Do decodable books need to boring and silly? ‘Cat sat on mat….’ Critics of decodable books claim that they are boring and often don’t make sense. They quote examples like ‘Cat sat on mat. Pam sat on cat…etc.’ They have […]

Why we need to teach ‘structured and cumulative’ reading instruction In the bad old days before I learned how to teach kids to read, I taught kids to read in a structured way. That is, what I thought was structure: […]

How to make comprehension fun Most teachers will agree that the purpose of reading is comprehension.   But many children, especially kids who struggle with reading and spelling, hate comprehension activities.  It’s not because they hate comprehending or answering questions.  […]

Decodable books are books that a child can read once she/he has been taught the phonics in the book.  It is really important to see decodable books as an experience that will be successful if enough preparation is made beforehand.  […]

  In times like these, it’s important that we all pull together for the greater good. With that in mind, Phonic Books are delighted to be offering free resources for parents, carers and teachers alike, who want to support children […]

We are pleased to announce we have reopened our shop. With the current situation, deliveries are taking a little longer to arrive with our customers (7-10 working days approximately) but we would ask you to bear with us at this […]

Wow! What a rollercoaster of a week! We are sure by now you will have seen the latest UK government advice. Due to this, we have taken the decision to close our website shop temporarily. With the latest restrictions, it […]

Many children struggle with spelling.  It is important to teach them how to spell in the digital age when ‘Spell Check’ is there to help? The answer is yes.  Why? Firstly, because at present Spell Check makes errors as do […]

What is all this ‘going red’ about? Go Red is a community of passionate individuals and organisations that campaign to promote literacy and a greater understanding of dyslexia. Being able to read and write is something most of us take […]

Many students struggle with split vowel spellings a-e, e-e, i-e, o-e, u-e. These are also known as ‘split digraphs’, ‘magic e’ and ‘vowel + e’. These students need extra explicit instruction and practice reading words with these split spellings. It […]

Most teachers approach teaching in a child-centred way so dictation goes against the grain.  It may seem old-fashioned and yes, a bit dictatorial.  But actually, is it a really powerful tool which is particularly useful for struggling or emerging readers […]

So, we are resuming our campaign to change the way teachers send home spelling lists every week using the LOOK, WRITE, COVER, CHECK approach.  Why doesn’t it work with so many children? Many children have a poor visual memory and […]