10515_A01.QXD 29/6/07 1:19 pm U Page i S I N G P H O N I C S TO T E AC H R E A D I N G A N D SPELLING 10515_A01.QXD 29/6/07 1:19 pm Page ii A BOUT THE AUTHOR John Bald learned to teach in Michael Burton’s reading unit at Beaufoy School in Lambeth in the 1970s, and was Tutor in Charge of a Reading and Language Centre in Essex from 1980 to 1993 During this time, he wrote over 100 articles and reviews for the Times Education Supplement, and became known as a forthright critic of ‘guessing game’ theories of reading He was a consultant on reading to the Dearing review of the national curriculum, a pioneer of training for teaching assistants, and an adviser to the Who Cares? Trust on the provision of books for children in care He is an experienced inspector, and now works as an independant teacher, consultant and journalist His first book, The Literacy File, was joint winner of the United Kingdom Reading Association’s Donald Moyle award in 1997 John Bald lives in Linton, Cambridgeshire, with his wife Enid and their Dalmatian, Jasper John Bald currently also writes a weblog, which can be found at: http://johnbald.typepad.com/language 10515_A01.QXD 29/6/07 1:19 pm U Page iii S I N G P H O N I C S TO T E AC H R E A D I N G A N D SPELLING John Bald Paul Chapman Publishing 10515_A01.QXD 31/7/07 3:11 pm Page iv © John Bald 2007 First published 2007 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Enquiries concerning reproduction ouside those terms should be sent to the publishers Paul Chapman Publishing A SAGE Publications Company Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B 1/I Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, Post Bag New Delhi 110 044 SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Library of Congress Control Number: 2007922696 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-4129-3110-6 ISBN 978-1-4129-3111-3 (pbk) Typeset by Pantek Arts Ltd, Maidstone, Kent Printed in Great Britain by Cromwell Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire Printed on paper from sustainable resources 10515_A01.QXD 29/6/07 1:19 pm Page v C ONTENTS Acknowledgements ix How to use this book x Foreword xi Phonics, why and how Regular and irregular languages Letter combinations How we tackle irregularity and letter combinations in teaching? We use what the letters tell us, but we don’t believe the letters tell us everything Synthetic phonics: the mainspring Synthetic phonics schemes: two controversial points Analytic phonics: a subordinate tool Alternatives to phonics Rose’s main recommendations and their implications Further reading 8 10 12 Key elements in synthetic phonics Sharing books intensively: Cushla and her books Planned individual activities involving stories Puppets, soft toys and characters from stories Acting out and retelling stories Matching, selecting, naming Scheme of work: write or buy? What makes an effective lesson? Resources are well chosen for their contribution to learning All children have work they can understand and are fully involved What should teaching assistants do? How we track progress? Tracking fast progress Assessment for weaker readers and spellers Further reading 14 16 17 18 18 18 20 24 27 28 28 30 30 31 33 v 10515_A01.QXD 29/6/07 1:19 pm Page vi USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING Synthetic phonics and language development Vygotsky on early language development Vygotsky’s theories: an update Using nursery rhymes, with actions Phonics and the transition to literacy Phonics and everyday speech Further reading 34 34 36 39 39 43 45 How we explain and tackle irregularity? Effects of irregularity Irregularity and everyday speech Dr Johnson and the printers More on the French connection How much irregularity is there? Irregular words in early reading English spelling and fuzzy logic Explaining spelling in terms of human nature Further reading 46 46 48 48 50 51 51 54 55 55 Phonics and English