How to help students who struggle with b/d reversal Do you have students who really struggle with reversing the letters b and d? Reading specialist, Savannah Campbell, has some practical tips to help with this common issue. If you’re an elementary school teacher, it is likely you share the same problem as millions of other…
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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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Ann Sullivan of Phonics for Pupils with Special Educational Needs, is an experienced SEND teacher, who has created her own phonics programme specifically for SEND children. This is what she has to say about our latest set of Books: Moon Dogs Extras for Catch-Up Readers. If there is one question I am asked more than…
Read MoreScaffolding the teaching of multisyllabic words – simple to complex Many teachers are focused on teaching kids how to sound out graphemes (spellings) and to blend sounds together into words. They will even be teaching kids how to manipulate phonemes in phonemic awareness activities. These are all essential underlying skills necessary for learning to read. …
Read MoreAn interview with a developmental cognitive neuroscientist Ola Ozernov-Palchik is a postdoctoral associate at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a lecturer and program director at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She applies neurocognitive methods to investigating individual differences in dyslexia in emerging readers. She…
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Older, struggling readers often have gaps in the their phonics knowledge. They find alternative spellings particularly confusing. Many suffer from low self-esteem so offering them decodable materials that are age-appropriate is vital. Vital because if the reading materials can engage the disaffected reader, his/her motivation to try and read will grow. Without motivation it is…
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What is all this ‘going red’ about? Go Red is a community of passionate individuals and organizations that campaign to promote literacy and a greater understanding of dyslexia. Being able to read and write is something most of us take for granted. Dyslexia Awareness Month shines a light on the 1 in 10 children who…
Read MoreMost teachers approach teaching in a child-centered 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, kids enjoy it because it consolidates their learning and they experience…
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Many children struggle with spelling. Is it important to teach them how to spell in the digital age when ‘Spell Check’ is there to help? The answer is yes. Why? Firstly, because at present ‘spell check’ makes errors as do voice recognition tools. Spell check may offer homophone or spelling options – but can students…
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