English is complex and we need to teach reading in a structured way, from simple to complex. Unfortunately, there is no avoiding high-frequency words with spellings the children haven’t learnt yet because they are present in even the simplest of sentences, e.g. ‘The cat is on the mat’. In the very first sentences children read […]
Read MoreIn my previous blog post I mentioned I was lucky enough to listen to a much-sought-after webinar given by the Reading Ape. Well, I came away with another rethink: “Spelling helps reading more than reading helps spelling,” the Reading Ape explained. This is based on the research and work of Perfetti, and is supported by […]
Read MoreI recently listened to the much-anticipated webinar given by the Reading Ape. (If you haven’t heard of the elusive Reading Ape, do check out the website which has fantastic research-based articles about reading.) Anyway, the Reading Ape discussed the research of Cattell, 1886, that showed that we read words quicker than we read individual letters. […]
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Now that kids are back in school, teachers must make sure that they have solid foundations for reading. These foundations will ensure reading success throughout their education and beyond. Who knows what exciting opportunities lay ahead for our young readers? But first they will need to learn to read. So what are the foundations we […]
Read MoreAll phonics programmes should have a ‘scope and sequence’ but what does this actually mean? ‘Scope’ means what you are teaching When teaching reading with systematic phonics, ‘scope’ means teaching the Alphabetic Code. English has 44 sounds and more than 175 spellings for those sounds. So, do we need to teach them all? Which are […]
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Decodable books build ‘reading muscle’ – another great post from Spelfabet. If you are wondering why kids need to read decodable books in order to become fluent readers – here is the answer! All adults can find listening to beginner readers agonising and at times, it can be hard work for both the child and […]
Read MoreMany children will have failed to reach their reading attainment last year due to missed school and the inevitable patchy learning during periods of lockdown. On top of that, we now have the ‘summer slump’ when pupils seem to have forgotten what they learnt, or do they just need a quick revision? As kids return […]
Read MoreThe Department for Education has announced that is it ‘retiring’ the ‘Letters and Sounds’ programme which was published in 2007. In its place, it is asking publishers to submit their phonics programmes for revalidation. Initially, the DfE planned to update ‘Letters and Sounds’ but then decided to allow schools to create programmes, based on their […]
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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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