Following the discussion about the importance of teaching the phonic code and how to split multi-syllabic words, I thought it might be illuminating to show what a page from Harry Potter might look like to a pupil who has weak phonic knowledge and cannot split long words into syllables:
“The furniture flew back into its original place; ornaments re-formed in midair; feathers zoomed into their cushions; torn books repaired themselves as they landed upon their shelves;”
Here is what it may look like to a struggling reader:
The ——- flew back into its ——- place; ——- ——-
in ——-; ——– zoomed into their ———; torn book ——-
——— as they landed upon their shelves;”
Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense does it?