Literacy Support Programme - Part 1 (Digital Download)

DYSLEXIA AND
LITERACY DIFFICULTIES
Literacy Support Programme - Part 1
Alice
Frendo
WHY THIS MATTERS TO ME
My commitment to working with children with dyslexia stems from my own
experience of growing up with dyslexia, struggling to be supported by main-
stream education, and finding creative ways to flourish.
ABOUT ME
I left school aged 16, completely disillusioned with education. It was only
years later when I was studying for my A’ levels at evening classes that I was
formally assessed as ‘moderately to severely’ dyslexic. I was 20 years old and
on my way to university.
I went on to gain a first class honours degree in Experimental Psychology from

Bristol University where I focused on language and child development. I then
qualified as a teacher in the UK, and taught in UK mainstream and interna-
tional primary schools across the key stages. I increasingly focused on SEN, ESL and literacy
support, finally becoming a Specialist Dyslexia Teacher working with children and adolescents.
I gained a Masters degree in Education which focused on child development and literacy
difficulties, and completed my AMBDA and became an associated member of the BDA and Patoss. I
provided staff training and mentoring in UK and international schools where I developed whole-
school phonics and literacy intervention programmes. I currently provide dyslexia assessments,
intervention programmes and staff training as an Independent Consultant.
ETHOS AND APPROACH

Every child with dyslexia is unique and therefore successful remediation work will always begin
with an analysis of their specific pattern of strengths and weaknesses. However, there are some
things that are true for all children - they will learn best when they are having fun and feeling
positive. They will remember more when rich memories are created, involving them in ways that
they find engaging, including imagery, sound, stories and gesture. Finally, they all need to learn
exactly the same thing- how to read and write.
I have always been interested in dyslexia and dyslexia research. As I studied it became increasing-
ly clear that there was a gulf between the research into how children with dyslexia learn best, and
how they are taught in schools. The Synesthetic System closes this gap.
Synesthetic Learning radically changes how we support children with dyslexia and other literacy
difficulties. This makes the process of teaching children with dyslexia much more effective and fun.
For further information visit the website at DyslexicLogic.Com
DyslexicLogic© 1
CONTENTS
THE SYNESTHETIC LEARNING PROGRAMME 1
assessment 3
building a cognitive profile 5
spelling 10
handwriting 12
teaching using phonics 13
using synthetic phonics 14
behavioural and emotional needs 15
BEGINNING THE PROGRAMME 17
teaching session format 18
planning 19
programme structure 20
stage 1 phonemic awareness 21
stage 2 grapheme-phoneme correspondence 26
stage 3 introducing CVC words 31
stage 4 short vowels— A I and O 33
stage 5 introducing consonants 41
stage 6 more short vowels— E and U 46
CLASSROOM INTEGRATION 48
supporting reading in class 49
supporting writing in class 50
SIMPLIFIED PHONETICS 51
organising sounds 52
WORD-BANKS- ALPHABET AND CVC 55
final doubled consonants 70
initial consonant clusters 71
final consonant clusters 73
sound-gesture prompt sheets 75
2 DyslexicLogic©
THE SYNESTHETIC LEARNING
PROGRAMME
The Synesthetic Learning Programme combines the strengths of the two most successful phonics
programmes currently used across the UK. It combines the gesture based approach of Jolly
Phonics™ and the picture based approach of ReadWriteInc™ to create a system that is optimally
designed for a broader range of learners. In addition it draws on current research relating to
memory and literacy development, using a 'synesthetic' approach where rich memories are
created across a range of modalities (auditory, visual, tactile, etc). This creates a unique system
for supporting learners with literacy difficulties, enabling them to draw on their own areas of
strength to support learning.
what is synesthetic learning?

Often children with dyslexia or other literacy difficulties find it hard to develop grapheme-phoneme
awareness, that is—they confuse letters and sounds, find it difficult to remember them, and do not
develop the same degree of automaticity when retrieving them from memory that other children
do. As students progress their difficulties with core literacy skills often begin to impact on other
aspects of their literacy such as their reading speed and text comprehension. This means that
learning to read and write becomes an onerous and frustrating task.
Synesthetic learning bridges the gap between the skills a dyslexic student might have (spatial
awareness, auditory memory, visual memory, associative memory skills, narrative memory etc.)
and those they do not. It allows children to use these strengths when developing their literacy
knowledge. Children will be more responsive to encoding using one or more modalities. They will
retain and recall new memories more easily if there is a match between their skills and the way an
idea or information is originally presented to them. Therefore each letter has an associated pic-
ture, gesture, rhythm, colour and phrase. Using this approach means that teachers can support
those children who struggle to learn using traditional methods. Encoding with multiple properties
provides a sensory experience of letters and language, allowing children with dyslexia to bridge
the gap between the things their brains cannot do and the things their brains are exceptionally
good at.
I believe that children with dyslexia have patterns of strengths as well as weaknesses, and that by
incorporating their strengths into an Individual Synesthetic Learning Programme they can succeed.
why choose this programme?

• Dyslexia is a term to describe a wide range of difficulties. As a result there will never be a
‘one size fits all’ programme. For a programme to work it needs to be flexible and adaptable,
not prescriptive. That is why this programme provides guidance but does not tell you what to
do session by session.
• It encourages children to take responsibility for their learning and to understand their own
cognitive profiles, using age appropriate language. It teaches learning behaviours and
compensation strategies that the child can apply in any context. This means the progress
made in sessions is reflected across the curriculum.
• It encourages teachers to build up a deep understanding of the ‘unique’ child, and to really
think about what skill they are teaching and why. It pulls apart the process of becoming
literate into minute steps, allowing for far more precise input and for smaller steps to be
recognised and celebrated.
• It is informed by the latest research on learning and memory. Often educational practice and
research exist separately. This programme takes core principles of learning and memory
research and applies them to teaching practice in order to increase the effectiveness and
efficiency of every session taught.
DyslexicLogic© 3
SUITABILITY
which students is the synesthetic learning programme suited to?
This programme was developed specifically to support children with dyslexia. However, it is also
suitable for children described as having a specific literacy difficulty or dyslexic tendencies.
The programme also has certain features such as:
• using low cognitive load activities
• incorporating fading to support memory
• having finely stepped goals
• using visual and gestural prompts and reminders
• being highly adaptable to the needs of the child
These mean it is also appropriate for children with other special educational needs. However, it
must be appropriately adapted. It has been used effectively with children with general cognitive
delay, speech and language difficulties, ADHD and autism, where these have affected the child's
literacy development.
who is able to teach the synesthetic programme?

This programme was designed to support Special Educational Needs teachers who do not have a
background in phonics teaching. It assumes a high level of understanding of educational
principles, but a lower understanding of dyslexia, how to formatively assesses dyslexic students
and how to structure intervention programmes to effectively support dyslexic learners. However,
this programme is not prescriptive. It takes time and skill to ensure formative assessment is incor-
porated across sessions and that individual sessions are tailored precisely to the child's needs. This
programme is designed to support teachers to develop those skills along with their understanding
of phonics teaching and dyslexia.
how many students can be in a group?

This really depends on the needs of the students. For children who are far behind expectation, this
programme is most effective when delivered 1-1 in daily sessions, as high intensity regular
sessions ensure that progress is rapid. Intervention time is precious and should be intense and
finely tuned to the child's need on a minute by minute basis. Another advantage of 1-1 sessions is
that initially students emotional and behavioural needs may be high. 1-1 eliminates competition,
embarrassment and distractions for students.
However, it depends entirely on the child being taught and the needs of the school. I have taught
groups of up to four students who worked very well together. Age gaps can be helpful where the
older child is also more skilled. It provides the older child with an opportunity to be ‘good’ at
literacy and the younger student with a useful model. The other benefit of group work is that it is
inherently more fun.
can synesthetic learning be taught to a whole class?

The principles of synesthetic learning can be applied to whole class teaching. However, this
programme is not designed to be taught whole class. It focuses on identifying individual
differences and fine-tuning the match between student learning preferences and teacher input.
Synesthetic teaching principles can be incorporated into group and class work. Many of the
Dyslexic Logic resources and activities have been successfully adapted to whole class teaching.
This is an excellent way of making class teaching more dyslexic friendly and supporting all children
with literacy difficulties within a mainstream setting.
4 DyslexicLogic©
ASSESSMENT
Most children embarking on an intensive literacy support programme will have some Educational
Assessment. Sometimes this will include a diagnosis of dyslexia or specific literacy difficulties.
Sometimes literacy difficulties are part of a spectrum of other educational difficulties. However, it
is unlikely that the assessment itself will provide sufficient information to develop an Individual
Intervention Plan. Further formative assessment will need to be carried out to establish exactly
what support the child needs.
These assessments can be carried out using games and activities so that the child is not aware that
any formal assessment process is taking place. Alternatively the child can be involved in the
assessment processes, charting improvements and identifying areas to work on. The age of the child
and their current level of awareness of their additional learning needs should guide this decision.
WHAT TO ASSESS
phonological
phonological
This will identify if there are any sounds that the child has difficulty
awareness distinguishing. For example some children find it hard to hear the
awareness difference between /b/ and /p/ or /n/ and /m/.
pronunciation This will identify if there are any sounds that the child is not pronounc-
pronunciation ing clearly in everyday speech. For example some children do not
articulate the difference between /th/ and /f/ clearly.
oral blending This will

will identify
identifywhether
whethera achild
child
cancan
blend
blends
sounds
sounds
together.
together.
It progress-
It pro-
oral blending gresses
es from from
CVC CVC
words-
words
‘what
‘what
wordword
do do
thethe
sounds
sounds /c//c/
/a//a//t//t/make?’,
make’, to
CCVCC words-
words ‘what
‘whatsounds
soundsdodothe
thesounds
sounds/c/
/c//r/
/r//u/
/u//n/
/n//ch/
/ch/make?’
make?’
oral segmenting This will identify whether

whether a child can segment a word into its sounds. It
oral segmenting progresses from
progresses from CVC words-
words -‘what
‘what sounds
sounds can you hear in the word
‘cat’, totoCCVCC
‘cat’?’, CCVCCwords
words-
-‘what
‘whatsounds
sounds can
can you
you hear
hear in the word ‘crunch’?’.
‘crunch’.
grapheme-phoneme
grapheme-phoneme
This will check which graphemes the child knows. This encompasses
correspondence everything from individual letter recognition to the recognition of
correspondence grapheme clusters such as /IGH/ or /AIR/.
word
word level
level
This will check the child’s ability to read printed words, from simple CVC
decoding words, to words including complex r-controlled vowels such as ‘storm’
decoding and simple suffixes such as ‘shopping’ or ‘dreamed’.
word
word level
level
This will check the child’s ability to spell words, from simple CVC words,
encoding to words including complex r-controlled vowels such as ‘storm’ and
encoding simple suffixes such as ‘shopping’ or ‘dreamed’.
higher
higher order
order
This includes high level word level work including reading and writing at
skills a sentence level using a range of affixes, punctuation and grammatical
skills structures, and comprehension skills.
where to begin
Initial assessments will need to focus on oral/aural language abilities. As the child progresses you
will move towards assessment of higher level skills and no longer need to assess basic skills. How-
ever, for any child you have not worked with before, begin by assessing the most basic skills to
check there are no underlying difficulties.
DyslexicLogic© 5
INFORMAL ASSESSMENT
Most educational assessments are primarily summative, that is to say they are designed to
provide a snapshot of what the child can and cannot do at the time of assessment. While they can
provide useful guidance they are rarely as detailed as is necessary to develop an intervention
programme. For example, a report might state that a student has ‘poor phonological processing’
but we will need to know exactly what sounds, in what contexts, the child finds difficult to process.
The level of detail provided by assessment is directly linked to the specificity of instruction that is
put in place. For example, if we can narrow down ‘poor phonological progressing’ to something
more like ‘has difficulty distinguishing between short /ă/ and /ŭ/ medial vowels and identifying the
second sound in rapid consonant clusters’ we are much more likely to tailor the activities we
provide to match the child's needs.
This detailed level child specific knowledge is built up over time, and relies on informal assessment
such as -
• free reading ask a child to read aloud from the book currently in their book bag.
• free writing ask a child to write about something that interests them.
• observation of class based literacy lessons.
Hints and Tips
Make sure you include working with unfamiliar and nonsense words, as children who have been
given lots of support may rote learn enough to hide their lack of basic skills.
learning styles
Informal assessment can also be used to establish which learning styles work best with the child.
Memory games are a great way of doing this. Playing memory games can help identify how the
child retain information most effectively. While pictures are the easiest way of providing reminders
they are not always the most efficient way of supporting recall.
assessing learning style

visual memory
Over several sessions play successive memory
games, each using a different memory style. Draw a picture that incorporates the words
Use picture cards to help structure the activity. from the list. Make sure each word has a
Encourage the child to develop the ideas them- separate visual cue and link items together
selves as much as possible. See what works so there is a visual relationship between
best. them, e.g. an ‘elephant’ riding a ‘bicycle’.
Ask the child to close their eyes and ‘talk you
1. Take 10-20 random nouns and work with around’ the picture. What can they see? Ex-
the child to help them remember them. ercises like these can also be used to
2. Then choose a new set of words and try strengthen children's visual memory skills.
using a different method.
3. Return to the lists a few days/weeks later.
Where is retention strongest?
spatial awareness and
auditory memory gestural memory
Work together to create a story containing the Walk around the room acting out or placing
words. Place the picture cards out as the child imaginary objects in different places. Use
plans the story. Then hide the cards and ask gesture to reinforce the size and special
them to tell you the story again. Place down qualities of the objects. Link each of the items
each card as the child names it in their retell. together.
Hints and Tips

