Before children can begin to read and spell multisyllabic words they need to get a feel for what a syllable is – for what a ‘mouthful of a word’ is. If they have had systematic phonics instruction they may find […]
Read MoreApproaches to Teaching Reading
Cumulative teaching – how to teach children who forget
Many of my students at the Bloomfield Learning Centre have difficulty remembering the complex alternative spellings of sounds in English. The problem is they don’t hold on to what they have learned. The teacher may teach <ai> and the next […]
Read MoreIndependent review of That Dog! series
We have just received this independent review from Teach Primary Magazine. The review is available online. See link below. Phonic Books – That Dog! for catch-up readers across the school. At a glance: • Age appropriate, synthetic phonic catch-up […]
Read MoreTeaching ‘Silent’ letters
Do you teach ‘silent letters’? Read what the Literacy Blog has to say about them. http://www.thereadingcentre.com/2011/11/26/silent-letters/
Read MoreTop tips for teaching phonics
1. Step-by-step You don’t need to teach the whole alphabet to get reading going. Start with a few letters and get children to build words with them. Our series starts with the sounds s, a, t, i, m. 2. Word-building […]
Read MoreHow to use decodable books
How to use decodable books Decodable books are controlled texts that beginner readers can read independently once they have been taught the spellings in the text. Children learning to read with phonics benefit from reading decodable texts because they allow […]
Read MoreComprehension is only as good as one’s vocabulary
Comprehension is only as good as one’s vocabulary. So, is there any point in comprehension exercises? Should we be focusing on building meaningful vocabulary? Read this thought-provoking blog by Solomon Kingsworth. https://medium.com/@solomon_teach/small-is-beautiful-part-two-5fe2cd58f1fc
Read MoreUsing morphology to teach word structure.
Do you have children who spell the word ‘jumped’ – like this: ‘jumpt’ and ‘wanted’ like this: ‘wantid’? This is because they are listening to the sound/s at the end of the word. This is because we tell them to […]
Read More300 High Frequency Word Phonic Chart
Do your children forget spellings from one week to the next? Many teachers issue spelling lists each week only to find that a week or two down the road the children have already forgotten them. At Phonic Books we believe […]
Read MoreWhat is the ‘Matthew effect’ when it comes to reading instruction?
What is ‘The Matthew effect’ when it comes to reading instruction? This idea (mooted by Keith Stanovich) is that children who learn to read in the first three years of their education become fluent readers. They read more, learn more […]
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