Many people have preconceived ideas about decodable books. Some believe they are intended to compete with ‘real’ children’s literature. In fact, decodable books have unique purposes of their own.
Read MoreLearning to Read
Why 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 MoreTeaching high-frequency words and phonics – two conflicting approaches?
Wouldn’t it be great if we could teach those high-frequency words strictly within the phonic progression of our programme?
Read More8 tips for reading decodable books with beginners
Decoding can be very laborious for the beginner reader. Here are a few tips that can make the experience successful and rewarding.
Read MoreHigh/low reading books and high interest phonics – what’s the difference?
There are some great high/low (high level of content/ low reading age) books on the market these days, particularly for boys. Publishers have published some really good quality, motivating books. What is the difference between those books and decodable readers for older, struggling readers?
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 More7 fun activities using decodable books
Now that decodable reading books are being used alongside phonics programmes, there are lots of ways to use them to develop literacy.
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 […]
Read MoreTotem Series out now!
At last the much awaited Totem Series is out! Check out this new set of decodable books for older struggling readers. The idea here is to fill in the gaps that older pupils may have in their phonic knowledge. It has great illustrations and stories and it starts at CVC and CVCC level. There is also a really […]
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