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 MoreLearning to Read
7 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 […]
Read MoreColoured Overlays
Changing the background colour on which people are reading has been shown to effect reading ability. For this reason all of the books published by phonic books are printed onto a cream background to reduce the contrast between black and white which can cause problems for some children. Google have actually changed the colour of their search boxes based on […]
Read MoreTop Tip: Phonic Phones
Phonic phones are incredibly simple devices. They are a simple plastic tube that go from the mouth to the ear and allow the reader to hear the sounds they are making.
Read MoreShould beginner readers use ONLY decodable books?
Susan Godsland has posted a useful list of ten reasons why beginner readers should use only decodable books here (I have copied it in full below). What do you think?
Read MoreChoosing decodable books
I found this great post via mumsnet yesterday on how to pick decodable books.
Read MoreUseful Resources
I have just discovered some super CD sleeves, transparent plastic with a flap, which I am using to put the photocopied/ laminated games from the back of the books in.
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