“If a child memorizes ten words, the child can read only ten words, but if the child learns the sounds of ten letters, the child will be able to read 350 three-sound words, 4,320 four-sound words, and 21,650 five-sound words.” (Kozloff, 2002). This is why learning to decode words is so much better than trying to learn words by sight. Eventually the words that have been decoded will be ingrained in the memory and so a learner will have automatic recall of these words, making them almost like sight words. The difference is that the learner who has been used to decoding words will be able to approach any new word and use the strategies to read it correctly, whereas the learner who has only learned words from sight will find it difficult to read new words or words which have different affixes. Their strategy may be to just guess these words rather than try to decode them which could greatly affect their comprehension of texts.

Welcome to the many new followers of my blog this week. It has been fascinating to see how many different countries this blog has reached and I notice quite a few of you have joined us from America. Thank you everyone, it is lovely to see how many people now receive the updates. I hope you find this blog and site interesting and helpful – any constructive feedback is really welcome and let me know what else you would like to see on this site by sending a message on the contacts page.

The Science of Reading is becoming more widely known and the research understood in many countries, so educators are changing how they teach children to read and write based on this approach. Nessy.com provides lots of literature for many countries, to help teach children to read and write following the Orton Gillingham approach, which all dyslexic programmes are based on. Here is a video from Nessy, made specifically for an American audience about the Science of Reading, but it is relevant to all countries in teaching children to read English.

English is one of the trickiest languages to master reading and spelling. There are phonetic combinations that make up the sounds of words, but when the same letters are individually pronounced they do not sound the same. There are so many graphemes that have alternative phonemes and different graphemes that can represent the same phoneme – no wonder there is confusion!

There are various strategies and helpful hints to try and make reading and spelling easier. CLOVER is an acronym to help remind us of the main syllable types, which can help learners when reading and spelling words. These different syllable types are taught at various stages in a structured, systematic literacy programme.

C – closed syllable – means that the vowel in the syllable is followed by at least one consonant, therefore keeping the vowel sound short and weak i.e. hăt, crŭnch, ăd/mĭt. (See Rule 4 on Spelling Rule page.)

L – a consonant followed by ‘le’. Note that the consonant stays attached to the ‘le’ in the syllable. This syllable type is usually working alongside another syllable type and example words include bub/ble and ca/ble. (See Rule 13 on Spelling Rule page.)

O – open syllable ending with a single vowel making a long, strong sound e.g. hē, pā/per. (See Rule 4 on Spelling Rule page.)

V – Vowel teams can work together to make one sound e.g. train, spoon. The two letters make one sound and are collectively called a digraph.

E – split digraph where the ‘e’ gives the vowel extra strength to make its long, strong sound but doesn’t make a sound itself e.g. pipe, state.

R – ‘r’ controlled vowel. The ‘r’ follows a vowel and changes its sound e.g. shirt, start, curl, born, dinner.

Finally, UK schools are now enjoying half term and will be celebrating the Queen’s platinum jubilee during this week. Children in state funded primary schools across the United Kingdom should be receiving a memento of the platinum jubilee in the form of a book entitled ‘Queen Elizabeth: A Platinum Jubilee Celebration’. This book takes children on a journey through Her Majesty The Queen’s life, with chapters on her family and friends, achievements, work with charities, Jubilee celebrations and finally on Commonwealth innovations that have changed the world over the last century. Published by DK, it tells a story of a young girl, Isabella, visiting her Great Granny Joyce, who tells her about The Queen and this year’s Jubilee. This special celebratory book will also be available to buy from many bookshops and online retailers.

• Fun facts:
• Queen Elizabeth II was born in the same year as David Attenborough, Mel Brooks and the late Marilyn Monroe.
• She is the longest serving monarch in the UK and amongst the top three longest reigning in the world.
• Elizabeth II acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father,  George VI, on 6 February 1952 and her coronation took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, London.
• She is the only person in the UK who is allowed to drive without a licence and does not need a passport.
• The Queen has 2 birthdays, her actual birthday is on 21st April, but her official birthday celebrations are usually held on the second Saturday in June each year. This tradition was started by King George II whose birthday was in November. He wanted a birthday when the weather was warmer and he could have outdoor celebrations so he made an official day to celebrate his birthday in the summer to coincide with the annual military parade known as Trooping of the Colour.

Have a lovely week, whatever you are up to. Remember, if you see someone without a smile, give them yours. PJ 🙂