spelling Synthetic phonics as the basis of spelling in English Synthetic phonics and learning to spell Introducing Slimmed Down Spelling Awkward letters: usually vowels, but not always Snags, and how to deal with them Saying the alphabet Shortcuts and spelling One sound, several spellings Groups of letters representing different sounds Ough spellings Some more extra letters Further reading 56 56 57 61 65 66 67 68 72 74 75 76 76 Phonics and more advanced literacy skills Recurring phonic patterns: ‘soft’ c and g Advanced phonics: Latin Advanced phonics: Greek Teaching children to read words with several syllables Further reading 77 79 80 81 82 82 Resources Core Schemes 84 85 vi 10515_A01.QXD 29/6/07 1:19 pm Page vii ■ CONTENTS Supplementary resources Resources for special educational needs Further reading 91 94 102 What additional techniques can help the weakest readers? Adapting teaching Why individual teaching? Memory Stages in learning and remembering words Sustaining interest Identifying progress Teaching assistants Parents Building support into your normal school provision Further reading 103 110 111 114 115 116 116 119 120 121 121 Professional development What makes a good course? What training teachers of phonics need? The co-ordinator Preparation and audit Planning and running the course Teaching assistants Make it a habit: CPD in the evaluation and planning cycle Further reading 123 123 125 127 127 130 131 134 135 Glossary 136 Appendix: Key patterns in English spelling 138 References 152 CD Rom 155 Index 158 vii 10515_A01.QXD 29/6/07 1:19 pm Page viii C ONTENTS OF THE ACCOMPANYING CD Language development record (Chapter 2) Scheme of work format (Chapter 2) Teaching the French connection (Chapter 4) The Alphabet Song (Chapter 5) Class alphabet rhyme (Chapter 5) Snakes and ladders (Chapter 7) Snakes and ladders first words (Chapter 7) Long snake race game (Chapter 7) Word jigsaw (Chapter 7) Word jigsaw – blank (Chapter 7) Word jigsaw – blank (Chapter 7) Final E grid (Chapter 7) Grids for word practice (Chapter 8) Audit of staff opinion: Phonics (Chapter 9) viii 15 22 52–3 70 71 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 117–18 129 10515_A01.QXD 29/6/07 1:19 pm Page ix A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful for the support of researchers, authors and publishers who have discussed their work with me and supplied review copies Particular thanks to Ruth Miskin for allowing me to visit her school on behalf of the Guardian, and inviting me to attend her training sessions, and to Maureen Hartley for allowing me to reproduce her Alphabet Songs Professor Rhona Johnston and Dr Joyce Watson have been generous in sharing and explaining their research, and Jan Turner and Kirsteon Garron of Mapledene Early Years Centre, Hackney, have provided invaluable help with work with under-fives Thanks also to Keith Duggan, Louisa Lochner and Julie Brown for sharing their thoughts and practical ideas Any errors are, of course, entirely my responsibility The book would not have been written without the confidence and encouragement of my wife Enid Smith, who has also provided essential guidance on scientific method and developments in brain research John Bald ix 10515_Z01.QXD 29/6/07 1:37 pm Page 150 USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING Section 3: Common irregular and historical patterns ear ea (awkward sound) eigh o as u sound wa (from German) earth early learn pearl search hears bear pear tear (e.g clothes) break steak love glove come some mother brother something was warm water want war wasp what (extra letter) eight neigh neighbour weigh weight (height) ough thought bought ought fought thorough borough augh although though dough enough rough tough caught daughter naughty plough bough slough trough cough laugh laughter draught Note: Only through does not have a near neighbour Use a picture to remember it le (French) que French ch as