It has been a busy first week back after the half term break! This week I have been teaching the spelling of words containing the syllable /-le. The more I look into the different syllable divisions, the easier it is to teach and easier for learners to work out the spellings. I was asked recently if I taught all the syllable divisions for spellings and I hadn’t really thought about it, but actually I do now teach each of these explicitly. (More details of syllable division for spelling on the ‘Spelling Rules’ page on this site.) It is only the last couple of years I had realised that the final syllable of a word which contains ‘le’ always has another consonant attached to the ‘le’. It does make it so much easier for the learner to work out how to spell the word once they learn these generalisations. If the first syllable has a long, strong vowel it is split after the long vowel so it is an open syllable e.g. ca/ble, but if the first syllable has a short weak vowel then this syllable is closed in by the consonant e.g. mud/dle, and the second syllable always ends with a consonant before the ‘le’.
A funny moment earlier this week , when I used Google to search for some more ideas introducing a spelling rule. I was linked to a website, which looked really interesting. It was only when I clicked on the link that I realised that it had taken me to this, my very own site!! It does explain how there are now more visitors directed to this site through search engines. I hope I am able to give some answers and help for what people are looking for. I am thinking in the near future I will also make some more documents that can be downloaded from this website to assist with lessons. It will also then serve as my own file of resources. However, that may be more of a summer holiday type of project!
SEND STATION
I have mentioned SEND Station a few times previously, as they have a passion to help children who experience difficulties in their learning. I have really enjoyed their training sessions in the past and they are very knowledgeable in their fields. SEND Station is a collaboration between successful education providers who are experienced in providing on-line SEND training and support for schools and parents. They provide practical, easily accessible, great value support for neuro-diverse children and training for those who work with and support them. You can follow them on their facebook page or go to their webpage http://www.sendstation.co.uk for more information.
This week, SEND Station announced that the literacy intervention they have put together, named ‘Literacy Junction’ has been commisioned by five local authorities in South Wales. They are getting ready to ‘train the trainer’ so each of the schools involved will have a practitioner trained in delivering the intervention. More details will be forthcoming to ensure this training will be available to all. If any school in an English speaking country does not already have a trained dyslexia specialist or an effective literacy intervention set up, ‘Literacy Junction’ sounds as if it will be really useful to help the struggling learner. When I hear more, I will let you know on this blog.
Finally, with exams and tests abundant at the moment. I will just leave you with this well known quote.
‘Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. ‘
Have a good week. š PJ
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