What do we mean by “sound it out” and what does it entail? When a child gets stuck on a word we often remind them to “sound it out”. As fluent readers, we assume this is very straightforward. We recognise these words automatically and skip all the stages that beginner readers need to go through…
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On February 10th, to celebrate Black History month, the first Buffalo Sabres Literacy Hub was opened at the Stanley Makowski Early Childhood Centre in Buffalo Public School #99. Phonic Books is proud to have participated in the opening of this hub alongside other publishers of decodable books. This wonderful initiative was set up by Teach…
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In this final instalment of a series of guest blogs Nora Chahbazi, literacy consultant (pro bono) via the John Corcoran foundation to The Truth About Reading documentary team and Founder of EBLI, talks about the impact of the documentary and offers insight into the making of the film. I was honored to be at the first private screening of The…
Read MoreIn this video Barbara Steinberg shares her top ten reasons that “Phonic Books are the best decodable books out there”. Barbara is the Founder and CEO of PDX Reading Specialist and was previously an elementary teacher for over ten years. Barbara discusses why Phonic Books are a vital tool in her work, from the systematic…
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“Let’s make learning fun!” I always do a silent inner eye roll when I hear that phrase. The exclamation is loaded. Loaded with unspoken messages. The first message is that whatever we are currently doing with our pupils must be as dull as ditch water and need jazzing up. We are urged to bring ‘magic’…
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We all mispronounce words from time to time, especially when they are unfamiliar to us. Speech and Language Pathologist, Miriam Fein, explores the important link between pronunciation and the development of vocabulary. Every once in a while someone starts a thread on Twitter about words that they mispronounced for a long time because they only…
Read MoreWHY WE SHOULD FOSTER THE LOVE OF READING NON-FICTION BOOKS All too often, our classroom libraries offer a wonderful selection of fiction but only a limited amount of non-fiction. Why should we ensure that children have access to a wonderful range of non-fiction books? 1. NON-FICTION BOOKS ARE FUN Firstly, because so many non-fiction…
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How important is it to cultivate the love of reading in children? Decodable books are an essential part of a structured literacy approach, but they have a specific purpose. They are decodable exercises which students can use to practise the phonics skills they have learned. They are not designed to compete with the huge variety…
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During mental health week, we think it is important to highlight the link between mental health and illiteracy. Illiteracy causes poor life outcomes, poverty leading to crime, depression and poor health. The Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Therapies of the University of East Anglia (UEA) have just reported on the global problem of poor…
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What are decodable books? Although the rise of the Science of Reading movement has meant that systematic phonics teaching programs are gaining popularity in the US, one of the most frequently asked questions is still, “What are decodable books?”. Phonic Books co-founder, Tami Reis-Frankfort, provides a brief clarification of the meaning of the term, ‘decodable…
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