We know that phonological awareness is one of the 6 components of learning to read: phonological awareness – being able to identify sounds in words which includes syllables, rhyme, alliteration and phonemes. phonics – to recognise letters and combinations of letters that represent the 44 sounds of English fluency – ability to read with pace, […]
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In our ‘how to…’ series we are going to delve into all things phonics instruction and give you our expert advice on developing confident readers. *** In her podcast, Evidence Based Education, Dr Tracy Alloway explains working memory as ‘your ‘active’ memory. The memory you use to work with information.’ She describes working memory as […]
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See our Dragon Eggs series in action! A shining example of teaching with our Dragon Eggs Series… Observe how the reader practises decoding, but also encounters new words that develop vocabulary. Note the exemplary teaching: the teacher makes sure new words are explained and that decoding is accurate. This is a great example of the […]
Read More The Dragon Eggs Series is a set of 10 decodable books that combine revision of those tricky vowel digraphs and an exciting, beautifully-illustrated quest with dragons in it! Designed to engage children and secure their Alphabetic Code knowledge and reading skills at the same time, this series is ideal for children who have just returned […]
Read MoreI read this post and thought it was really worth reposting. It explains in simple and sympathetic language why decodable books have an important role to play in learning to read. New Zealand has been slow in adopting Systematic Synthetic Phonics, but things are changing for the better. This is a really worth a read! […]
Read MoreIt is that time of year and, although in this COVID year everything seems subdued, we have Christmas messages, wishes and advertising everywhere. Children will be busy writing lists for Santa and decorating Christmas cards. You just can’t escape the words ‘Merry Christmas’! This is a good opportunity for some ‘incidental phonics’ teaching. So, what […]
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Older, struggling readers often have gaps in the their phonics knowledge and skills. They find alternative spellings particularly confusing. Many suffer from low self esteem so offering them decodable materials that are age-appropriate is vital. Vital because if the reading materiasl can engage the disaffected reader, his/her motivation to try and read will grow. Without […]
Read More‘Cat sat on mat….’ Critics of decodable books claim that they are boring and often don’t make sense. They quote examples like ‘Cat sat on mat. Pam sat on cat’… etc. They have a point! Many decodable books published in the past are repetitive and don’t exactly make sense. If the purpose of reading is […]
Read MoreWhy we need to teach ‘structured and cumulative’ reading instruction… In the bad old days before I learnt how to teach kids to read, I taught kids to read in a structured way. That is, what I thought was structure: Week 1: letters a, b, c, d Week 2: letters e, f, g, h Week […]
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In times like these, it’s important that we all pull together for the greater good. With that in mind, Phonic Books are delighted to be offering free resources for parents, carers and teachers alike, who want to support children with learning at home during this worrying time and beyond. The latest tool in our […]
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