Having poor auditory memory for the sounds in words, or poor visual memory for the spellings of
words does not relate to learning styles.
6 DyslexicLogic©
BUILDING A COGNITIVE PROFILE
from assessment to programme development
The assessments you make will allow you to begin to build up a cognitive profile for the chid you
are working with. This information guides the development of the Individual Literacy Programme
that is provided to the child.
reasons for poor literacy

There are many reasons a child can develop a specific literacy difficulty. They may have several
different areas of weakness, and many of these areas overlap. These weaknesses will impact on
other areas of learning too, but they cause particular difficulties when developing literacy skills.
While children with dyslexia have a characteristic pattern of poor phonological awareness, phono-
logical memory and rapid naming, there are significant overlaps between dyslexia and dyspraxia,
as well as other developmental disorders. Difficulties at any stage of information processing can
impact literacy development.
information holding information

input information output
when a strength becomes a problem

It is also important to recognise that a child may over rely on areas of strength and this can itself
become problematic. For example, a child with a great visual memory and good retention can build up a
vast bank of sight-words. This can lead to a delay in identifying them as having literacy difficulties, until
the point when they simply cannot learn sight-words fast enough to keep up.
areas of concern for children with literacy difficulties:
General
Grapheme-phoneme
Sequencing Cognitive Skills
Knowledge
Directionality Automaticity Visual Memory
Phonemic Spatial Awareness Processing Speed Auditory Memory
Awareness
Motor Skills Attention Retention
DEVELOPING A COGNITIVE PROFILE

Building up a profile of which particular areas a child is struggling with and which skills are
strengths for them will ensure that the programme you teach is tailored to that child’s needs.
Consider each of these areas in turn. Which areas are their strengths? Which are their weakness-
es? Use the tables on the following pages to guide your assessment. Formal assessment will not
provide all the information, you need to get to know the child well. Parents and teachers can
provide invaluable information at this stage.
Although this process may feel like an inefficient use of precious teaching time, getting to know
the child and how they think in depth will allow far more efficient programme delivery. The
programme can be structured in the way that is most accessible to that particular child. These
tables provide details of some of the most common consequences of areas of strength and
weakness. However, there will be others unique to the child you are working with.
DyslexicLogic© 7
grapheme-phoneme knowledge
area of strength area of weakness
indications − Will tell you all the sounds letters − Will substitute similar sounding letters, if using
make, but will not necessarily be auditory recall.
able to blend or segment them. − Will substitute similar looking letters, if using
visual recall.
suggestions − Use ‘hook words’ to help separate similar
sounding graphemes e.g. does it sound like /ĕ/
-egg or /ŭ/-up?
− Use visual images to separate out similar look-
ing letters, e.g. turn an ‘i’ into an insect and an
’e’ into an egg.
− avoid teaching capital letters and letter names
until after the basic grapheme-phoneme
knowledge is consolidated.
phonological awareness
indications − Will ‘hear’ each sound in a word − Will not hear each sound in a word. This may
clearly and be able to orally seg- be associated with speech and language diffi-
ment complex words including culties, and poor hearing (often caused by glue
sounds that they cannot spell. ear) in childhood.
− They may struggle with irregular − Speech may also be unclear.
words and continue to rely on − Dual language speakers sometimes have very
sounding out strategies when they specific difficulties hearing distinctions which
are not appropriate. are made in one language but not in another.
suggestions − Use visual cues to signal when − Work on oral segmentation targeting problem
words cannot be phonologically areas.
decoded, e.g. highlighting the − Work on distinguishing minimal pairs.
word in red. − Do mirror work looking at articulation and the
‘feel’ of the sound in the mouth, e.g. /s/ vs. /z/.
sequencing
indications − Will sequence accurately. Howev- − Will write down the correct letters in the wrong
er, they may make identification order and have difficulty with word reversals
errors that may hide their accu- and anagrams, e.g. ‘saw’ versus ‘was’ or ‘post’
rate sequencing. Watch the child versus ‘stop’.
write and ask them what letter − Often have poorly organized work.
they are writing to identify wheth-
er sequencing is an issue.
suggestions − Provide sequencing activities, e.g. give jumbled
letters and a target word for them to sequence.
− Encourage finger tracking when reading and
checking their writing.
− Use phoneme frames for word level work.
8 DyslexicLogic©
directionality
indications − Will show reversal difficulties in − Will read/write right to left at times.
line with their developmental − Will have difficulty with mirror image reversals
stage. Emergent writing often in- e.g. b-d.
cludes reversals and this is not a − May also flip letters horizontally, e.g. n-u.
sign of literacy difficulties. − May turn book pages from back to front.
suggestions − Have a letter frieze where all the letter-pictures
are facing/walking the same way along the line
e.g. a dinosaur and boot.
− Practice gross motor movement from left to
right – run/turn/swing in the direction they will
write. Then ask the child to draw an arrow on
the page before they start writing.
spatial awareness
indications − Work will be neat. Letters are regular and − Letter sizes may be irregular and words
well formed. Children may over focus on may not sit on the line.
this aspect, especially if praised for − Work is often messy.
appearance rather than content.
suggestions − Make sure they know that content is as − Handwriting paper can help with letter
important as appearance. formation and older children may benefit
from word processing their final copy.
− Touch typing skills should be developed.
motor skills
indications − Work that looks ‘neat’ can some- − Poor motor skills drain ‘processing’ space,
times disguise the extent of a making it more difficult to keep track of the
child’s difficulty. rest of the task.
suggestions − Use magnetic letters when teaching/practicing
new skills.
− Encourage fine motor skills practice that is sep-
arate from teaching input (e.g. threading,
drawing).
− Use a rubber pencil grip and larger line spacing
to develop writing skills.
automaticity
indications − Will need very little practice and − Will have to think about skills which have be-
can become bored easily. come second nature to other children. This
− They may still have poor reten- drains processing space for other tasks.
tion over longer time periods.
suggestions − Keep changing tasks even if the − Break down the tasks into component parts,
learning objective remains the e.g. do a story board to plan.
same. − Make a bank of topic words before writing.
− Check long term retention by re- − Have a clear task focus – e.g. ‘I’m just looking
turning to the objective at a later at handwriting/spelling/punctuation’, in order
time. to reduce overload.
DyslexicLogic© 9
processing Speed
indications − Children with a fast processing − May have difficulty processing everything be-
speed often rush through tasks. fore everyone else has moved on.
− They may not self-check, or com- − ‘thinking time’ is extended.
prehend what they have read. − May be thought of as having poor understand-
ing when they have good ability if given time.
suggestions − Teach strategies to slow down and − Give ‘thinking time’ and a longer wait time for
self-check. Give quality over answering questions.
quantity tasks. Differentiate be- − Do not be tempted to repeat instructions in dif-
tween ‘speed’ tasks and ‘careful’ ferent ways, allow time to process.
tasks. − Expect less output but move on once the child
understands.
attention
indications − Will ‘over attend’ and find it very − Children who ‘zone out’ or children who are ‘all
difficult to switch attention from over the place’ both have attention problems,
one task to another. although they show up very differently. Both
make it difficult to follow through a task.
suggestions − Be very clear about when a task − Fiddle toys can provide low-level stimulation
has changed. which can help some children focus.
− Provide practice switching be- − For children who ‘zone out’ maintain a high
tween tasks. Sorting activities level of child input/response to bring them
with three or more categories, back to task.
and multistage tasks provide − For children who are ‘all over the place’ provide
good attention switching practice. an ‘on task—off task’ button, so that they
‘save’ all their distractions until the end of the
task- and are given set time to go off topic.
− Children ADHD can benefit from a similar
‘button’ that they press to do physical exercise.
− Minimize distractions in the teaching environ-
ment.
cognitive skills (understanding)

indications − Children with good cognitive skills − May have difficulty with tasks with a high cog-
are often particularly frustrated if nitive load like focusing on planning, writing
they have poor literacy. Emotional and spelling concurrently, and with under-
and behavior problems may re- standing the more complex rules (e.g. dou-
sult. bling).
suggestions − Separate out the cognitive and − Break down work into manageable stages, e.g.
literacy elements of tasks as orally segment a word before writing it, say the
much as possible (e.g. give one sentence before writing it (hold a sentence ex-
mark for the ideas, and another ercises can be helpful for developing these
for the literacy skills if they are skills).
relevant)
10 DyslexicLogic©
auditory memory
indications − May remember things ‘word for
word’ without comprehending
them. − May forget a sound, word, sentence or instruc-
− May ‘parrot’ back rules/ spellings tion before they have time to process it.
without processing them.
suggestions − Use ‘stories’ to group together − Teach ways to ‘anchor’ a word or task, e.g.
words with a specific spelling pat- tapping out a word before writing it or mind
tern. mapping to get ideas down before writing.
− Encourage them to physically
show you an example to check
understanding.
visual memory
indications − Will develop a bank of sight read- − Visually similar letters will be very confusing
ing words. Development may stall e.g. ‘j’, ‘l’ and ‘i’.
when the rate of new word learn- − ‘Look-cover-write’ does not help.
ing suddenly increases in year 1 − Cannot rely on a word ‘looking’ correct, needs
or 2. to learn rules to apply instead.
− Can use ‘does it look right’ strate- − Will struggle with irregular words.
gies- remembering the ‘shape’ of
a word.
− Will manage to learn irregular
words without particular difficulty.
suggestions − Use nonsense words so that pho- − Identify which bit of an irregular word is irreg-
nological decoding and encoding ular (colour that part red).
skills MUST be used. − Teach ‘rules of thumb’ to help choose
− Use ‘pictures’ to group together between spelling patterns.
words with a specific spelling pat-
tern.
retention
indications − Will remember rules and graph- − Will forget what is taught. This may be sounds,
eme-phoneme correspondences grapheme-phoneme correspondences, letter
etc. formations, etc.
− May get into the habit of saying they don’t re-
member before they have tried.
− May recognize without recall.
suggestions − May still need to be explicitly − Focus on consolidating understanding before
taught rules that other children moving on.
extrapolate automatically − Revision is key.
− Get them to recall as much as possible, then
move back to recognition exercises.
− used staged prompts to encourage the child to
recall as much as they can.
DyslexicLogic© 11
SPELLINGS
If you want to give spellings then this also needs
to be built into the timetable. Personally I prefer setting phonics spelling tests
not to test spelling. However, if you need to give a
• Give children a target sound or grapheme
spelling test, choose any spellings which fit with
set to practice.
spelling patterns the child has already learnt, with • Communicate this to teaching partners
a focus on a specific target sound or spelling rule. (e.g. teachers, parents etc.), along with
The child should be able to apply their phonic example words.
skills to any word, and the emphasis needs to be • Ensure they understand that the children
applying skills not relying on memory. do not need to learn example words, just
practice listening to the word and seg-
The only SET spellings I would give are for high menting for spelling.
frequency non-decodable words, i.e. commonly • Give spellings that are not on the example
used words that cannot be sounded out. These word list. This ensures that you are testing
need to be ‘introduced’ gradually. They are usually skill rather than memory.
called red words or tricky words.
non-decodable high frequency spellings:

I would not begin to teach these words until the child is confidently reading and writing CVC words
independently. It is vitally important that the child understands the principle of grapheme-
phoneme correspondence well before we introduce exceptions. We want children to develop their
decoding/encoding skills rather than their memory skills. Introducing non-decodable words too
early can break this habit.
phase 2 phase 3 phase 4 phase 5
no (unstopped) he (unstopped) so (unstopped) oh

go (unstopped) she (unstopped) said their
I (unstopped) we (unstopped) have people
the me (unstopped) like Mr
put be (unstopped) do Mrs
to my (unstopped) some looked
into was come called
you were asked
they there could
all little
Words that are non- are one
her when
decodable at one point may out
become decodable later. what
Phase 2-5 high frequency ‘tricky’ (RED) words as listed by the document ‘Letters and Sounds:
principles and practice of high quality phonics’ 2007 (DfES). There are no tricky words for phase 1.
I suggest that these words are given to the child on a key-ring or bookmark as they are intro-
duced. The child can then access them as needed in their writing. When a word later becomes
‘decodable’ it can be removed from the key-ring. These words are often really difficult for children
with dyslexia to learn. If you are using a programme of decodable books to teach, then follow the
timing and order of words in that programme. This helps the children recognise the words in con-
text. Highlighting the tricky parts of the word in red can help children identify these are rote
memory learnt words.
Note: Some people argue that synthetic phonics does not work because there are so many irregu-
lar words in the language. Often this is because they have not identified all the regularities that do
exist. Looking at these lists it is clear that children can become competent and confident readers at
primary level without relying on a large bank of irregular non-decodable words. This is particularly
important for children with weak visual word memory skills, as is often found with dyslexia.
12 DyslexicLogic©
SIGHT-WORDS
THE PROBLEM WITH DOLCH SIGHT-WORD LISTS:
Children with literacy problems tend to fall into one of two camps—children who over rely on sight
-word memory and those who have very poor sight-word memory. These subtypes of dyslexia are
described as ‘phonological dyslexia’ and ‘surface dyslexia’.
good sight-word memory

