Reading using decodable books
Evidence and experience shows that the most effective approach to ensuring all children learn to read is to establish the habit of using phonics as the route to decoding unknown words, avoiding unreliable guessing strategies.
Independent reading with fully decodable books that are matched to their secure phonic knowledge will enable them to use their GPCs knowledge to decode words and develop fluency.
Reading for pleasure
In 2002, OECD research reported that reading enjoyment is more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status.
The Mog and Gom series of decodable readers follow the same phonic progression as our Letters and Sounds programme. However, to make the stories more interesting at an earlier stage we have changed the progression of the tricky words.
Capital letters and full stops
Capital letters are used at the beginning of a sentence and for proper noun. Full stops are used at the end of sentences. Introduced these in week 2:
1. Using a whiteboard write the sentence - Sam at a tap.
2. Explain to the children that capital letters are used at the beginning of a sentence and for names.
3. Write another sentence underneath - At a tap.
4. Explain to the children that some capitals are a similar shape to their lower-case letters (like S), and some have different shapes (like A). But each capital always has the same sound as its lower-case letter.
5. Show the children the full stops. Explain to the children that full stops are used at the end of sentences.
Letter names
Capital letters are used at the beginning of a sentence and for proper noun and should be taught along side the lower case letters from the start.