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 and spellers. What more, children enjoy it because it consolidates their learning and they experience […]
Read MoreDyslexia
Thumbs up for READ, SOUND, WRITE, CHECK!
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 as hard as they try, they cannot remember the shape of the word. This is […]
Read MoreREAD, SOUND, WRITE, CHECK – a better way to teach spelling
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’ for ‘night’. Children in Year 5 and 6 in the UK are expected to be […]
Read MoreHow to teach children about syllables
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 it difficult to switch from sounds (phonemes) to syllables and may confuse the two. Some […]
Read MoreWhat is a syllable and why we should teach children about it
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 ‘beat’ and teachers often teach children to identify syllables by clapping the ‘beats’ in words. […]
Read MoreCumulative 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 lesson <ee> and after that <oa>. By this stage <ai> is forgotten. It seems that […]
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 reading books with decodable text for pupils who can read CVC words • Controlled language […]
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 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 … Source: How can we help the weakest catch up?
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