sh (French) eau (French) table stable cable able possible reasonable antique unique boutique queue cheque technique machine parachute bochure chef champagne beauty beautiful ieu (French) ph (Greek) Hard ch (Greek) Silent w (Old English) Silent b (Teutonic/Norse) photograph elephant hyphen phonic alphabet geography Christmas chemist chorus school stomach ache lamb climb dumb plumber 150 wrap wrong wrist wrinkle write in lieu (in place of) 10515_Z01.QXD 29/6/07 1:37 pm Page 151 ■ APPENDIX: KEY PATTERNS IN ENGLISH SPELLING Silent k (Germanic) uit (French) know knight knot knob knit fruit suit biscuit circuit 151 10515_Z02.QXD 29/6/07 1:38 pm Page 152 R EFERENCES Adams, P (1988) Mrs Honey’s Hat Swindon: Child’s Play International Armitage, D and Armitage, R (1994) The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch London: Scholastic Hippo Bald, J (2001) ‘Slimmed Down Spelling’, Times Educational Supplement, 25 May Bald, J (2003) ‘Eyes bright’, Times Educational Supplement, 19 September Bald, J (2004) Teaching Assistant’s Edufax Hadleigh: Curriculum Publishing Balmuth, M (1982) The Roots of Phonics:A Historical Introduction New York: McGraw-Hill Bissex, G (1980) Gyns at Wrk: A Child Learns to Read and Write Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Blake, Q (1999) Mr Magnolia London: Red Fox Frith, U and Blakemore, S-J (2005) The Learning Brain: Lessons for Education Oxford: Blackwell Bradley, L and Bryant, P E (1983) ‘Categorizing sounds and learning to read – a causal connection’, Nature, 301: 419–21 Butler, D (1979) Cushla and Her Books London: Hodder & Stoughton Carle, E (2002) The Very Hungry Caterpillar London: Puffin Chall, J S., Jacobs, V A and Baldwin, L.E (1990) The Reading Crisis: Why Poor Children Fall Behind Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Clay, M (1991) Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control Auckland: Heinemann Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2004) CD-ROM, 11th edn Oxford: OUP Cooke, A (1973) Alistair Cooke in America London: BBC Publications Department for Education and Skills (1998) National Literacy Strategy, Framework for Teaching London: DfES Fernald, G M (1943) Remedial Techniques in Basic School Subjects New York: McGraw-Hill Goodman, K (1967) ‘Reading, a psycholinguistic guessing game’, Journal of the Reading Specialist, Hart, B and Rizley, T A (2003) ‘The early catastrophe: the million word gap by age 3’, American Educator, Spring Cited in Ross, C., McKechnie, E F and Rothbauer, P M (2006) Reading Matters: What the Research Reveals about Reading, Libraries and the Community Westport, CA: Libraries Unlimited 152 10515_Z02.QXD 29/6/07 1:38 pm Page 153 ■ REFERENCES Hobson, P (2002) The Cradle of Thought London: Macmillan Hornsby, B (1999) Alpha to Omega London: Heinemann Inkpen, M (2006) Penguin Small London: Hodder Johnston, R and Watson, J The Effects of Synthetic Phonics Teaching on Reading and Spelling: A Seven-year Longtitudinal Study Edinburgh: Scottish Executive Central Research Unit Lunzer, E and Gardner, K (1984) Reading for Learning in the Sciences, Learning from the Written Word Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd for the Schools Council Oxford Companion to the English Language (2005) Oxford: Oxford University Press Neale Analysis of Reading Ability, 2nd revised British edn (2997)Windsor: NFERNelson Ofsted (2005) Office for Standards in Education, Inspection Number 266863 Palmer, S (2006) Toxic Childhood London: Bloomsbury Palmer, S and Bayley, R (2004) Foundations of Literacy Stafford: Network Educational Press Perera, K M (1989) The Development of Prosodic Features in Children’s Oral Reading Unpublished Ph.D thesis, University of Manchester Pinker, S (1999) Words and Rules London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Pirrie, J (1994) On Common Ground Godalming: WWF Rose, J (2006) Independent Review of the Teaching of Reading