In the case of a child who over relies on sight-word memory we are trying to move them away
from using rote memorization as a learning strategy. While this strategy can be very effective in
the early stages of literacy development, it is not effective in the later stages where the child
simply encounters too many words to rote learn them all.
If we rote teach Dolch Sight-Word Lists we are reinforcing a strategy that will be increasingly
ineffective for the child to use. While there are some non-decodable high frequency spellings that
will need to be taught, the vast majority of Dolch words are phonetically decodable and will soon
become so familiar that they will be read on sight anyway, without explicit teaching. They can be
decoded using the same phonics strategies as all other words encountered.
poor sight-word memory

In the case of a child who has poor sight-word memory they will struggle to learn words using rote
memory. While they may retain words for a short time, over the following weeks and months they
are likely to forget them again. Teaching strategies that focus on rote learning words are unsuc-
cessful with these children. Look-cover-write is particularly unhelpful.
If we rote teach Dolch Sight-Word Lists to these children we are training them to use a strategy
we know is ineffective for them. These children are most successful when encouraged to use
phonic decoding strategies as much as possible. Once again there are a small number of high
frequency non-decodable words in the Dolch Sight-Word Lists that will need to be explicitly taught
to the child. Using the red/tricky word strategies for identifying these non-decodable words will
help. However, the emphasis needs to be on teaching effective fluent phonic decoding rather than
trying to rote teach these exception words. For many children with poor sight-word memory these
high frequency non-decodable words will be very difficult to retain. As many words on the list
become decodable as the range of known spelling patterns is extended, it may be best to delay
introducing some words until this later stage is reached.
the reduction in sight-word memory as phonics learning progresses
dolch word list dolch word list
the up one here the up one here

to look my help to look my help
and is me make and is me make
a go big yellow a go big yellow
I we come two I we come two
you little blue play you little blue play
it down red run it down red run
in can where find in can where find
said we jump three said we jump three
for not away funny for not away funny
Early Readers Intermediate Readers

Red used to highlight spelling patterns and Red used to highlight spelling patterns and
digraphs that are not decodable for alphabetic digraphs that remain non-decodable at a later
readers. stage of reading
DyslexicLogic© 13
HANDWRITING
Handwriting is important because...

• Children will hide spelling uncertainties with indeterminate letters...is that an ‘a’ or an ‘e’?
• It is much more difficult for children to proof read their own work if the handwriting is illegible.
• When a child has to think about letter formation they have less brain space to think about other
things...like spelling.
• Poor handwriting can compound the sense of ‘being bad at literacy’.
• It is difficult for adults to read/correct/respond to work that is not readable.
perfect handwriting is not a priority

If a child arrives with readable handwriting with poor formation I recommend just
focusing on improving their reading and writing skills initially, even if their letter formation is
horrible. This is because changing bad handwriting is very hard to do and we want to reduce the
cognitive load the child is faced with. Once their reading and writing has significantly improved
then tackle their handwriting. It only needs to be addressed when moving from sentence level to
paragraph level work.
If a child arrives with unreadable handwriting and has poor motor skills I recommend us-
ing magnetic letters initially, so the focus can just be on word-building and spelling. I would then
teach basic un-joined pre-cursive writing. This is because this writing style requires least dexterity.
I would not move to pre-cursive script.
If a child arrives with unreadable handwriting and has good motor skills I recommend us-
ing magnetic letters initially, so the focus can just be on word-building and spelling. I would then
teach basic un-joined pre-cursive writing moving quickly to un-joined cursive. If there are indica-
tions that the child uses motor memory for spelling then, when the child is ready, I would move
them to a joined cursive script. This is because motor memory (the memory of how writing a word
feels) is thought to be stronger with joined writing and can help develop spelling skills.
If a child arrives with readable handwriting with good letter formation I do not recom-
mend trying to alter their handwriting unless the school has specific requirements that the child
cannot meet (e.g. handwriting must be joined). It is far more important to focus on developing
their reading and writing skills.
However, different schools have very different handwriting policies and it is important to take this
into account.
cursive versus printed handwriting

Talk it through. This is a conversation to have with the child.
1. Is it important to them to be able to write ‘joined up’? For some children it is like ‘chapter
books’...the holy grail of being literate.
2. What do they find easier to read, joined or un-joined writing? Readability from the child's
perspective is critical. And while lots of adults like children to use joined-up writing our choice
of book fonts suggests we actually prioritize clear unfussy lettering.
3. When a child is not sure of how to spell a word and they write it down two ways to check, are
they looking at the word to see if it is correct, or feeling if it is correct (using their motor
memory)? If they are using their motor memory then establishing good letter formation early
is important.
14 DyslexicLogic©
TEACHING USING PHONICS
phonics teaching– the basics
Phonics teaching just means teaching early literacy skills by focusing on phoneme and grapheme
relations, that is to say how sounds and letters relate to each other. Phonemes simply means
speech sounds, and graphemes is another word for letters.
In the English language there are times when this is quite simple, e.g. the word ‘cat’ has three
sounds- /c/ /a/ /t/, and three letters- c a t. However, there are some phonemes that we write using
more than one grapheme, and some graphemes that can represent more than one phoneme.
In English, one phoneme can be represent- and one grapheme can represent many
ed by many graphemes... phonemes.
i find
/ch/ cheese
y shy
/ī/ igh light
CH /k/ chemist
/sh/ chef
ie pie
This is what makes learning to read and write in English so hard, especially for children with
dyslexia. Children with an aptitude for literacy can often figure out the relationships between
graphemes and phonemes without much help. Children with literacy difficulties need these
associations to be specifically taught. While many schools now use phonics programmes children
with literacy difficulties continue to fail. This is not because phonics does not work. Often it is be-
cause children struggled to keep up, were overloaded, did not consolidate sufficiently, or lacked
the core perceptual skills to access what they were taught.
For example:
• A child who cannot hear the difference between /v/ and /f/ will not be able to learn the
grapheme phoneme correspondences, i.e. when to write the letter ‘v’ and when ‘f’.
• A child who does not have a strong visual memory will find it hard to distinguish between the
lower case letters ‘b’ and ‘d’ and other visually confusable letters.
• A child who has not understood that text flows left to right will find it hard to relate words to the
sounds heard.
By strengthening core perceptual skills, teaching alternative strategies and taking a synesthetic
approach the same phonics principles can be taught successfully.
the phonics debate—decoding versus reading

There is an argument that phonic teaching does not teach ‘reading’ as it focuses on being able to
correctly pronounce a word, irrespective of understanding that word or its wider context. Similarly
it teaches children to encode correctly, i.e. to spell accurately, with little emphasis on the broader
aspects of good writing.
I would suggest that many children with dyslexia have difficulties with precisely the encoding and
decoding aspects of literacy. Once this is tackled other aspects of literacy rarely prove
problematic. I would also suggest that for any child who finds literacy difficult ensuring that the
encoding and decoding aspects can be done without difficulty means that they have the ’brain
space’ to actually think about what they are reading and writing. This is why my initial focus with
any child, even one sent to me with reading comprehension difficulties would be on ensuring that
decoding and encoding skills are strong.
DyslexicLogic© 15
USING SYNTHETIC PHONICS
why the synesthetic learning programme uses synthetic principles
There are important differences between different types of phonics teaching. While many phonics
teachers do not recognise the importance of these differences, it actually has important
implications for children with literacy difficulties. As a teacher you need to be clear about these
differences because it means some phonics resources are incompatible with the Synesthetic Learn-
ing Programme.
phonics—analytics versus synthetics
Analytic Phonics works on the basis that children can extract patterns from words and word
groups, i.e. the children analyze the words. This approach focuses on word families, onset and
rime groups and initial and final consonant clusters. Children are trained to draw on their word
knowledge and contextual cues when reading.
Word Family -OP Initial constant cluster -ST Final consonant cluster -MP
top cop pop hop mop shop stop stick sting step stamp lump lamp clump chimp
Synthetic Phonics works on the basis that children are taught individual graphemes and then
taught to blend them together. i.e. they synthesize the word. Children are not taught word families
or consonant clusters. The only units of sound taught are individual phonemes.
sh + o + p
s s + t + a
s + m
s + p ch + i + m
s + s
p
While analytic phonics works extremely well for some more literacy-able children, it disadvantages
children who have cognitive difficulties, whether that be memory and retention issues, phonologi-
cal difficulties or processing speed issues. For instance:
• If a child is having to rote learn, the analytic method massively increases the number of dif-
ferent combinations to remember.
• If a child finds it hard to hear sounds in words, it is even harder if the sounds are taught
embedded in rime and consonant clusters.
• If a child has to focus hard on the word they are trying to decode, then additionally
processing word knowledge and context information may be counterproductive.
In my experience all children I have taught with SEN have responded best to a synthetic phonics
approach and that is why these principles are embedded in the Synesthetic Learning Programme.
EAL
Another major advantage of teaching using synthetic phonics is that it does not rely on pre-
existing word knowledge. While there is an important difference between reading (which suggests
understanding) and decoding (which does not), the core skills of decoding and encoding can be
taught even to children who are in the earliest stages of learning English. This ensures that their
core literacy skills are not held back by lack of vocabulary.
This is particularly important because often it is difficult to identify EAL learners with additional
literacy difficulties and therefore support is often delayed. Taking this approach means that
children learning English will access support that is appropriate for both EAL and SEN literacy support.
16 DyslexicLogic©
EMOTIONAL & BEHAVIORAL
NEEDS
i hate literacy!
You may be lucky and teach a child who loves literacy. However, by the time most children end up
getting literacy support they do not like literacy. For many, reading and writing are already
associated with ‘being stupid’, failure and public humiliation. Often having one-to-one support
confirms what the child already believes, that they are irredeemably terrible at reading and
writing. Overcoming this belief is more important than anything else you will do on this pro-
gramme. Ensuring the learning environment feels safe and supportive means that all the other
adults involved, teachers, teaching assistants and parents also need to be on board.
Getting the child onboard and engaged with the process is VITAL.
For some children this may mean working using tasks that are not perceived as ‘literacy’. For
other children it will mean getting the child to buy in to the programme, track their own progress
and by ensuring they see results quickly. Try to give the child a sense of control about how things
are approached. Ask them what they find helpful. Give the child choices and if at all possible in the
time available, a ‘pause’ button for when they need a break.
Remember that by the time this programme is being put in place the child may have
experienced daily failure…possibly for years.
Children respond to this is different ways. Some become extra good and very studious, but many
give up and are therefore labeled as lazy, or decide not to engage at all and therefore find literacy
boring. Others decide to be so disruptive no one will ever notice they are behind, or simply hope
to fade into the background by being invisibly quiet. You are likely to need to spend a significant
amount of time and energy addressing the emotional and behavioral needs of the child you are
teaching. This is not a distraction from the real ‘teaching’, it is equally important.
Recognize that these children may have to work VERY hard to achieve things which are
simple for other children. That can be frustrating and demoralizing for them.
Only give achievable tasks and keep a balance of independent and adult supported achievement.
Recognize small steps. PRAISE! My goal is to have each child leave every teaching session feeling
on top of the world. They should know exactly how much they have achieved and how important
that achievement is. You need to be delighted by their progress and excited when they are on the
edge of a breakthrough. Model the attitude which the child needs to have; endless patience, resili-
ence when mistakes are made and things forgotten, and an unerring belief that they will get there
in the end.
Hints and Tips
Avoid competition and social comparison.
children's version of fair
For children taught in group situations this means
giving separate tasks, rigging games, and giving group
Frame ‘fair’ as all having a chance of
goals. Children are very good a recognizing who is
‘better’ at something, and surprisingly good at accept- winning the game. It would not be fair if
ing different expectations if they are expressed clearly. it was really easy for one player and
For a child taught individually this means creating new really hard for another player. One
goals separate from classroom expectations, encourag- person would win every time and that
ing the child to track their progress on an individual
would be no fun at all. We have to find
level and creating challenges where they beat their old
time/record as their measure of success. rules that make it equally challenging
for both players. Children are better at
AVOID BOREDOM AT ALL COSTS! accepting this than adults. e.g.,
If the child is working at the right level i.e. at the very
‘You have been learning that spelling for
edge of what he/she can do with adult support, then
they should not be bored. Try to vary the input-output longer so you give me two words when
style even if the same skills are being practiced time you have a go, and he will give me one’.
and again. Adapt your teaching to the child's needs. For
instance for a child with high energy and a low ‘I think five letter words will be
attention span this will mean lots of quick activities with challenging for you, and three letter
physical responses. If a child hates doing something words will be challenging for him’.
and there is another way to reach the same goal, then
change the activity.
DyslexicLogic© 17
MAKING 1-1 COUNT
accelerated learning
Our goal is for a child to ‘catch up’ with their peers. This actually means that the child has to make
more progress than the rest of the class. This would be hard for any child but is a big ask for a
child who in previous years has consistently made LESS progress than the rest of the class.
Progress of typical Nursery/ Reception/

