This weekend I visited British Museum to see the Pompeii exhibition. It is wonderful. One of the most beautiful frescoes on display is that of a baker Terentius Neo and his wife. They must have had quite a successful bakery. To show their status and aspirations they are depicted with writing tablets, stylus and papyrus. The guide […]
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Fantastic reading progress with Year 1 pupil in 5 months
A tutor wrote in to tell us about her pupil. She has been working with him since December (for five and a half months) using the Sounds-Write programme and the Dandelion Books that complement it. She wrote: “He is in Year 1 and when he came to me at the end of December he had […]
Read MoreStruggling readers – in praise of practice and consolidation
We know that any newly acquired knowledge or skill must to be practised for it to be committed to memory. In order to develop reading fluency, automaticity has to be established. This is brought about through practice and consolidation. Sometimes, teachers worry about boring their pupils by revisiting what they have taught. For many pupils, […]
Read MoreHow to use the Pupil Premuim to raise literacy achievement of pupils in KS2
In 2013-2014, children on free school meals will be eligible for £900.00 Pupil Premium funding. This initiative aims to bridge the academic attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers. This is a great opportunity to purchase resources for SEN pupils! Ofsted will be looking for a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of the use of the Pupil […]
Read MoreHow to use the Pupil premium funding for improving literacy attainment in KS1
In 2013-2014 every pupil on free school meals will be eligible for £900.00 of Pupil Premium funding. These funds are intended to help disadvantaged pupils catch-up in their academic achievement. Ofsted will be looking for a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of the use of the Pupil Premium. They will be expecting to see progress in academic […]
Read MoreDfE evaluates Phonics Check
The Department of Education has published this interim report about evaluating the Y1 Phonics Check. Happy half-term reading! Tami Reis-Frankfort
Read MoreWhat is a schwa sound?
We teach children to sound out words when they read and to sound out words when they spell. Does that really work all the time, though? Actually, many words are not spelled exactly as they are pronounced. Thanks to Susan Godsland of www.dyslexics.org.uk for flagging up this article by John Walker from the Literacy Blog, where you can […]
Read MoreHow can I tell which phonic programmes and resources are of high quality?
Many schools are having to choose a phonics programme to use in mainstream classrooms or with their catch-up pupils. How can they tell which programmes are of high quality and that they adhere to the principles of Synthetic Phonics? Debbie Hepplewhite has written a really useful list of criteria. Click on the link below: http://www.syntheticphonics.com/pdf%20files/Criteria%20for%20evaluating%20a%20phonics%20programme.pdf
Read MoreHow to decode ‘tricky words’
The Synthetic Phonics approach to reading is to encourage beginner readers to sound out graphemes in a word and blend them together into a word. What to do when they encounter common words with ‘tricky’ graphemes they have not yet been taught? Here is an explantion of how to teach ‘tricky words’ to beginner readers while staying faithful to blending strategies and […]
Read MoreNew Department for Education leaflet for parents about phonics
Thanks Susan Godsland of www.dyslexics.org.uk for flagging up this new leafler for parents about teaching reading with phonics. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/learning-to-read-through-phonics-information-for-parents
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