London: DfES Rosen, M and Oxenbury, H (2003) We’re Going on a Bear Hunt London: Aladdin Ross, C., McKechnie, E F and Rothbauer, P M (2006) Reading Matters: What the Research Reveals about Reading Libraries and the Community Westport, CA: Libraries Unlimited Schatz E K and Baldwin, R S (1986) ‘Contextual clues are unreliable predictors of word meanings’, Reading Research Quarterly, 21 Seuss, Dr (2007/1957) The Cat in the Hat London: HarperCollins Shaughnessy, M (ed.) (1977) Errors and Expectations: A Guide for the Teacher of Basic Writing New York: Oxford University Press Smith, F (1978) Psycholinguistics and Reading New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston Smith, F (1978) Reading Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Smith, F (1994) Understanding Reading, 6th edn New York: Erlbaum Snowling, M and Stackhouse, J (eds) (2005) Dyslexia, Speech and Language Chichester: Wiley Tizard, B and Hughes, M (1984) Young Children Learning London: Fontana Vygotsky, L S (1986) Thought and Language Boston: MIT 153 10515_Z02.QXD 29/6/07 1:38 pm Page 154 USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING Vygotsky, L S (1987) Mind in Society Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Ward, S (1994) ‘The validation of a treatment method for language delay in infants under one year of age’ Talk delivered at the CPLOL conference, Antwerp, 1994 Wells, G (1987) The Meaning Makers London: Hodder & Stoughton Wilkins, A (1995) Visual Stress Oxford: Oxford University Press Wilkins, A (2003) Reading through Colour Chichester: Wiley Wragg, E C and Brown, G (2001) Explaining in the Primary School Abingdon: RoutledgeFalmer 154 10515_Z03.QXD 10/7/07 8:46 am Page 155 I NDEX acting 18, 41 activities additional 88, 89 language development in all 11 pre-reading 11 slower starters 14 to engage parents 17 wide range of adults productive triangle 13 speech modelled by 36 teaching to spell 62–3 Alpha to Omega 102 alphabet 67–71 rhyme 71 song 67, 70, 85 alphabetic writing 2, 6, 35 analytic phonics 8–9, 39 Arabella Miller 7–8, 39 assessment accurate 24 by teaching assistant 29 compact as possible 30 contributes to learning 20 direct observation 31, 104 GNVQ 120, 134 good 28 notes on 104–5 visual stress 32, 109 weaker readers 31–3, 104, 111 audit 124, 127–9, 130 Banks, Gill 18 behaviour 32, 107–10 Bissex, Glenda 58 Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne book and story bags 17 books children should enjoy 120 introduction to 8, 16, 86, 90 as a resource 20, 27, 85 supplementary resource 92–3 boys 17, 25, 58, 61–2, 120 Bradley, Dr Lynette 57 Bristol Child Development Study 37 British Institute of Optometry 32, 109 British Picture Vocabulary Scale 32 Buckley, Professor Sue 19 Butler, Dorothy 16 carers see parents Caxton, William 48, 49 Churchill, W 124 Clackmannanshire research 7, 25, 58, 85, 86 clapping 82 Clarke, Kenneth Clay, Dame Marie 39, 107 ‘Clicker 5’ 23, 62 computers 54 ‘Clicker 5’ 62 evaluation using 21–2 games on 11 read text 10, 54 screen background/brightness 109, 110 consonants several spellings 72 th as f 48 vowel element attached 67 core schemes 20–1, 84 Fast Phonics First 85–6 Jolly Phonics 87–8 Read, Write Inc 88–91 Department for Education and Skills (DfES) 9, 11, 50, 51, 127, 133 development record 15 dictionaries 26, 31, 48, 50, 52, 55 digital photos 14 digraph 3, 51, 86, 136, 146 split 4, 64, 72, 137, 147 diphthongs 3, 72–3 'ditty' sheets 89 double letters 33, 64, 65, 149 Downs Education Trust 14 Downs Syndrome 14, 19 Duggan, Keith 92 dyslexia 94, 102, 106, 107, 122 Early Years Foundation stage 11 Education Guardian 58 155 10515_Z03.QXD 10/7/07 8:46 am Page 156 USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING epileptic fits 108 evaluation on computer 21–4 and planning cycle 134 everyday speech 2, 11, 31, 43–4, 48, 57, 59, 60, 69, 77 examinations eye 109 and spelling 57 targets and 134 family praise from 24 speech in 35, 