There is probably no trickier part of early phonics than teaching children how to rhyme! Some children just get it straight away, and others take literally years, and can often read fluently before they are able to rhyme successfully. It is the one area I am asked about the most in early phonics, and so …
You might have heard about rhythm sticks, and possibly rhythm sticks activities, but you’re not really sure what they are. Is so, then you’ve come to the right place. Rhythm sticks are one of the ultimate resources for children from the ages of 2 upwards, and can teach many skills. But what are they? Rhythm …
There are quite a few unusual terms bandied around in phonics, and these often muddy the waters and make it harder for parents and often teachers to understand how to teach it. The word ‘blending’ is definitely something you will hear a lot, but what exactly is it? Blending in phonics is combining broken up …
In ten years of working with children aged 3-5, I have found that one of the most important skills in early phonics is definitely segmenting. It is a crucial skill in early writing, and it is involved in reading too. But what exactly is it? Segmenting in phonics is the ability to separate a word …
Struggling to find alliteration activities? You’ve come to the right place; and can I just say that these games are spectacularly superb and seriously special! Alliteration is something that children can begin to understand through repetition of enjoyable activities, many of which can just be thrown into your daily routine. How do you teach alliteration? …
I have to say that if I could select just one resource to take from my classroom, it would undoubtedly be claves, or ‘rhythm sticks’ as we like to call them. Rhythm sticks are simply long pieces of broomstick-like wood, cut into about 8-inch sections and the ends sanded down. You can use claves, but the …