K Year 1 Year 2
child Pre-K
Progress of typical Nursery/ Reception/

K Year 1 INTERVENTION
dyslexic child Pre-K
how we accelerate learning
learning needs -using very precise assessment of the child's needs and readiness to learn
-increasing the effectiveness of teaching and learning by matching to the

learning style
child’s optimum learning style
fine tuning -matching input to the child’s needs much more precisely– word by word
-breaking down each task into micro-steps and structuring support for each
tiny steps
step
-recognising every step forward, however small and the effort it takes to
praise
keep trying when you do not move forward
-increasing engagement by Hints and Tips

engagement
having achievable goals and
level interpret behavior carefully
accessible tasks
I had a student who turned away and

reframe -recognising avoidant behav- kicked his heels before most activities. It
behaviour iour for what it is took me far too long to realize that he was
actually giving himself thinking time. Once
-avoiding activities linked to we talked about it and agreed an ‘I’m
trigger
avoidance stress e.g. reading a book, or thinking’ signal that was more appropriate
writing on a blank page the problem was solved.
There is little more soul destroying for a child than discovering they are really bad at something no
matter how hard they try. For children with literacy difficulties this is their reality. Children tend to
respond in one of two ways: 1. give up and play-up 2. compensate by being a ‘good’ child, trying
to rote learn, copy or take any other cues available to guide them. Both tend to be avoidant of
literacy tasks they dislike.
All of us have things we are not great at, but for these children it is the one thing they will do
every day of their school days, and for which they are judged, often daily. The association between
literacy activities and shame and embarrassment can be hard to break. Go easy, build trust and
teach the ok-ness of making mistakes. This programme is as much about providing psychological
support as about the teaching input. Teaching resilience, persistence, and developing self-belief is
key to progress.
18 DyslexicLogic©
BEGINNING THE PROGRAMME
including assessment at every stage assessment with children:
Children are interested in their learning and in their Focus on very specific difficulties, and en-
brains. If you explain in child friendly language what sure the children can articulate what the
you are doing and why, it makes assessment some- problem is, e.g.,
thing which is understandable and which can be
shared. Formative assessment can be developed − These are the letters I find hard to write...
with the child as part of each session. − I can’t hear the difference between /u/ and /
e/ easily.
− I find it hard to remember which words are
What do you think you got better at today? spelled ‘EE’ and which ‘EA’.
What do you think you still need to practice?
What do you think you know SO well we don’t need This makes the problem manageable and
to practice it for a while? shifts them away from a feeling that they
are globally ‘bad’ at literacy.
precision planning
Each lesson will provide feedback that will ‘plan’ the next lesson. You cannot teach this programme
and ‘plan for the week’. However, you should have precise knowledge of what the next steps are
for the child you are teaching. The success of this programme depends on constantly teaching at
the top of a child’s ability and never doing things they can already do. Within the session maintain
complete flexibility and be responsive to the child’s needs. Be precise about the child’s skill level
and next steps become obvious. Use these three steps to guide your planning.
current next supporting

competency steps activities
examples of using the three stage planning in practice

current competency next step supporting activities
i.e. what the child can do and i.e. what they i.e. identify activities that focus on
how much support they need need to be able strengthening that specific skill/building
to do it to do next that knowledge
The child knows the sounds Activities to strengthen grapheme recogni-

and gestures for /b/ and /p/ Identify tion, such as phoneme spotter activities,
and can match them to their ‘b’ & ‘p’ ‘b’ & ‘p’ word sorts. Activities to increase
picture, but struggles to consistently in reading independence such as creating a
differentiate between them in text. ‘b’ & ‘p’ bookmark using the sound-card
text. images made by the child.
The child can identify initial Activities where the child has to recognize
and end sound in CVC words, Identify the and then identify CVC medial vowels, with
but finds medial vowels hard, medial vowels a focus on the distinction between /ĕ/
particularly the distinction be- in CVC words. and /ĭ/, such as word-picture sorts, mini-
tween /ĕ/ and /ĭ/. mal pair work, and CVC word chains.
Activities to build automaticity in doubling

The child can understand dou- Apply rule spelling application e.g. proof reading
bling rules (e.g. hoping vs.
doubling rules to correct doubling rule errors and quick
hopping) but does not apply
them without prompting. automatically. fire doubling rule games (such as buzzer
games).
DyslexicLogic© 19
TEACHING SESSION FORMAT
teaching format
Every session should cover:
1. Revision of core concepts

2. Revision of last concept(s) taught
3. Introduction of new concept if ready
4. Consolidation of new concept oral oral
segmenting blending
Play to the child's strongest suit-

Children tend to find either segmenting or blend-
ing easier. This often then translates into finding
either decoding (reading) or encoding (writing) text text
easier. Use the stronger skill first when introduc- segmenting blending
ing challenges, e.g. begin working on initial
consonants using blending with a child who finds i.e. encoding/ i.e. decoding/
blending easier than segmentation. writing reading
If there is not an obvious strength then segmenting using word-building is usually the most
productive activity initially. This is because most children can identify initial and final sounds
before they can identify medial vowel sounds. Word-building using magnetic letters allows children
to identify sounds in a more natural order.
using non-words
Use a combination of real and non-words when you are teaching. This will check that the child is
not rote learning words. It is very important that children are using their sounding out skills
rather than relying on a memory bank of words, as relying on memory will limit capacity later.
Using nonsense words will ensure that they really are using their decoding skills.
BUT– make it clear they are not real words. Call them alien words, made-up words or nonsense
words.
Hints and Tips When using non-words ensure they follow the rules of English as
we need the child to internalise these rules even when they are
having consistent not taught explicitly. They should only include combinations that
support is vital are possible in the English language. This means you need to be
careful if using external resources.
Work as a team! Children
learn literacy skills with the
support of many different does not work as a non-word because English words
paj never end in the letter ‘j’.
adults. Ensure that other
teachers, teaching assistants
and parents, know how the does not work as a non-word as the ’ay’ spelling
child is learning and w h at gayl
does not appear in the middle of base words.
the child is learning. Make
sure language used is con- does not work as a non-word as the ’tch’ spelling
sistent and follow the laitch
only follows short vowels.
school's lead on terminology
20 DyslexicLogic©
PLANNING
teaching plans
Every session needs a session plan. Even though you will often need to revise this midsession it is
still an essential part of your teaching. It ensures you think about the pacing of activities, the
incremental next steps, and enables you to prepare your resources and have them ready.
• Plan you sessions in detail including the approximate time you want to spend on each exer-
cise.
• Prepare resources and have them laid out before you start.
• Always include prompt word lists for activities in your planning. It is amazing how much
time can be lost as you think of suitable words for a game or activity.
• Maintain lesson format and adapt games to fit the teaching content so you do not need to
spend time teaching games or explaining what will happen next.
• Annotate each plan to reflect what you did and how long it took as you go along.
• Fill in details of outcomes by recording how each activity went and give examples as you
go along.
It is very unlikely the child you teach will have the amount of 1-1 time they really need. This
means you have to make every minute count.
example timetable for a 1 hour 1-1 session
area of
time activity outcome
development
Speed Sound Activity:
Grapheme/phoneme Check gesture and sound recall for letter prompts
5 min.
correspondence using alphabet sound-cards.
3 Minute Read:
5 min. Decoding/fluency Read phonetically decodable book that has been
practiced at home this week
Teaching new Spelling Focus: ‘sh’
5 min. phoneme-grapheme Introduce new sound /sh/, along with the picture
link and gesture prompts..
Word-Picture Sort: ‘sh’
Decoding new Provide initial ‘sh’ and initial ‘s’ word-pictures to
10 min. sort into the correct groups.
grapheme
(Format– circle sort)
Break-
Phoneme Spotter Activity: ‘sh’
Identifying new
3 min. Find in new book decodable book and highlight
grapheme in text
‘sh’ (timed).
3 Minute Read: New book– focusing on ‘sh’
5 min. Decoding/fluency Include tricky word recap and intro of new tricky
words.
Hook Picture Activity: ‘sh’
Encoding using new Draw picture of all the initial ‘sh’ words the child
15 min.
grapheme can generate.
(format—flipchart and marker pens)
Nonsense Word Work: ‘sh’
Sounding and Build nonsense words using magnetic letters. If
5 min.
Blending possible extend to final sound in CVC words.
− Photocopy hook picture so one can be kept in
Recap of main class and one sent home.
5 min. − Practice new tricky words.
learning
− Cover any speed sounds to recap.
Resources:
Alphabet picture-letter sound-cards. Copy of 3 minute read book. Large magnetic ‘sh’ grapheme.
Pictures of initial ‘s’ and ‘sh’ words. Highlighters. Copy of ‘sh’ 3 minute read book. Coloured
markers and flipchart. Magnetic letters and board including ‘sh’ grapheme, ‘shVC’, ‘shVC’ and
‘CVsh’ word lists for real and nonsense words.
DyslexicLogic© 21
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
PART 1– THE ALPHABET

stage 1 phonemic awareness 21
This stage focuses on how to say the sounds in the English language clearly and
accurately. It considers which phonemes children find hardest to hear and say and
includes exercises for strengthening these skills.
• Stage 1 activities: Developing Phonemic Awareness
stage 2 grapheme phoneme correspondence 26
This stage focuses on learning to associate sounds with their letter shapes. It focuses
on minimal pair work, with pairs of sounds that are difficult to tell apart, and pairs of
letters that are visually similar.
• Minimal Pairs
• Stage 2 activities: Grapheme-phoneme correspondence
• Fonts and letter formation
Stage 3 introducing CVC words 31
This stage focuses on very early blending and segmenting skills. It considers initial
and final consonant sounds in the context of three letter words that follow a
consonant-vowel-consonant pattern.
• Stage 3 activities: Initial and final consonants in CVC words
stage 4 short vowels— A I O 33
This stage focuses on identifying which letters of the alphabet are vowels. It focuses
on three short vowels a, i, and o in the middle position in CVC words.
• Vowels and Consonants
• Stage 4 activities: focus on a, i, and o medial vowels in CVC words.
• Reading books and introducing non-decodable words.
stage 5 introducing consonant clusters 41
This stage introduces initial and final consonant clusters. It considers the order in
which sounds should be introduced, and the critical articulatory differences between
different consonant clusters.
• Stage 5 activities: Consonant Clusters in CCVC and CVCC words
stage 6 more short vowels— E and U 46
This stage continues to build on medial vowel knowledge, focusing on the e and u
vowels. It provides consolidation work on basic alphabetic phonic knowledge and
moves towards sentence building work.
• Stage 6 activities: Simple sentence level
every child starts at the beginning

Following assessment every child starts at Stage 1 and progresses through the stages at an
individual pace. An able 11 year-old child may move from Stage 1 to stage 6 in a week. A six year-
old may spend several months focusing on Stage 1. By working through the whole programme you
are checking for gaps in their learning and making sure you develop a shared language for talking
about words. This process is vital to ensure you do not miss any underlying difficulties.
22 DyslexicLogic©
STAGE 1: PHONEMIC AWARENESS
articulation
It is essential that children can articulate sounds clearly and cleanly. This means that as their
model it is important you are providing clear examples. Make sure you know how to pronounce each
sound perfectly. The most common error is to place a vowel sound after a consonant. Ensure short
sounds are short and long sounds are long. It is often helpful to slightly over emphasize the defining
features of a sound when initially teaching sound differentiation, particularly for those sounds that
are ‘minimal pairs’, i.e. have few contrastive differences in relation to place, manner and voice), or
do not have external cues to lip-read. If you are unclear about how to pronounce any of the pho-
nemes please access the ‘gesture videos’ online which include a clear pronunciation of each sound.
sound contrasts
Contrast these sounds for place of articulation and voicing. These are the sounds hardest to
pronounce clearly, and most difficult for children to differentiate aurally.
Hints and Tips

f th For a /th/ hold a mirror, you how to support
should see your tongue phonemic differentiation
between your teeth.
Mirrors
f v Ask the child to look at your mouth
when you articulate a sound. Provide
them with a mirror so they can see the
physical differences in what their mouth
For a /p/ place your hand in
is doing. This is particularly important
front of your mouth, you for the /m/-/n/ distinction and the
p b should feel a blast of air. /f/-/th/ distinction.
Bouncy and stretchy sounds

Be clear about which sounds are
‘bouncy’ and which are ‘stretchy’. When
s z you articulate sounds some sounds are
For a /g/ place your hand on continuous, e.g. /s/, while others are
your voice box, this indicates much shorter, e.g. /t/. By referring to
the sound should be voiced. these as ‘stretchy’ and ‘bouncy’ and
highlighting these differences you are
t d building children’s awareness of the
characteristics of different sounds.
For a /n/ place your finger Quiet and loud sounds

across your teeth, this high- Some sounds are voiced and some are
k g lights that your lips must be
parted.
unvoiced. By focusing on this, the
auditory differences between sounds
like /g/ and /k/ are much clearer.
ch sh phonemic differentiation difficulties