36–7 Fast Phonics First 21, 85–6, 87, 89 Finger Phonics 87, 88 fluorescent light 32, 108–9 Fordingbridge Junior School 44 foreign systems/patterns 56, 64 Fred Talk 26–7, 89, 91 French cause of irregularity connection 50–3 reformed spelling 57 softening effect 79 and spelling 56–7 vowel pronunciation 65, 68 Frith, Uta fuzzy logic 10, 54 games in Fast Phonics First 86 reinforcement with 26, 74, 80 special needs resource 94 Gateway Primary School 78, 87, 92 German 59, 64, 73, 150, 151 glides 73 Gnys at Wrk 58 Goodman, Kenneth 9, 10 graphemes 89, 136 Great Harwood Primary School 17 Greek 47, 48, 77, 80, 81–2, 150 groups 60, 63–4, 74 Handa's Surprise 17 handbooks core schemes 21, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90 DfES skills 133 Read, Write Inc 91, 102, 127 handwriting 33, 58, 61–2 Harron, Kirsteon 41 Hart, Betty 36 Hartley, Maureen 67 156 headteacher and audit 128 as co-ordinator 127 evaluation and planning 134 mentoring teaching assistants 133 school training 126, 130 hearing difficulty 107, 108 Hobson, Peter 38 home-school reading record 30, 120 Hornsby, Bevé 55, 59, 76, 102 Hughes, Martin 36 ICT 21, 62, 84, 132 infant school acting in 18 beyond 77, 128 library 30 inner speech 34–6, 43 Intuitive Overlays Testing Pack 32 Irlen Institute 109 irregular languages 2–3 irregularity 136 causes effects of 46–7 and everyday speech 48 how much 51 how to tackle 4–5 Johnson, Dr 48 Johnston, Rhona 85 Jolly Phonics 86, 87–8, 92 Kobi Nazrul School 88, 119 language development of 34–45 three levels 35 language co-ordinators 12, 24, 27, 102, 126, 127, 128, 130, 133, 134 Language Master 27, 93 Latin 47, 77, 79, 80–1 lessons effective 24–7 observation of 128 parent involvement 120 letters awkward 65–6 double 64–5, 149 formation 87 groups of 60, 63–4, 74 shapes 41–2, 88 Lewis, Georgia 93 libraries 30 OED available from 55 10515_Z03.QXD 10/7/07 8:46 am Page 157 ■ Lloyd, Sue 87 look and say magnetic letters/boards 7, 22, 25, 27, 61, 85, 86, 87, 89 Manchester Central Healthcare Trust 37 Mapledene Early Years Centre 41 Matching, Selecting, Naming 14, 18–20 Maynard, Priscilla 18 media 36, 37–8 melody, of words 41 memory 1, 2, 3, 40, 46, 47, 56, 82, 105, 111, 113, 114–15, 122 Mind in Society 34, 45 Miskin, Ruth 26, 58, 88, 90, 93, 119, 127, 130 monitoring 12, 103, 104, 126, 127 Montessori principles 41 Mr Magnolia 41 Mrs Honey's Hat 18 Nabbotts Infant School 18, 30 National Curriculum 3, 52, 127 National Literacy Strategy 12, 121 Nessy 22, 94 Norman Conquest 2, 48, 125 Northern Ireland 20 nursery rhymes 7, 14, 37, 39 observation 1, 9, 31, 104–5, 134 evidence for audit 128 Ofsted 128 Gateway Primary 78, 87 Oliver, Jamie 59 Oranges and Lemons 39 ough 47, 48, 49–50, 59, 74, 75, 136, 144, 145, 150 Oxford Companion to the English Language 75 Oxford English Dictionary 48, 50, 52, 55 Oxford Reading Tree 91, 113 Palmer, Sue 33, 38, 93, 114 parents activities with 17, 18 close involvement 120 home-school reading record 30, 31 praise from 24 share observations with 107–8 sit in lessons 110 speech modelled on 36–7 storybooks and 90 Penguin Small 18 INDEX Perera, Professor Katharine 40, 114 phonemes 86, 89, 136, 137 photocopying, for assessment 31 Piaget, Jean 34 Pinker, Professor Steven 46 plastic letters 11, 14, 19, 25, 61, 63, 75, 92, 106, 112 playing cards, blank 76, 94 poems Portsmouth Downs Syndrome Project 14, 19 praise 19, 24, 26, 27, 105, 120 prefixes 6, 80–1 Princess Bear 17 professional judgement 4, 24, 30, 73 pronunciation changed over time 2, 48, 57, 125 English–French 50, 52 indistinct English 43, 48, 68 leaving out h 69 vowels 65 psycholinguistics 9, 137 punctuation 58 marks as graphemes 136 puppets 7, 14, 18 Read, Write Inc 29, 58, 86, 88–91, 102, 127, 130 record keeping 30 regular languages 2–3, 46 renewed literacy framework 11 resources 27, 84–102 audit 128–9 main categories 84 rhythm, of words 41 Risley, Todd 36 roots, Latin and Greek 80–1 Rose Report 1, 7, 8, 10–12, 