Workbook for Units 11-15 now available!

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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New 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

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Pip 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’ […]

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Using 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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NEWS: Talisman 2 Series out now!

NEWS: Talisman 2 Series out now! Teachers and pupils have been writing to us asking about the next Talisman Series. It has now been published and is available! The Talisman 2 workbook will be available in September 2011. This new series includes some really useful spellings and suffixes for the older, reluctant readers.

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How to choose a good phonics reading scheme

If you’re thinking of using a phonics reading scheme of decodable books, you may be wondering how to choose one. Here are some questions you should be asking.

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How to say the sounds of letters in Synthetic Phonics

Most schools in the UK are now following a synthetic phonics programme. All such programmes teach children to pronounce letters in a slightly new and different way. This is called ‘precise pronunciation’ or ‘pure sounds’. Some staff members and parents may find they are not sure about this new pronunciation, as they were not taught […]

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Totem Series reviewed

The Totem Series has just been reviewed in SNIP, Special Needs Information Press. This is a really useful publication full of a wealth of information and resources for Special Needs teachers.

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What are decodable books?

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.

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UK schools & organisations wishing to order by invoice, please read the information regarding our new process. Dismiss