Some children find it very hard to hear the difference between
different sounds, or to articulate the difference between particular
sounds. For those phonemic distinctions that a child finds particularly
m n ng difficult use hand gestures to remind them of the critical difference
between sounds. Some children will need to learn all the hand
gestures, others may only need a couple Use the Gesture Videos
online and adapt gestures to highlight articulation differences in
these cases. For example touch the tip of the tongue for the /th/
l r w gesture, or bring the hand to the throat for the /g/ gesture.
DyslexicLogic© 23
STAGE 1: ACTIVITIES
focus on phonemic awareness
Any activity where the child focuses on the sounds they hear will strengthen phonemic awareness. Only
practice those sounds a child finds difficult or they will quickly get bored. Many of the games at this
level are aimed at younger learners. Adapt them to suit the needs of older learners if necessary.
Hints and Tips

high energy low energy
Remember the activities provided are only ex-
amples. Adapt everything to the needs of the easily distracted great concentration
child. The type of activities they respond to best
easily discouraged can persevere
will depend on their individual skills but also on
their temperament. self conscious uninhibited
using the sound-cards example sound-card activities

It is critical that children develop their Children need to become very familiar with the
memory of the ‘hook’ words that provide sound-card and their associated hook words. Avoid
the prompt for the sound and later for the using the soundcards as flashcards as it quickly be-
shape of the letter.
comes boring.
For phonemic awareness activities we do
not present letter shapes. This is so the Scatter Search - Scatter the cards around the
focus is entirely on sounds. Sound-cards room, picture-side up and ask the child to retrieve
are presented picture-side up with no specific sound-cards by providing the sound. Have a
words showing. Focus on the relationship drop-off point and go fast.
between the picture and sound e.g. /a/ in
‘apple’. It is important that the child can Turn the Table - Place rows of cards picture-side up
correctly identity the hook word for each on the table and ask the child to voice the sound you
card and pronounce it correctly, along with point to. Turn the card over only when the child gets
the associated sound when shown the
sound-card, before focus shifts to skills it correct. When they make an error,
like letter recognition or formation. correct them but do not turn the card over. Return to
it later. See if they can turn all the cards.
teaching sound-gestures example sound-gesture activities

For beginning learners explicitly teach the Sound Dancing - ‘Dance’ using the phonics ges-
gesture associated with each sound as it is tures. The child makes the accompanying sound.
introduced. As the picture and gesture are Then reverse the roles. Next, reverse the process so
closely related this does not give children
‘more to learn’. Rather, a stronger that you make the sound and the child makes the
memory trace will be left by integrating movement. Reverse the roles again. Increase the
multi-sensory cues at the time of learning speed. Make errors and let the child correct you.
For older learners teach single-handed Give Me a… - Place some CVC picture-cards on the
discreet versions for just those distinctions table. Make a sound-gesture. The child says the
they find difficult.
sound and then finds a picture beginning with that
Practice the gestures yourself until they sound. This can be extended to include final sounds.
become automatic. Where children find it
hard to hear the differences between sounds What's My Word? - Hide a CVC picture-card. Act
use gestural prompts to support their listen- out the gestures for the picture. Ask the child to get
ing and to give them options, e.g., the sounds that match your actions. Arrange them in
order with the child. Say the sounds in turn and
‘Is it /th/ in thank -show /th/gesture
slowly blend them. The child listens for when they
or /f/ in flower?’ -show /f/ gesture can hear the word. They then turn over the CVC
picture-card to see if they got it right.
24 DyslexicLogic©
teaching sound recognition example sound recognition
activities
The child needs to be able to recognize
sounds. They will move through distinct
stages when hearing and identifying a Sound-Gestures - say a sound and the
sound: child performs the matching action. Then reverse so
you make a gesture and the child responds with the
• in isolation
sound. Focus on minimal pairs and build up speed.
• at the beginning of a word
This can also be done with the initial sound of whole
• at the end of a word
• embedded in a word words.
However, some sounds are easier to per- Clap If You Hear a… - say a string of words to the
ceive and differentiate. Make sure you are
child. Ask them to clap whenever they hear the
focusing on those sounds the child is find-
ing it hard to distinguish. target sound. Focus on the initial sound in the word.
Make this more challenging by adding more rules
listening versus speaking e.g., ‘clap if you hear /a/, click your fingers if you
Children may initially find it necessary to hear /k/’.
listen to you saying the word/sound first
while watching your mouth. I Spy … - give children a selection of pictures show-
ing CVC words. Ask them to find a pictures starting
Encourage the child to say the target
words out loud and to listen for the with the target sound. e.g. ‘I spy something begin-
sounds. Older children may have got used ning with /a/, can you find it?’. As children progress
to using ‘inner speech’ (saying the words ask them to find words ending with the target letter.
in their heads) but this means they are
missing out on articulatory and aural feed-
Odd One Out – give children three pictures, two of
back.
which begin with the same sound. They find the odd
By moving the child towards saying the one out. Slowly increase the number of detractor
target word themselves to pick out the cards and target sound-cards. Use phoneme pairs
sounds you are teaching them a skill they
can use independently. that the child finds difficult to distinguish.
teaching sound production example sound production activities

Focus on saying sounds clearly. Pick up on Pass the Sound – pass a ball back and forth, each
key features of different sounds. These saying a word to make an alliterative word string.
can be visual differences, articulatory dif- E.g. six sick sausages sizzled silently. This is called a
ferences and the sensation the sound
makes in your mouth, e.g. the buzzing ‘silly sentence’. Make long sentences.
sensations of /v/ or /z/. Postman – the child ‘posts’ the sound-cards
Mirror work—use individual mirrors when providing an initial-letter matching word for each
discussing sounds with visual differences card. The adult provides the sound and the child
e.g. finds the corresponding card, e.g. the adult says /b/
/m/ - your lips are closed e.g. ‘map’ - the child finds the /b/ card, says ‘broomstick’ and
/n/ - your lips are parted e.g. ‘nap’ posts the card.
/w/ - your lips ‘kiss’ e.g. ‘wig’ Sound Charades – act out an activity and place the
/r/ - your lips relax e.g. ‘rig’ relevant initial sound-card so it is hidden. The child
has to guess the activity, say what they think it is and
Hints and Tips provide the initial sound with its action. They check if
Make sure you pronounce the sounds they are correct by seeing if the sound-card matches.
cleanly and clearly. However, be very Sound Stories and Pictures – Give a setting such
careful that when you emphasize features as a kitchen, or a wood. The child then has to tell or
you do not distort the sound or change draw what might be in that place beginning with a
what your mouth does naturally. For in- target letter. If they are too slow, you can draw for
stance, children are sometimes taught that them. Alternatively, provide a choice of words and
the teeth are like ‘rabbit teeth’ for the /f/ ask which should be included in the picture because
sound. While this helps with pronunciation they begin with the target sound, e.g. Willow Wood
it is not the movement we make in natural might contain; ‘wind’, ‘wild’, ‘weasel’ and ‘wolves’ but
speech. would not have ‘rabbits’ or ‘leaves’ in it.
DyslexicLogic© 25
teaching oral blending and example oral blending and
segmenting segmenting activities
Oral blending and segmenting is the basis While the key skill of blending and
of being able to read and write. Children segmenting stays the same, you can
with literacy difficulties have often moved maintain interest by changing the format.
far beyond these basic skills in their
lessons, but have fundamental problems Sound Circles - use coloured counters to represent
splitting words into their constituent single phonemes-
sounds, or blending sounds together to
make a word. • Blending - Place one counter at a time, saying the
sound for each counter. Ask the child to blend
blending segmenting them into a word.
• Segmenting - Give the child a word, ask them to
put the sounds on the sound counters one sound
at a time.
reading writing It’s a Numbers Game - Place number tiles on the

ground. The child starts on zero and jumps forward
saying each sound in turn. Check the number of
Ensuring these basic skills are well devel- sounds in the word by looking at the number they
oped and fluent allows children to focus on
are stood on.
higher level skills. For instance reading
comprehension can improve as a result of Race Track - Use a simple game board and a pack
strengthening these underlying skills. of two, three and four sound word-pictures. Take
turns to turn over a picture card. Each person sounds
out their word and then moves their counter forward
one place for each sound in their word.
hearing versus perceiving

perceptual differences
There is nothing wrong with the hearing of
children with dyslexia. Their hearing would This can be likened to someone who finds
appear normal on any hearing test (unless it difficult to distinguish between similar
they have comorbid hearing difficulties!). How- colours or to perceive colour boundaries
ever, many dyslexia children have difficulty easily, or someone who is tone deaf and
differentiating between sounds, and perceiving cannot hear the difference between similar
the boundaries between speech sounds. musical notes.
This is not a hearing difficulty but a perceptual difficulty, called poor phonemic awareness. Poor
phonemic awareness is one of the main indicators that literacy difficulties are caused by dyslexia.
While this does not effect speech it has a huge impact on reading and writing as these are ana-
lysed as discrete units of sound. Understanding the relationship between speech sounds and let-
ters is critical to becoming literate.
However this is subtle and complex distinc-

tion to appreciate. It is much simpler to the evolution of dyslexia
talk about ‘hearing’ the sounds and
‘listening’ carefully. Really we are strength- My understanding is that there have always been
ening the phonological perception skills of people with poor phonological awareness, as there
these children. Teaching children to is variety in any trait in the human population. It is
become aware of the articulatory differ- only as reading and writing became an increasingly
ences between sounds means that even if a important part of our culture that having a pro-
phonological distinction is difficult children cessing weakness in this very specific area became
can ‘feel’ the difference between sounds. problematic. When this problem is extreme or com-
pounded by other factors such as poor phonological
memory or poor rapid retrieval it effects children's
As teachers we need to be aware
ability to acquire literacy skills. We have labelled
of this distinction.
these children ‘dyslexic’.
26 DyslexicLogic©
poor phonological awareness
A child with poor phonological awareness may still struggle with particularly tricky
sound distinctions. Once these have been identified and focused work has been done to
address these difficulties, move on even if the problem is not entirely resolved.
This is because for some children these will never be completely resolved. I have seen children in
secondary school who still cannot reliably distinguish between short vowel sounds. However, these
are much harder to differentiate than later taught sounds, in fact they are the most difficult for
almost all children and adults. By moving on but continuing to review difficult sounds the child can
see their progress in other areas, which is very important for motivation.
accents and dialects

There can be interactions with other languages spoken, and even with regional accents, for
instance /j/ with /z/, /th/ with /d/. There are conflicting arguments about whether these should be
‘corrected’ or not. I tend to refer to a ‘reading voice’ where everything is correctly articulated. This
is simply because this helps later with spelling.
This is different from mispronunciations where a child has simply misheard, for example children
who say ‘duce’ for ‘juice’, or ‘dwiver’ for ‘driver’. These I explain and correct.
individual differences
Speech and language difficulties, hearing problems and glue ear can also impact upon children’s
phonological awareness and pronunciation. Often children with resolved SLD go on to be identified
as dyslexic. Generally it is their phonological awareness that causes them most difficulty, so you
may need to focus on this area.
Do not move on until the child can confidently orally blend and segment CVC words.
Many children quickly move beyond this and will be able to blend and segment much longer words
early in their literacy development. However, for many children with literacy difficulties it is with
these core skills of blending and segmenting where they lack fluency and automaticity. If the child
makes medial vowel errors and some sound confusion errors you can still continue, but if they
fundamentally do not understand the process of blending or segmenting then slow down and keep
practicing.
DyslexicLogic© 27
STAGE 2: GRAPHEME– PHONEME
CORRESPONDENCE
teaching order
This teaching order has been chosen to give children access to the
s a t
most common letters first and opportunities for CVC word-building
as early as possible.
Progress through:
sound-picture cards
• Sound recognition
For beginner learners teach ges-
• Self-generated words ture and picture associations.
• Letter recognition For more advanced learners
• Word-letter links teach these associations for
• Production those sounds that are not
securely learnt.
b f
phonics terminology
Some schools prefer to use the more technical terms when
teaching sound work. Most children pick these terms up quickly
and it means you can be more precise when making distinctions,
e.g. ‘is it a digraph or a consonant cluster?’ Other schools prefer
the less formal sounding ‘letter’ and ‘blend’. Be led by school
practice as consistency should be the guiding principle.
A single speech sound

phoneme = E.g. the /a/ sound in the word ‘cat’
grapheme = The letter(s) that represents a phoneme*

E.g. the letter ‘a’ in the word ‘cat’
digraph = Two letters that make one sound

E.g. the letters ‘ck’ in the word‘kick’
consonant
digraph
= Two consonants that make one sound
E.g. the letters ‘sh’ in the word ‘ship’
vowel
digraph = Two vowels that make one sound
E.g. the letters ‘ea’ in the word ‘clean’
trigraph = Three letters that make one sound

