Another week has gone by quickly. I do hope you managed to get through last week’s blog all about the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy. I did have some lovely feedback from a couple of teachers who had read it all and advised me that it was really informative. I realised afterwards though that I didn’t explain that all these reading and spelling programmes that were proven to work include the teaching of ‘synthetic‘ phonics i.e. breaking words up into phonemes and identifying these phonemes. Therefore, the recommended way of teaching children to read and spell nowadays is through a structured, synthetic, systematic, cumulative approach. Hope that all makes sense! Now for some lighter reading this week………….
Spelling the days of the week (How the days were named)
Since I was writing about the origin of different spellings and words last week, when I saw this video I thought it would be appropriate to share as it is a good talking point when teaching children how to spell the days of the week.
Phonics Books
The Company ‘Phonics Books‘ sell some great decodable books including their catch up readers series of books, which children really enjoy reading. Phonic Books’ website also explains some useful phonics terms and teaching of phonics. See the free slides on their ‘Phonics Explained’ page on their website. UK https://www.phonicbooks.co.uk/…/phon…/phonics-explained/ USAhttps://www.phonicbooks.com/…/phonic…/phonics-explained/
Barrington Stoke Young Editors
Barrington Stoke publish ‘super-readable, accessible books that help every child experience the joy of reading’. They have recently developed ‘The Barrington Stoke Young Editors Scheme’ which gives students a fantastic opportunity to be an editor for the day, by reading a manuscript and giving feedback to help shape the final book, before it is published. I have tried it out this week, by downloading a manuscript that was age appropriate for the children I was working with. They really loved the opportunity and are enjoying reading the manuscript ready to give their feedback after the half term break. This Young Editors Scheme is free to register on https://youngeditors.barringtonstoke.co.uk/.
Book your class to meet an author or illustrator for FREE
Book a school Zoom with a Puffin author or illustrator during the months of November and December. Register at puffinschools.co.uk/meet-an-author so your class can join in Friday mornings at 10:30, for a 45-minute online event including live readings, creative writing ideas, activities and Q&A sessions. Get your class ready with free chapter samples and supporting resource packs. Don’t forget to send in your questions to be answered live by emailing PuffinSchools@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk with the author’s name in the subject line.
Coming up:
5 November – Yassmin Abdel-Magied, author of You Must Be Layla
12 November – Jacqueline Wilson, author of The Primrose Railway Children
26 November – Maddie Moate, author of STUFF
3 December – Nick Sharratt, author and illustrator Oh no! Shark in the Snow!
That’s all the news and info for this week. I hope everyone has a good week and manages to stay healthy. Take care. PJ
You are braver than you believe,
Stronger than you seem
and smarter than you think.
Help your child learn to read, write and spell 