.org for flagging up this simple explanation of split vowels from the On Track Reading website. This includes some free downloadable reading exercises with split vowels. http://www.ontrackreading.com/phonics-program/explaining-split-vowel-spellings
Read MoreExplanation of the Year 1 Phonics check by Elizabeth Nonweiler
Thank you, Elizabeth Nonweiler, for this clearly explained Powerpoint presentation about the Year 1 Phonics Check: http://www.nonweiler.demon.co.uk/Y1_Phonics_Check.pdf
Read MoreStruggled to come to grips with ‘Letters and Sounds’?
If you have struggled to get your head around ‘Letters and Sounds’, you might find it helpful to look at this comprehensive review by Elizabeth Nonweiler (trainer, Phonics and Literacy consultant and Reading Reform Foundation member). I did! http://www.nonweiler.demon.co.uk/page14.html
Read More"How Phonics Got Framed" – a coherent explanation of the phonics debate – a must for teachers
Teachers and parents interested in the phonics debate will want to see this You Tube video clip by Alison from spelfabet. Informed, measured, amusing and true! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e8SJFuGRFM
Read MoreFind out about the background to the Phonics Debate – a great website – www.dyslexics.org.uk
Happy New Year to all our followers! I recently came across a really good website that explains the different approaches to teaching reading. It discusses the history and rationale behind the different approaches: the Whole Word approach, the Mixed Method approach and the Synthetic Phonics and Linguistic Phonics approaches. It also looks at the evidence that […]
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