E.g. the letters ‘igh’ in the word ‘night’
medial
vowel
= A vowel in the middle of a word
E.g. the letters ‘ee’ in the word ‘seen’
initial consonant
cluster = 2+ consonants at the beginning of a word.
E.g. the letters ‘sp’ in the word ‘spit’
final consonant
cluster = 2+ consonants at the end of a word
E.g. the letters ‘mp’ in the word ‘lamp’
* This can include graphemes such as ou or igh where multiple letters represent a single phoneme.
28 DyslexicLogic©
MINIMAL PAIRS
During this stage you will still need to focus on minimal pairs. Begin phonemic awareness games
with the initial sound distinctions and move to final sound distinctions. Later, when the child has
mastered these, include sounds that are the second sound in initial consonant clusters, and then the
first sound in final consonant clusters. By the time the child is able to identify the sounds embedded
in a consonant cluster they will be skilled at oral segmenting. This is a core skill for learning to spell.
pat top plum wasp spit kept
examples of consonant phonemic distinctions a child may find difficult:
/t/ /d/ /k/ /g/ /b/ /p/
tie die cut gut bit pit

tent dent cold gold big pig
tear deer coat goat bin pin
Initial Sound Focus tummy dummy cave gave bat pat
Final Sound Focus bat bad muck mug cub cup
cart card lock log cab cap
hit hid flock flog tab tap
kit kid sack sag cob cop
examples of vowel phonemic distinctions a child may find difficult:
Minimal vowel pairs are /ă/ /ŭ/ /ĭ/ /ē/ /ĭ/ /ĕ/
some of the most diffi-
cult distinctions to make.
hat hut ship sheep tin ten
Remember to articulate
the words clearly when track truck pick peak pin pen
modelling them for the cat cut grin green big beg
learner.
ham hum fit feet pig peg
visually confusable pairs

As the child is introduced to more letter shapes it may be that some visually confusable letters
begin to cause problems. Make sure you use the sound-card images and relate the shape of the
image to the shape of the letter. This can be reinforced by asking the child to draw their own ver-
sion of the letter picture on to a letter outline, e.g. drawing a tiger over an outline of the letter t.
Choose fonts carefully when preparing resources so that letter shapes are consistent and non-
reversible. Letter shapes should be as visually dissimilar as possible initially, slowly increasing the
variety of fonts the child is familiar with once they have more secure letter recognition skills. These
letter pairs are usually the most troublesome:
b d p q u n i j
DyslexicLogic© 29
STAGE 2: ACTIVITIES
Children entering this programme have often had a negative experience of learning to read and
write. By focusing purely on sound level and then letter level work we give them an opportunity
to succeed and to focus on activities they may not perceive as ‘literacy’. Even word level work is
often not perceived as reading and writing which they perceive themselves as ‘bad’ at.
Make sure that children can reliably say the sounds that letters make. Focus on the sounds
MUCH more than the names. For children with poor retention it may be best not to refer to letter
names at all at this stage. NEVER spell a decodable word using the letter names. Avoid spelling
out words that are not phonetically decodable…when you have to, point out that ‘this is a funny
bit…that letter isn’t making the right sound’.
Early in the process start making and reading words. Model ‘the sound out and blend’ approach.
Do not ask the child to contribute more than the sounds until they begin identifying letters with-
out prompting.
Independent writing at this stage should be showing an awareness of initial and ending conso-
nants in CVC words, and some salient sounds in longer words.
teaching letter recognition example letter recognition activities

Initially when teaching letter recognition Pop-up Toaster – Hide letters behind a board and
work with materials that use a font as slowly partly reveal them. The child has to say the
similar as possible to the one you will be sound as soon as possible.
teaching as the handwriting font. Some
letters have very different formations What’s in the Bag? – Take a feely-bag full of let-
depending on their script. e.g. ters (wood or magnets). The child tries to identify
the letter before pulling it out of the bag to see if
they were correct.
k k g g Sound-Card Frenzy – Flash two cards that are difficult
to distinguish very fast (e.g. ’u’ and ‘n’) and ask the
a a q q child to provide the letter sound, add in other cards un-

til there are 7 cards the child finds difficult to automati-
cally recognise. Build speed. Use a stopwatch to time
Ensure the child is very familiar with winning streaks if the child enjoys timed challenges.
standard handwriting formation before you
introduce alternative formations in letter Squares - This is an orientation game where letters
recognition work. are presented on squares in the wrong orientation.
The child ‘fixes’ the letters as fast as possible and
Try to use a single font that is suitable for hits a buzzer to indicate they are all correct.
dyslexic learners when initially introducing
letter formations. There are specialist fonts Phoneme Spotters - This can be any text where
available including the freely available the child is asked to identify single letters. Ask them
‘DyslexicLogic Font’. to highlight the target letter(s).
teaching word-letter links example word-Letter Link activities

Once children can orally segment a word Letter-Picture Matching - Give the child initial
we need them to begin linking this to their letters to match with word-pictures.
letter recognition skills. This begins with
Run to the… – Place alphabet cards around a space,
initial letter activities.
when the child hears a word they run to the letter it
Make sure the child does not revert to begins with.
‘guessing games’ at this stage. Keep bring-
Roll-a-Letter Dice – The child names as many things
ing them back to what they can hear.
beginning with that letter as they can. Rig the dice so
Focus on repetition as we want to build
they practice letters they find difficult to recognize.
automaticity.
30 DyslexicLogic©
FONTS AND LETTER FORMATION
There is a firm connection between written letter formation and the fonts used in teaching and
learning resources. We are encouraging children to build strong visual and sensory images of let-
ter shape when we teach letter recognition activities. Keeping letter shape recognition
consistent with letter formation (i.e. basic handwriting) will help the child make this transition
smoothly.
Children with dyslexia often find sequencing difficult and have a poor spatial awareness and poor
sense of directionality. They may also have poor motor skills and can be slow to built
automaticity. All of these issues make developing good letter formation more difficult. Work on
strengthening those aspects of letter formation that are hindering clear handwriting.
Use verbal sequences to support handwriting e.g. ‘start at the tiger’s head, go
sequencing down to his toes and across his arms’. Ensure that when you model writing you
keep to the correct sequence of strokes.
Have conversations about where a letter sits on the line and how big letters are
spatial in relation to other letters. Practice putting magnetic letters in the correct
awareness position on the line before moving on to handwriting-lined paper. Use visual
prompts in the classroom.
Using gross motor movement helps children ‘feel’ which way a letter is formed, so
directionality practice writing letters as big as possible. Use handwriting prompts with clear
starting points and direction arrows for independent work.
motor Fine motor skills can be strengthened using pencil grip activities, such as tracing
skills and painting, along with other fine motor activities like threading and pegboards.
Provide handwriting time where the focus is on repetition. Boredom can be

automaticity avoided by reading a story or playing music while the child practices the formations.
fonts Hints and Tips
Comic Sans is the font most often used when producing when bad handwriting
teaching and learning materials for early readers. This is is a sign of hard work
because it is similar to handwriting script. However, its
Often parents and teachers associate
simplicity means that it is not ideal for many children with
bad handwriting with children being
dyslexia as the letters are visually similar and reversible.
lazy or sloppy. However, the truth
Calibri and Arial are also clear simple fonts but again they
may be the exact opposite. When a
are highly reversible. The letter pairs— ‘n-u’, ‘b-d’, ‘p-q’
child is presented with a challenging
are often problematic for children learning using these
task they may be thinking extremely
scripts. They also have a letter ‘a’ formation rarely taught
hard about that task, for instance
in school handwriting programmes.
focusing on the content of their work,
or their spelling and punctuation. As
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz - calibri
their handwriting skills are not
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz -arial sufficiently automatic their handwrit-
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz – comic sans ing will suffer as a result. Some of
the worlds messiest work has been
Dyslexia friendly fonts try to reduce the reversibility of letters produced by children working ex-
and to make letters visually distinct. Several are available to tremely hard.
download online. The ‘DyslexicLogicFont’ is free to download
and was constructed inline with BDA guidelines. Be careful not to judge effort
based on handwriting.
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz – DyslexicLogicFont
DyslexicLogic© 31
teaching letter formation example letter formation
activities
Avoid focusing on letter formation too
much. Children with literacy difficulties are Air Writing – Put your finger in the air
already struggling with information over- and trace the letter. There are many vari-
load and do not have spare cognitive ations- write in sand, paint, water etc. The key is to
capacity to think about their handwriting begin with big gestures and only reduce the size
at the same time as thinking about other once children are clear about the direction and order
literacy tasks. Many will also have poor of each gesture.
eye-hand co-ordination or dyspraxia.
Back/Palm Writing – Take turns to write a letter
When letter formation is the focus this on a pretend piece of paper on someone's back or
should be in the form of ‘handwriting palm. They need to ‘feel’ the shape to guess the
sessions’ which are quite distinct from letter.
generally literacy work.
Best in Show – Ask the child to practice one
letter formation and then ask them pick out their
spatial awareness in letter
best example and explain why it is the best one.
placement
Not like that! – Draw letters incorrectly and ask the
Often the placement of letters relative to child to correct you. Using a puppet who is ‘just
the base line is not explicitly taught, yet learning to write’ works well with younger students.
for those children with poor spatial aware- Start at the bottom of the letter, draw strokes in the
ness this can be problematic. wrong order and reverse letters. Get some right.
Sky, Grass & Ground Frieze – This is a
simple visual way of placing letters relative Hints and Tips
to a baseline. Provide paper with a brown
‘ground’ strip at the bottom, a green the writing is on the wall
‘grass’ strip in the center, and a blue ‘sky’
strip at the top. Letters are described as When working with children with poor spatial aware-
sitting on the ground. Ascenders reach up ness, automaticity or directionality, try to work on
to the sky, while descenders go into the vertical surfaces as much as possible and keep
ground. The child can practice placing let- letters big. Being able to use the language of ‘up’
ters correctly on the frieze. ‘down’ ‘back’ and ‘forwards’ is much more intuitive
and big gestures are more memorable. Avoid using
The parallel between the three coloured
‘left’ and ‘right’ as these are more likely to confuse
strips and the three lines on handwriting
than to help.
paper supports the transition from using
magnetic letters to handwriting letters with Use non-reversible fonts to begin with and only move
the correct placement and size relative to on to reversible fonts when the child is confident. Be
the guidelines. explicit that the usual cues that the child might look
Having a ‘sky, grass & ground’ frieze on for do not exist for all fonts. For example, the flick on
the wall can promote independence by the letter ‘q’ is missing on reversible fonts.
provides clear visual guidance when the
child is uncertain of letter placement.
32 DyslexicLogic©
STAGE 3:
INTRODUCING CVC WORDS
moving on to word level work
As soon as you feel that the child understands that there is a consistent relationship between
letters and sounds, begin to model blending and segmenting words. Use sound-cards or magnetic
letters to do this, as it is important to maintain the focus on grapheme-phoneme correspondence
and not on letter formation. Most children will automatically join in with the process when they are
confident. Ask them to find the letters you need, or to say the sounds of the letters they know.
This is to increase their familiarity with the process, not for them to complete independently yet.
teaching cvc words
s a t p i n m d g o c k e
at sat
These words follow the
pat sap tap CVC word pattern and are
the first words we can
it pit sit sip tip
introduce. Remember the
an pan pin nap nip tin tan meaning of the word is not
that important, we are
am mat man map practicing blending and
segmenting skills.
dim dam did sad dip mad pad dad
gas pig dig gap sag
on pod got mop nod not top dog dot pot
can cap cop cod cat cog cot con
kid kit kin
met pen ted den pet ten men peg set
teaching consonant digraphs

Be very clear that these are two letters making one sound.
These need to be treated as a single unit. Use magnetic letters
which provide a single grapheme-unit and encourage children to
ch sh th ng
select and manipulate sounds at the unit level rather than as
individual letters until they are very confident.
think about the language you use

The language you use when talking about literacy can make all the difference. At its best learning
English literacy is like figuring out the rules to a very complex game and learning to play the game
well. Your language needs to reflect this. If you use engaging language you are more likely to have
engaged learners.
for emergent readers: Letters and sounds have temperaments and personalities. Some are
dependable such as the letter ‘m’ sound which only ever says /m/. Others are unpredictable, such
as the ‘y’ letter, which changes its sound frequently (e.g. ‘yet’, ‘shy’ ‘lazy’). They are loud, quiet,
common or rare finds.
for high-level spellers: Language has a history, it evolved. There are traces of Roman
invasions alongside the cloddy sounds of Anglo-Saxon peasantry and the French influence on high
culture. Explore interesting etymologies.
DyslexicLogic© 33
STAGE 3: ACTIVITIES
phonemic awareness and ordering
There are some sounds that have a longer duration when they are embedded in words. These are
called continuants and include /m/,/n/,/ng/,/l/,/s/,/z/,/sh/,/f/,/v/. Many children find these slightly
easier to identify in speech. The shorter ‘plosives’ /p/,/b/,/t/,/d/,/k/ and /g/ are harder to identify.
teaching order of sounds