21, 46, 58, 78, 85, 86, 127, 131 rules not applying 46 unreliable 58 weakness 59 Rushmore School 93 scheme of work 20–24 audit 128–9 checklist 21 format 22–3 handbook basis for 84 Scotland 20 Searchlights 9, 10 Seguin, Henri 52 157 10515_Z03.QXD 10/7/07 8:46 am Page 158 USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING SENCO 111, 120 sentences ‘Clicker 5’ 62 ‘Get Writing’ 90 language development 14, 15, 42 more varied 77 shortcuts 43–4 set theory 54, 92 shortcuts 59–60 children alerted to 51 consonants 48 inner speech full of 35, 43–4 socially neutral 51, 68 solution 69 and spelling 68–9 sight vocabulary 6, 40 silent letters 76 Slimmed Down Spelling 44, 58–76 key features 60 Smith, Frank 9, 10, 40, 54 soft toys 14, 18 softening effect 4, 23, 47, 79–80 songs 6, speech deprivation 38 everyday 43–4, 48, 59, 69 frequent shortcuts 68 inner 34–5, 36 spelling and 48 special needs 84–5 resources for 94 spelling Alpha to Omega 55, 102 assessing 32–3 basis of 56–7 effect of phonics 25 English and French 52–3 and Fuzzy Logic 54 integrated with reading key patterns 138 look-copy-cover-write questionable 87 mismatch between speech and 48 quirks of 55 rules 58 shortcuts a problem 44 stories acting out 18 activities involving 17 characters from 18 suffixes 6, 80–1 synthetic phonics 6–8, 39 158 as basis for spelling 56–8, 76 does not always work Synthetic Phonix 93 Taylor, Janet 41 teaching assistants contribution crucial 26, 104 extended role 131 model of accurate English 69 NVQ 132, 134, 135 role of 28–9 skills needed 132–3 support and observation by 104 well trained 119–20, 132 television 37–8 test scores 119 The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch 18, 30 The Very Hungry Caterpillar 18 Thought and Language 34, 45 time management 127 Times Educational Supplement 58 Tintavision 109 Tizard, Barbara 36 Toxic Childhood 38, 114 training courses 123–35 length of 124–5, 130 outside trainer 126 trigraph 3, 137 under fives 13 verbs 46 videos 37–8 visual stress/problems 32, 104, 107, 108–9 screening kits 109 vocabulary beyond infant school 77–8 Latinate 50 sight 6–7, 40 voice sounds 43, 48, 68, 72, 73, 74, 89 see also vowels vowels 2–3, 4, 33, 48, 59, 64, 65, 66, 67, 72–3, 137 groups 74 and voice 68 Vygotsky, L.S 34–6, 39, 43, 45 Wales 20 Ward, Dr Sally 37 Watson, Joyce 85 weak readers/learners 19, 24, 31 additional support 110–13 10515_Z03.QXD 10/7/07 8:46 am Page 159 ■ welfare benefits 37 We're Going on a Bear Hunt 41 whiteboards Fast Phonics First 85–6 interactive 27, 91–2 whole-class summary session 25 Wilkins, Professor Arnold 33, 108 William the Conqueror 52 Woodpeckers 91, 113 Woods Loke School 87 INDEX word-building see synthetic phonics word lists, personal 82 Wordshark 94 Wragg, Professor Ted 126 writing handwriting 61–2 represents sounds spelling in context of 32–3, 44, 58, 116 Vygotsky’s view 35 159 10515_Z03.QXD 10/7/07 8:46 am Page 160 10515_Z03.QXD 1/8/07 11:51 am Page 160 10515_Z03.QXD 1/8/07 11:51 am Page 160 10515_Z03.QXD 1/8/07 11:51 am Page 160 10515_Z03.QXD 1/8/07 11:51 am Page 160 [...]... Support and class teachers need to plan together so that additional teaching builds on and reinforces the work children do in class The progress of children receiving additional teaching needs to be tracked particularly closely for this purpose 11 10515_C01.QXD 29/6/07 1:24 pm Page 12 USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING ■ Phonic work needs to be managed, monitored and supported by feedback and. .. letters and conference presentations have provided a distinctive contribution to some long-standing debates, particularly on the role of phonics in literacy development In this book he brings together his experience as teacher, course provider and school inspector to offer guidance on using phonics to teach reading and spelling While there has been an increase in the number of publications on this topic... 