Spelling Patterns – to test or not to test? This has been an ongoing question posed by educators after realising that words learned for a spelling ‘test’ or ‘quiz’ are commonly forgotten shortly after said quiz. Spelling can be a challenge for many children and indeed teachers who are trying to find the best method …
How to Teach Spelling Patterns: I before E except after C Read More »
Phonics is a body of skills and knowledge that we need to be able to use in order to master the language. It is used to teach how the 44 sounds (phonemes) of spoken English are linked to the individual or groups of written letters (graphemes). Malcolm Gladwell famously stated that it takes 10,000 hours …
Does your Systematic Synthetic Phonics scheme meet the National Curriculum statutory requirements for KS1? Does it prepare your children for the more complex code they will encounter in their reading and writing in Year 3 and beyond? The simple answer is that almost all Government Validated Phonics Schemes do not adequately cover the National Curriculum …
Using Spelling Shed alongside your phonics scheme Read More »
Why is spelling such a complex skill to master and how can we teach students to be effective spellers? A common misconception is that if you can read a word then you can spell it. However, there are many ways a phoneme (sound) can be represented in written form. Take the phoneme /k/. It can …
And just like that, we are halfway through the year! June has brought with it (some!) sun, busy weeks at school and some amazing books! Here, I’ve rounded up the best 5 new releases of the last month for you to choose from, as well as a sneaky preview of one that is coming soon… …
What is summative and formative assessment? Formative assessment •Observation-led – responses to tasks and questions – assessing their input, instigating peer discussions, and completing a review of work covered during the plenary. •Planning prompts – For example, recapping the grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC) taught, particularly as part of the plenary. Each lesson plan has an assessment …
Top tips for using formative and summative assessment in phonics Read More »
How to use etymological information can improve understanding in reading and aid spelling Morphology and etymology go hand in hand and when joined together with orthographical mapping, they become a powerful trio in the learning of spellings. Other words with Greek origins: dolphin elephant alphabet hyphen triumph How do we use etymology in Spelling Shed …
Why use actions in phonics sessions? •Promotes active engagement and participation – research suggests that the longer a child is actively participating in a lesson, the higher their academic success. •Targets kinaesthetic types of learners – movement •Helps to distinguish between similar sounds •Visual prompt – if a child is unsure of the GPC they …
What is it and how can we use it in the classroom to support spelling? Do you know what a zyzzyva is and how to pronounce it? Key Terms Base word – A word that can stand alone when all of the affixes have been removed Root Word – The root carries the primary meaning …
Using Morphology to Help Build Vocabulary and Spelling Strategies for Your Learners Read More »
Why use songs for learning phonics? It has been proven that songs have a positive intellectual impact on pupils, as well as helping linguistic development that later aids learning to read. The power of music: its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people (Susan Hallam, 2010) Using songs in …
Using Songs to Supercharge Your Phonics Teaching Read More »