Children often focus on the initial sound in a word, and later begin to pick out the final sound.
Identifying middle sounds comes later still. For children with good literacy skills this process
happens so quickly that we can teach in written order without causing any confusion. However this
is not the case for many children with literacy difficulties. Instead we need to first teach initial
sound identification, then move toward final sound identification and only later begin focusing on
medial sounds.
1 2 Praise the child for identifying any sound in the word. Then ask them
to think about where it goes. Phoneme frames and magnetic letters
are particularly useful at this stage as they allow us to play with
sound position.
c v c If the child is not able to identify the sounds in the middle of words
yet that is fine, just focus on beginning and end sounds. Hearing the
short medial vowels of CVC words are some of the most difficult
phonemic distinctions we ask children to make. Long vowels may be
harder to spell but they are much easier to hear.
3
teaching word-building example word-building activities

Word-building is different from writing Phoneme Frames - ask the child to choose a
because the focus is on the order of sounds picture, tell you the word, say each sound they can
and the child is not being asked to write hear and count the sounds. Choose the correct pho-
the letters, rather to identify them and
order them. neme frame and add the magnetic letters.
Support them with medial vowels.
Use magnetic letters or sound-cards for
these activities. This is a supported process Sound Circles (extended) - give the child a word
- not one where the child works alone and and ask them to put the sounds on the sound coun-
then is either right or wrong. Use questions ters, one sound at a time. Then ask them to find the
to guide the process. matching letters to word build (while you
‘what can you hear at the beginning of the remember the sounds for them). Finally they say
word’ each sound and blend to check it is correct.
‘can you find that sound, lets look, what Word Chains - with magnetic letters (initial and fi-
letter is that?’ nal sound changes only). Use bonded unit digraphs.
‘ok, where should we put it? Here at the • blending- change one magnetic letter at a time in
beginning of the word, or here at the end a CVC word to make new words and ask the child
of the word?’ to blend each in turn.
If the child tries to put letters in the wrong • segmenting- give the child a sequence of words
order let them and then talk through the that change only one letter at a time and ask the
process of sounding out and blending to child to make one change to the magnetic letter
check. word to make the target word.
‘/c//t//a/ ‘CTA’...um...does that sound
right? What word were we making? How cat can tan tap map
can we fix it?’
34 DyslexicLogic©
STAGE 4: SHORT VOWELS
introducing vowels
Up to this point vowels have been ‘just another sound’. Now we need to ensure that children
perceive that they are a special group of letters. This is especially important as they begin to build
CVC words. We want children to move from identifying initial and end sounds to focusing on the
central vowel sound. Avoid words like ‘ant’ or ‘egg’ which do not fit this pattern.
vowel anchoring
feely
It is important to make this activity as memorable as possible. If possible bag objects:
take the child outside, or to a space they do not usually work in, to help
create a unique memory. a apple
Put the feely bag objects in the feely bag without the child seeing. Then, so
long as the child is comfortable, blindfold them. Tell them there are five e egg
things in the bag and they have to guess what they are. Begin with smelling
each item. If any of the food items have not been identified and the child is plastic
willing have them taste a little (check allergies!). Next let them feel the i insect
items in the bag. Give them clues until they have guessed them all. If the
child is able (this is can be hard) ask them to tell you what sounds those
words begin with. Then un-blindfold them and do a big reveal. Explain that
these are the special letters and they need to know they go together.
o orange
Keep returning to the bag. If a child cannot list the vowels with ease go
back to the bag. What was in it? What sounds are they?
u umbrella
SHORT VOWELS– a i o
Once the child can tell you what the vowel sounds are, begin NEVER
working towards independent CVC word-building. The child
should be able to hear initial and end consonants with a good tell them the answer!
level of consistency and have good understanding of letter-
sound correspondences before you shift the focus to medial Children with a history of liter-
vowels. acy difficulties often stop
trying. They will stare into
1. Start with picture sorts space or randomly guess.
2. Then do word picture matching
Break this pattern by making it
3. Then word sorts
possible for them to succeed.
what to do if a child does not hear the medial vowel
Tell how many sounds ‘we are finding the sounds in the word ‘cat’….you are right…the first
sound is /k/….and ‘cat’ I can hear the last sound is /t/…but there is
the word contains
another sound hiding between them. listen again, can you hear it’.
Repeat leaving out the Pointing at the three fingers in turn as you say each sound-
missed sound ‘ /k/-/t/ . what is missing?’
Give a limited choice Give a choice between /ă/, /ĭ/ and /ŏ/ by laying out each sound-card.
of sounds ‘It is one of these sounds’, listen carefully. Can you hear it? ‘cat’.
‘Um….if it was this (point to the sound-card) it would say ‘cit’ if it is

Give examples of
alternative choices that, it would say ‘cot,’ if it was that it would say ‘cat’…which one are
we trying to say.’
DyslexicLogic© 35
STAGE 4:
VOWELS AND CONSONANTS
talking about letters and sounds
Now the child is able to identify the vowel letters, consonant digraphs and consonants, it is
important we establish a clear and consistent way of discussing them.
vowels and consonants -nothing is simple!

The terms, ‘consonant’ and ‘vowel’ are used to refer to both speech-sounds and letters.
Unfortunately these are not synonymous. While vowel letters never sound like consonants,
consonant letters frequently form part of vowel sounds, e.g.,
shy ‘y’ is the 6th vowel as it often makes the vowel sounds /ī/and /ē/.
snow ‘w’ is forming part of the long vowel sound /ō/ written with the digraph ‘ow’
car ‘r’ is forming part of the r-controlled vowel written with the digraph ‘ar’
Hints and Tips

To simplify this when working with younger learners:
Consonant sounds and vowel sounds refer to what you can hear-
the letters ch make one sound—therefore it is one consonant
the letters igh make one sound—therefore it is one vowel
sound buttons letters versus sounds

Sound buttons provide a way of represent-
ing sounds visually and help children to cat c vc
identify units of sounds when they begin
encountering digraphs and trigraphs. The word ‘cat’ has three It follows a consonant
At the CVC stage sound buttons are good sounds and three letters. vowel consonant pat-
for establishing that sounds are ordered tern.
from left to right.
A child can see the word ‘cat’ but it is only
when adding the sound buttons in turn that ship c vc
the sequential movement through the word
becomes clear. The word ‘ship’ has three It still follows a conso-
sounds but has four let- nant vowel consonant
Sound buttons at this stage are either dots
ters. This is because /sh/ pattern because /sh/ is
or dashes.
is a digraph. one consonant sound.
dots and dashes

chick c vc
dots represent a single sound
written with a single letter. The word ‘chick’ has It still follows a conso-
three sound but has five nant vowel consonant
dashes represent a single sound letters. This is because pattern because each
written using more than one letter /sh/ & /ck/ are digraphs. digraph makes a single
consonant sound.
36 DyslexicLogic©
STAGE 4: ACTIVITIES
At this stage focus is on developing blending and segmenting skills and being able to perceive
medial vowel sounds accurately.
teaching medial vowels example medial vowel focus activities

Minimal pairs/groups are a great way of Sorting Hoops - sort CVC picture-cards by medial
focusing on single medial vowel changes. vowel sound. Encourage the child to say the word
Ensure that the child is able to both hear out loud and listen for the middle sound.
the differences between medial vowel Word-Picture Matching – give children a selection
sounds and pronounce the differences of pictures and labels to pair up, focusing on minimal
accurately themselves. Be aware that a pair distinctions, e.g. ‘tap- tip’, ‘fat-fit’.
child who can hear and identify these
sounds in isolation without any difficulty I Hear You – The child reads a CVC word and you
can still find it very hard to work with the point to the medial vowel you hear (without you see-
same sounds when they are embedded in ing the word). use minimal pairs where possible.
a word. Vowel Bingo – the child writes vowel letters on
hat hit hot their board. Then they turn over CVC picture-cards
and say the words to spot the vowels, ticking them
pat pit pot off as they go. They call ‘bingo’ to finish.
teaching blending example blending activities

Initially focus on accuracy when blending. Sound Circles – Extend this activity by including
Often children have learnt to guess, wait to medial vowel changes in the word chains. You can
be told or read cues from grown-ups always turn it into a full-circle game by ensuring the
(watch that you are not accidentally giving final word is the same as the initial word.
away the answer!), so you may need to
Dot & Dash – Ask the child to ‘dot & dash’ words
reteach the child that they will need to find
before blending them. Include digraphs and have
the correct answer themselves.
conversations about the number of sounds versus
However, blending needs to become an the number of letters in the word.
automatic process. Therefore focus in-
Sliders – Slide strips of paper with letters on them
creasingly on speed and fluency. Use
up and down to make CVC words. The words have to
countdowns, timers, points charts and
be real words. How many words can they find?
targets to increase challenge and keep the
games fast paced. Alien Words – Throw 3x letter dice, two with com-
mon consonants and one with vowels (with the medi-
sound out and blend al vowels in a different colour to indicate the middle
This approach teaches the child to say the position) to make new words. Some might not be
sounds of each letter in turn while real. It does not matter as we are just practicing
‘bouncing’ their finger from letter to letter, blending skills.
and then to blend the sounds together
while running the finger smoothly under
Change the format of these games if the child need
the word. Use it when modeling blending.
more skill practice: e.g.
It is particularly useful for children who
rush and make sound transposition or Going Fishing – use a magnetic fishing rod to pick
deletion errors. up cards to read.
Turn the Table – turn over cards to read and turn
c at cat them back if not read correctly.
Word Wheels – like sliders but using with moveable
circles to make words.
DyslexicLogic© 37
teaching segmenting example segmenting activities
We are teaching children to tune into the Picture Wheels – The child has to decide
discrete phonemes that make up English. which of the pictures on the wheel contains
While some children can easily perceive the target medial vowel and then write as
these distinctions other children find it many of them down as they can in the time allocated.
harder. Often they will provide onset and
rime, or separate some sounds and not Finders Keepers – Present a word-picture along
others. with several written words that are very similar. For
h-at st-e-p example, a picture of a bug with the words- ‘bud’,
‘bag’, ‘dug’, ‘beg’ and ‘bug’. The child has to say the
The task of hearing the separate sounds in word and then choose the matching written word.
speech is a much more complex task than They keep the word to keep track of their score.
we realize. For instance many adults will
automatically group the /x/ and /qu/ Word-Building – Provide a target word and the child
sounds, never noticing that they are com- builds it using magnetic letters. This is good for
binations: /ks/ and /kw/. practicing ‘order’ and means that they are free to use
However, this process of pulling apart the the initial-final-medial order if they still find this easier.
sounds in words is what we need to do to
be able to spell. It is a core literacy skill Phoneme Frames – These are a tool to be incorpo-
that is often underdeveloped in children rated into activities rather than an activity in itself.
with literacy difficulties. Use phoneme frames to support picture labeling or
sentence writing activities.
walking the word

This is one of my favourite segmenting activities and is a great activity for children with literacy
difficulties. It uses large physical movement and allows the child to literally move along the word
one sound at a time. It is great for strengthening core concepts of sequence and direction.
Give the child the target word and ask them to walk along numbered stepping stones saying one
sound on each number. Repeat the whole word once finished.
/c/ /a/ /t/

