Latest Blog
Kickstart the New Term with Our January Phonics Refresher Toolkit
As we head into a fresh term, it’s the perfect time to revisit and refresh your phonics teaching strategies. Whether you’re a teacher, TA, or support staff, our Phonics Refresher Toolkit is packed with practical tips and resources to help you feel confident and ready...
How To Self-Care: 7 Tips for Teachers During the Holidays and In The Classroom
As teachers, we devote our time and energy to shaping young minds throughout the school year. Now, it's time to prioritise our own well-being and indulge in some much-needed self-care during the summer holidays. In this blog post, I’ll explore various self-care...
How to Keep the Learning Alive: The Importance of Reading and Writing During Summer Holidays
The summer school holiday is a time for relaxation and fun, but it's crucial to remember the importance of maintaining reading and writing skills during this time. Preventing the "summer slide" and ensuring continued progress in reading and writing development can set...
8 Really Effective Ways To Teach Tricky Words For Reading And Writing
Do you use these phrases when you are challenging learners to read and write words? Find the sound in a word! Sound it out! Use your letter sounds! Decode it! Use an alternative sound! I use them all the time with learners once they know the 44 letter sounds of...
How To Engage Phonics Learners Using Tactile Letter Shapes
One multi-sensory technique that has been proven to be effective is using tactile letter shapes.
How to Teach Reading and Writing – 5 Easy Steps
These are the 5 steps to any phonics program so that you can support your learners to read and write independently, build their confidence, and get great results for them.
This is how phonics can help with dyslexia.
Dyslexia Awareness Month is in October. It’s an annual event to raise awareness of dyslexia. I hope we can be aware of the condition throughout the year too! It is believed that 10% of people are dyslexic, but this condition is often poorly understood. Dyslexia...
How to Teach Pencil Hold
Over my years of teaching, I have seen some unusual pencil holds. Some of them are so odd that I cannot even begin to replicate them! Three-year-olds can be very independent people and generally don’t want to be told how to do something. Their learning is best done when they figure it out for themselves. BUT… for great pencil grip muscles need to be developed and this can be done in subtle ways without them knowing it!!
Why is phonological and phonemic awareness important for young learners?
One question that often comes up when I am teaching phonics is “why is phonological awareness and phonemic awareness important to young learners?” There are 3 main building blocks to cracking the code of reading and writing from an early age. These are; Phonological...