Some children get the hang of reading easily and become fluent readers. Is there any point in taking them through a structured phonics programme?
Read MoreSynthetic Phonics
How to say the sounds of letters in Synthetic Phonics
Most schools in the UK are now following a synthetic phonics programme. All such programmes teach children to pronounce letters in a slightly new and different way. This is called ‘precise pronunciation’ or ‘pure sounds’. Some staff members and parents may find they are not sure about this new pronunciation, as they were not taught […]
Read MoreSynthetic Phonics – a ‘back to basics’ approach to reading?
We often hear people calling for a ‘back to basics’ approach in education. But is synthetic phonics really backwards-looking, or has it some new elements that differ from how reading was taught in the past?
Read MoreSchools white paper – good news for phonics
Some of us may not agree with the coalition’s plans for free schools but, for us phonics enthusiasts, it looks like some good things may come of the new schools white paper.
Read MoreHow to split a multi-syllable word
There are a number of ways to split a multi-syllabic word. It really depends on your approach; there are no hard-and-fast rules. Here are a number of ways to go about it.
Read MoreWhy we need to teach children how to split multisyllabic words
Most words in the English language have more than one syllable, and knowing how to split them up is an important skill children need to learn. In the past, phonics programmes have not put enough emphasis on this skill. Why is it important?
Read MoreWhat is a phoneme?
Now that everyone is talking ‘Synthetic Phonics speak’, and it seems like Michael Gove will continue to do so, it may be a good time to clarify some of the terms that are being used.
Read MoreIn praise of old fashioned dictation
I used to believe that dictation was a boring old fashioned activity for teachers with no imagination. It was ideologically as far from the ‘child centred’ approach as one could get.
Read MoreTricky adjacent consonants
We have found that lots of children are OK blending 3 sound words but have difficulty blending 4 and 5 sounds words with adjacent consonants (CVCC, CCVC and CCVCC words). Dandelion Launchers series now has 12 new books which tackle this reading skill. With no more than 10 words of text on each page, and 4 […]
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