Ari referred to them as “the fuzzy sounds,” which his teacher explained are actually “voiced sounds.” But what exactly distinguishes these fuzzy (voiced) sounds from their smoother (unvoiced) counterparts? Shirley Houston provides a clear explanation and practical tips for identifying these sounds, along with fun activities to help both children and adults sharpen their listening skills.
Think you know your vowels from your consonants? Think again! Shirley Houston takes a look at when a consonant is a vowel, and wh(Y)!
Whether you’re a seasoned teacher or a newbie, you’ll want to stay alert to common phonics pitfalls, from not paying enough attention to spelling to always practising the same skill at the start of your lesson. Lesley Clarke lists her top 10 ‘don’ts’ of phonics lesson planning and teaching – and explains how to fix them!
The term ‘mastery’ is used in nearly every teaching curriculum, but what exactly does it mean? What does phonics mastery look like? And once students have achieved it, how do you help them sustain it? Shirley Houston explains how to master…mastery!
Tick-tock, tick-tock…the clock is ticking and there’s geography, life skills, maths and phonics to get through today! Shirley Houston explores how much of the school-day you should ring-fence for teaching phonics.
With over 160 dialects spoken worldwide, English is a wonderfully diverse language. But what’s a teacher to do when one child says “to-may-to” and another “to-mar-to”? Shirley Houston explores key differences between accents in English and offers advice on respectfully navigating these differences when teaching reading and spelling.
From Sydney to Seattle the Science of Reading is taking centre stage. And nonsense words have a starring role! You might be wondering: What are they? Why should I be using them? And, where do I get the words from? Phonics Hero CEO Katherine Wood provides no-nonsense answers to these questions!
Hindsight is beautiful thing! Experienced phonics teacher and trainer Santina DiMauro takes teachers through what she wishes she knew all those years ago, so her hindsight is your foresight.
The English-speaking world is FINALLY coming to a consensus that systematic, synthetic phonics is crucial to learning to read and spell, but when should you stop teaching phonics? When do you move children on from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’? Teacher Shirley Houston discusses.
Shirley Houston explains the logic (alongside some fascinating history facts) behind w-controlled vowels and gives teachers easy ways to help in their recall.
