What is a syllable and why we should teach children about it A syllable is a part of a word that contains sounds (phonemes) of a word. It usually has a vowel in it. A syllable is also called a […]
Read MoreReading Difficulties
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 MoreReading with expression can help with reading fluency
Do you have children. who. r-ea-d. l-ike. th-i-s? How can we get children to read fluently? So firstly, why do we need to read fluently? We need to read fluently because it is difficult to understand what we are reading […]
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 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 MoreShould we label deprived children as less able?
Is it dangerous to assume that a child who has not had parental input is less able? Are we setting low expectations from the very beginning? Quirky Teacher presents some important arguments about making assumptions about pupil ability in Early […]
Read MoreAre learning styles now finally out of style?
Many SEN teachers believe and promote the idea of learning styles. It feels right. It feels personal to every individual student – but it is supported by science? https://ssec.si.edu/sending-learning-styles-out-style#.WHdcuDaVr6E.twitter
Read MoreMulti-tasking makes you stupid
Here is an interesting post from Spelfabet that explain how looking for lots of reading cues distracts from decoding. Attention during learning
Read MoreHow can we help the weakest catch up?
“So let me get this straight: we’re behind the rest of our class and we’re going to catch up to them by going slower than they are?”- Bart Simpson Our instinct is often to assume that a kid … […]
Read MoreOn the frustration of seeing children struggle with reading
I read this excellent blog post just now and wanted to add some of my thoughts as a primary school teacher (UKS2) on something that I consider a big problem in schools and society in general: lack … Source: On […]
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