This year I have a number of students in Year 5 and 6 who are fluent readers. Their problem is spelling. Typically they may spell a word with all the correct letters that are in the wrong order, e.g. ‘nitgh’ […]
Read MoreSynthetic Phonics
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 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 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 […]
Read More‘Sound Snap’ – a fun way to teach ‘precise pronunciation’
I have just started to teach a struggling reader in Year 1. The first thing I observed from my assessment was that she did not use ‘pure phonic sounds’, also known as ‘precise pronunciation’. Many of the consonants were pronounced […]
Read MoreWhat is Balanced Literacy?
When asked how they teach reading, many teachers pride themselves that they are teaching ‘balanced literacy’ in their classroom. This idea seems to imply that they are covering all the approaches their pupils may need to learn to read. But […]
Read MoreShould ‘alien words’ be part of the Year 1 Phonics Check?
It is that time of year again and the Year 1 Phonics Check is looming. It will take place this year during the week commencing June 12th. There had been a lot of criticism about the check in general but […]
Read MoreQuestions about the efficacy of phonics
If you are not convinced that phonics works for everyone or feel that you have tried it and still some of your pupils struggle – here are answers to often held views about teaching to read with synthetic phonics. Professor Pamela […]
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