18 USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING other children began to recognise the sounds she was making, and would imitate them This gave her a sense of achievement, and carers joined in, taking Sally to the zoo The process allowed carers to see improvement in Sally’s language, and helped allay their fears for her ability to adapt to school life The support teachers developed this into using animal... OW TO USE THIS BOOK This is a book about using phonics to teach reading and spelling to children and adults It is not an evangelical tract, and does not pretend that phonics are all that we need English spelling is not an exact match for English speech, and therefore phonics do not always work Therefore, while I agree with Jim Rose (2006: 4) that The systematic approach, which is generally understood... Why and How This chapter will: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Explain why phonics are important in teaching reading and writing Outline complex phonic patterns, and the roots of irregularity Explain the principles of teaching phonics Introduce and define key terms, including synthetic and analytic phonics Consider some alternative theories of reading Phonics is the systematic teaching of the sounds conveyed by letters and. .. additional + signs to indicate strengths, and Ϫ signs to indicate concerns Language development record 10515_C02.QXD Page 15 10515_C02.QXD 29/6/07 1:25 pm Page 16 USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING Sharing books intensively The case study below shows how a careful introduction to books can develop much more than reading skills CASE STUDY Cushla and her books Cushla was born in New Zealand, and had a... Analytic phonics: a subordinate tool Analytic phonics is wordbreaking Children are presented with words and learn to pick out letters and to associate them with the sounds they represent In some schools, analytic phonics has been used as an alternative to synthetic phonics in initial reading teaching, and is sometimes reduced to having children identify the first letter in a word The approach does not teach. .. 20 USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING the book Whenever he got stuck, I would explain the phonic pattern and any variation behind the word, and would then teach it by moving to another word with the same pattern (For example, I would teach mother by working on brother and other, coming back to mother once these words were secure.) Where necessary, I would put more words on slips of paper and. .. are fed into our mind virtually instantaneously, and we are then able to group them together into meaningful phrases Synthetic phonics in spelling is easily integrated with reading Children can build words using plastic or magnetic letters as they learn to read them This avoids them having to write each word by hand in the early stages, allowing all their attention to be focused on the sounds and letters... each letter and then guessing at the word When he came to the, he tried several times to make the sounds t – h – e into a recognisable word, became frustrated, and settled for ten Paul’s understanding of phonics as a single sound for each letter was preventing him from learning to read, and effective teaching began with helping him to adjust his thinking to take account of combinations and to blend rather ... pm Page x H OW TO USE THIS BOOK This is a book about using phonics to teach reading and spelling to children and adults It is not an evangelical tract, and does not pretend that phonics are all... experience as teacher, course provider and school inspector to offer guidance on using phonics to teach reading and spelling While there has been an increase in the number of publications on this topic... individual teaching using a set formula 29 10515_C02.QXD 29/6/07 1:25 pm Page 30 USING PHONICS TO TEACH READING AND SPELLING How we track progress? Assessment needs to support teaching, and should