Our long awaited workbook for Units 11-15 is now in print! It introduces the consonant digraphs ch, sh, th, ck, ng and wh. The workbook has lots of activities based on the stories and characters in the books. These include wordbuilding, word and sentence reading, non-word reading, spelling, dicatation, language developoment and comprehension. A great resource for beginner […]
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Pupil Premium – FAQ’s
“Britain has one of the widest and most entrenched education attainment gaps between poor and wealthier children in Europe…. Children from low income backgrounds are half as likely to get five good grades at GCSE as their classmates. … They are more likely to leave school at 16, more likely to become Neets (not in […]
Read MoreNew Workbook for Dandelion Launchers – sneak preview
We are delighted to announce that our new Dandelion Launchers workbook for Units 8-10 is in the last stages of production and will soon be available. This workbook focuses on adjacent consonants. To find out why this may be a useful resource for your pupils click here
Read MoreWhat is a ‘tricky word’?
Fluent readers may find it difficult to understand why beginner readers find some words difficult to decode. These are often called ‘tricky words’ – but what’s so tricky about them?
Read MorePip Phonics – Sounds of the alphabet
Pip the Ant, from Dandelion Books, demonstrates the sounds of the alphabet. An interactive animated video clip recommended for beginner readers. Dandelion books are publised by phonicbooks. www.phonicbooks.co.uk
Read MoreYear 1 phonics screening check 2015 – FAQs
Soon the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check will take place. Here are some answers to questions that parents, carers and teachers may have about the check: 1. When will the screening check take place? The screening check will take place on the week commencing June 15th 2015. 2. How will the test be administered? The […]
Read MoreWhat are adjacent consonants?
Synthetic Phonics programmes now talk of ‘adjacent consonants’. What are adjacent consonants? Why is it that the letters ‘bl’ in the word ‘black’ are adjacent consonants while the letters ‘ck’ are not?
Read MoreWhy non-words should be included in the Year 1 Phonics Check
Non-words are nonsense words made up of the spellings (graphemes) a child has already been taught: words like ‘bip’, ‘steg’ or ‘shromp’. Read more to find out why non-words should be included in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check.
Read MorePip Phonics – Sounds of the Alphabet
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pip+phonics&aq=f]Phonicbooks have just made a free video clip of Pip, the ant, demonstrating the sounds of the alphabet. We thought it would be a good idea to use the characters in Dandelion Books to enthuse our young readers. This is free for teachers and parents; a great way to practise precise pronunciation or ‘pure sounds’ […]
Read MoreUsing both decodable books and ‘real’ books with beginner readers
Recent articles in the media about the approach to teaching reading suggest that educators are divided into two camps: the camp supporting ‘real’ books and the camp supporting synthetic phonics. The camp supporting ‘real’ books is promoted by a number of prominent authors, such as Michael Rosen. They have voiced their concerns that using decodable […]
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