‘cat’ cat
1 2 3
Extension: at the end of the stepping stones build the word using magnetic letters or write the
word on a white board and sound button each word.
Link this to the number of sounds in a word, and the difference between the number of sounds and
the number of letters by looking at the number they finish on.
Movements: as the child progresses focus on different aspects of the sound you are working with,
e.g. show two palms for a digraph, punch and stretch movements for long versus short vowels, or
split foot jumps for split digraph sounds.
38 DyslexicLogic©
READING BOOKS
Often by the time children are accessing literacy intervention they have got thoroughly confused.
This programme seeks to simplify the task of learning to read and write, and one way to do this is
by minimising the number of words the child encounters that they cannot decode using the skills
they have been taught.
This is because:
1. We want reading time to reinforce the skills they have learned, and more importantly prove
to children that if they apply those skills independently they can access texts.
2. It is important that there is absolute consistency how they are instructed. This is much easier
to achieve if both the child and adults have a precise understanding of what is expected.
Select decodable books so that the child can decode with minimal intervention. They should be
able to self-correct the majority of the time. Needing to sound out words before blending them is
not a problem unless it is slowing the child to a degree that frustrates them.
However, it is important that children continue to develop their vocabularies and decodable books
limit this. To mediate this children should have plenty of access to challenging texts. Read aloud to
them, use audio-books, or pair them with reading buddies. Just do not ask them to engage with
words that are not yet decodable TO THEM.
comprehension
Comprehension and decoding are entirely different skills. For the majority of children with literacy diffi-
culties, especially for dyslexia, poor comprehension is the result of difficulty with lower level
literacy skills. Basically if a child is working very hard to work out what each word says they are
unlikely to have any brain space left over to think about what they are actually reading. This is why we
focus on lower level skills before we consider strengthening higher level reading comprehension.
During literacy intervention sessions-
Remember that there should be no discussion of the content of the book beyond what is needed to
keep the child engaged. It is important that the child focuses entirely on the process of decoding.
Once the child has reached a high degree of fluency and accuracy they will be able to shift some of
their attention to processing word meaning and begin to build up their reading comprehension skills.
IF a task requires comprehension-
Where there is a reading task requiring comprehension, explain to the child that first they will read
it concentrating on decoding, and then you will read it to them again, so they can focus on listen-
ing to the words. If the text is beyond their reading ability, read it to them. It is very important
that the development of text comprehension skills is not impacted by their poor decoding skills.
vocabulary
It is vital that the child continues to extend and develop their vocabulary. One difficulty with
providing accessible texts to children with literacy difficulties is that often their spoken vocabulary
is much more developed than their reading ability would suggest and these simple decodable text
rarely introduce challenging new vocabulary. Make sure the child is being read to and introduced
to a wider vocabulary outside of literacy support sessions. This is important so as not to hold the
child back, but more importantly, because having a good vocabulary is part of being good at
literacy. It is an area where children with reading and writing difficulties can still shine.
DyslexicLogic© 39
how to prompt beginning readers non-decodable,
tricky, red words
Reading material should be at least 90% independently
decodable. However, there will still be times when a
child gets stuck.
All text will contain some words that are
Do not rush– If you tell the child the answer they will
either not yet decodable or are high
learn nothing. Give them the time and space to figure
frequency tricky words that have not
things out for themselves. Often in class these children
been taught yet. If you get to a word or
are constantly hurried and given the answers to help them
spelling pattern you have not explicitly
keep up. Use this one on one time to move at their pace.
taught underline the ‘tricky bit’ in red
Use these prompts to provide graded support:
and when you reach that word read it for
the child.
Follow above the text with your finger.
The When the child makes an error double tap Using this method means all adults read-
double above the word to prompt them to have ing with the child know which words
tap another go. Do not correct them, just draw need to be read to the child, and while
their attention back to the word. the child may begin to recognize the
word on a whole-word basis they will
If it is clear the child needs a prompt keep it know it cannot be sounded out.
simple.
precise • ‘Use your sounds’ Remember—some words are always red
prompt • ‘don’t miss the magic e’ words because they are non-decodable.
• ‘Is that long or short?’ Other words are only ‘tricky’ until the
child has been taught how to decode
them.
Support them in sounding it out. Be precise
in your correction Schools use the terms ‘red word’, ’tricky
• If they miss a letter- word’ or ‘non-decodable word’. Take the
prompt ‘you are missing the /n/ out’ lead from the school.
sounding
• If they add a letter-
out
‘you are adding a /l/ that isn’t there’
• If they transpose a letter- celebrate
‘you have swapped the /g/ and /l/’ the small stuff
Avoid ever giving the answer.
Model sounding the word out and prompt Support the child to get there them-
prompt them to listen and blend. Slowly run the
blending sounds together until they ‘spot’ the word. selves, and when they finally figure it
out...praise them. Regularly point out
the improvements they make.
Remember to praise achievement, even if they needed a lot of support to get there!
tracking above text

When you point to a letter hold your finger to the top of the word. Encourage the child to track
with their finger above the text, and later to use an opaque reading guide above the text. This
allows them to ‘read ahead’ which is an important part of developing fluency and is prevented by
traditional reading guides.
Hints and Tips

what to do if a kid hates reading books
Do not read books. Forcing a child to read will only make the problem worse. Lots of children do
not recognise anything that is not ‘book shaped’ as reading. Try matching pictures to sentences,
ordering sentences so they make sense or providing a story about the child on a single page of
paper. If that does not work stick to word level work until the child chooses to have a go at
reading a book. Reduce pressure by just reading a single page, or alternate sentences, at first.
40 DyslexicLogic©
THREE MINUTE SPEED READ
As soon as possible introduce the ‘Three Minute Speed Read’ technique. It is vital to explain
to the child, parents and other adults how the ‘speed read’ works and why it is important.
a three minute speed read-
1. is of a decodable book
2. starts from the same place every time
3. lasts 3 timed minutes
why do three minute reads?

• It allows the child to consolidate their new letter knowledge as the books are decodable and
each book focuses on a particular sound or spelling pattern.
• It allows the children to track their own improvement, both in individual timed reads and as
they move through the books. In timed reads the child initially does a cold 3 minute read and
the end point is noted. Then after several practice reads they do a final read of the same text
and the new endpoint in noted.
• It allows the child to experience being a successful fluent reader. As the same text is
practiced over and over again the child gets to read with ease, something they will not expe-
rience if constantly given new text.
• It provides a manageable, achievable goal for both the adult and the child and provides an
accessible way of building home-school reading links.
• It reinforces a little-and-often strategy for reading time and avoids reading becoming stressful.
tips for organising decodable reading time

Finding suitable decodable text can be difficult. I usually use A-Z Decodable Readers™ for younger
children and the Read Write Inc Phonics Storybooks™ for older or more confident readers. Both include
a clear progression of ‘tricky’ words which is a great way to introduce them to children gradually.
• Use photocopies or personal copies if possible so that children can sound button as they go
and you can annotate where necessary. This also means that children can take the book home
when you have finished working with it.
• Date the book after each read. Ensure every adult writes the date on the book and
initials it after each read. This way you know how much support the child is getting.
• Write the target graphemes on the front along with the target phoneme. This reminds both the
child and adults what the focus is.
Not finishing the book can be hard for a child to understand. It is important they know the text
is for skills practice and they can take the book home to finish it in their own time.
Reassure them that the goal is not to finish the book.
The purpose of the 3 minute read is to practice
are timed reads appropriate?
current skills. If a child needs more practice simply
Timed reads can be a useful way of select text further through the book for the initial
motivating children. Using a visual timer starting point. If a child is progressing fast replace
such as a sand timer provides a visual books fast. Skip books if they are not needed and
reminder to keep going. However, return to books to revise if retention is poor.
children respond very differently. If a child
non-decodable books
has a tendency to rush then this
exercise is counterproductive. Similarly if Once the child begins reading simple non-decodable
they hate time pressure then it is also to books work on the basis that most children become
be avoided. But for the majority of chil- frustrated if their accuracy rate is below 90%. For
dren this allows a manageable focused independent reading aim for an accuracy rate of
reading goal that can ‘prove’ to them that 94% or over. For instructional reading aim for an
they get better at reading if they practice. accuracy rate between 90-94%.
DyslexicLogic© 41
TEACHING TRICKY WORDS
but english is not decodable!
It is true that there are many words in English that are not decodable and this makes life particu-
larly difficult for those children who have difficulty rote memorising words. Luckily there are fewer
irregular words than many people think. A lot of words that people think of as irregular are not
irregular at all, it is simply that no one has explained the relevant spelling rule to them. Not all
children with dyslexia have difficulty with rote memorization but for those that do…
methods that do not work

University students will have read and written
spelling tests
high frequency words like ’their’, ‘necessary’ &
reading more ‘tomorrow’, thousands of times, but many
dyslexic students still cannot spell these words
writing more correctly with any consistency. More exposure to
these spelling patterns clearly has not helped.
writing lines
The message that children with dyslexia can
look-cover-write somehow ‘try harder’ or ‘practice more’ to
improve is like to telling a deaf child that they
Look-cover-write and writing lines both just need to ‘really listen’. It is not fair and it is
will have short term benefits, but they not helpful.
are very unlikely to be retained.
methods that do work

Tricky words are integrated into decodable book schemes. For some
decodable books children this cumulative approach to learning the most common
cumulatively integrate
tricky words is sufficient, especially if they are ‘red words’ which are
high frequency words
practiced as part of reading.
However some children continue to struggle with these words. I

promote independent reading by providing an individually tailored
personal bookmarks bookmark with troublesome tricky words alongside their pronuncia-
provide pronunciation
promote independence tion. This allows children to ‘look up’ tricky words as they go along
and calls attention to the ‘tricky’ bit each time as it is written in red.
The repetition of this process rapidly supports learning.
Still not sticking—try one of these methods but use sparingly!
phrase mnemonics prompt words

believe—never believe a lie separate—has a ‘rat’ in it
mnemonics necessary—it is necessary to hundred—has ‘red’ in it
for those words that have 1 collar and 2 sleeves
just wont stick
picture mnemonics say it as you spell it
because— big elephants always Wednesday—/wed/nes/day/
understand small elephants knife—/k-nife/
Hints and Tips

mnemonics warning
A child can only remember so many phrases before they forget them along with the associated
spellings. It is only a strategy to use with a very small number of words. For many children these
words will always be difficult to read in isolation but as the rest of their reading skills progress they
will be able to read them in context. Avoid focusing on irregular words at this stage.
42 DyslexicLogic©
STAGE 5: INTRODUCING
CONSONANT CLUSTERS
Once a child can confidently blend and segment CVC words with the first Hints and Tips
set of medial vowels begin to add consonant clusters to the activities.
Add in consonant clusters in the following order: Focus on the fact that
consonant clusters are
• Initial consonant clusters e.g. slap stop trip NOT new sounds…they
are just more difficult to
• Final consonant clusters e.g. limp fact hold
pull apart.
• Initial and final consonant clusters e.g. crisp cramp stomp
pronunciation of consonant clusters

Make sure you contrast consonant clusters that may be causing confusion. If these are not picked
up on now they will cause great confusion when spelling later. Children with almost imperceptible
speech difficulties can end up with consistently incorrect spellings as they spell as they speak, e.g.
train being pronounced chrain or twain

drink being pronounced jink or dwink
through being pronounced frew
grab being pronounced gwab
order of teaching
Because we are using a synesthetic system we want children to listen for individual sounds rather
than rote learn consonant clusters. To do this we need to make sure that children are exposed to a
whole range of consonant clusters at once, forcing them to use their listening skills. For this same
reason it is important to begin with aural exercises where the focus is on the sounds rather than
the letters in the word.
However, within consonant clusters there are some sounds that are much easier for children to
work with than others. Consonant clusters containing long ‘stretchy’ sounds are the easiest, as are
those where there is a clear change in mouth shape. Make sure you begin with those sounds that
are easiest to distinguish.
Begin with long sounds where Once the child is confident with
there are clear articulatory differ- these begin working with shorter,
ences. quieter sounds with less clear
articulatory differences.
hand smug film fact swim kept
Hints and Tips
You will need to return to the work done on individual sounds and how they differ.
Mirror Mouth – Ask the child to look in a mirror as they pronounce the word and to watch what
their mouth does. This is useful for distinctions like /sm/ versus /sn/ or /st/ versus /sp/.
Oral Awareness – Ask the child to focus on what their mouth/throat is doing and to tell you. Is
the sound voiced or not, does their tongue move? This is particularly important for distinctions like
/sk/ versus /st/ where visual changes are minimal.
Encourage children to always watch your mouth when you give them a target word.
Encourage children to always repeat the word when you give them a target word.
DyslexicLogic© 43
which consonant clusters to teach
The simple answer is that synthetic phonics does not teach consonant clusters as such,
but rather the skills needed to identify the sounds they are made up of. However, it is
important to ensure that children encounter all the consonant clusters in English, and
understand that there are some consonants that cluster together frequently, while oth-
ers never appear in consonant clusters.
nonsense clusters
It is important that when you use nonsense words containing consonant clusters they only contain
those clusters that exist in the English language in that position.
 nlip /nl/ is not a consonant cluster found in the English language.
 ldet /ld/ is only ever a final consonant cluster, not an initial cluster.
initial consonant clusters

In English most initial consonant clusters are made of two sounds. There are only a handful of
three sound clusters and they all begin with /s/. Avoid teaching using examples where consonant
clusters cross syllables, as we want to encourage children to approach each syllable as a complete
unit. Therefore avoid multisyllabic and compound words when working with consonant clusters.
 random  rainbow
two consonant clusters
pl- plug cl- clap sk- skin/scale sw- swim
pr- prank cr- crib sl- slim tw- twin
bl- blind gl- glad sm- smug dw- dwell
consonant clusters be-

br- brush gr- grin sn- snap
ginning with digraphs
tr- trip fl- flag sp- spot thr- throb
dr- drop fr- frog st- step shr- shred
three consonant clusters anomalous consonant clusters

Avoid examples including these sounds.
scr- scrap ‘qu’ is actually al-

ready a consonant
cluster of sounds
spl- split kw- quit
/k/ and /w/
spr- spring skw- squat The /sf-/ cluster is

unusual as it takes
the ‘ph’ spelling
str- string sph- sphere pattern.
44 DyslexicLogic©
confusable pairs ESL
Just like with minimal pairs, these Often pronunciation differences can have
pairs of consonant are easily confused. repercussions when tackling consonant
Ensure that children are able to clusters. Children who may have learned to
differentiate between these pairs. identify consonant sounds in isolation may
struggle with the same sounds again when
trying to identify them in the context of
sn- sm- snug smug consonant clusters.
SEN
fr- thr- free three
Children with hearing difficulties tend to confuse
consonant clusters with those with similar articulation and
fl- fr- flog frog will need to focus on those sound.
Children with speech and language difficulties may need
extra support with pronouncing the word correctly before
bl- br- blink brink segmenting it into individual sounds.
ALL children must look at your mouth when you give
pl- pr- play pray them the target word, and must repeat it back to you
clearly before beginning any segmentation exercise.
kl- kr- clam cram

Remember the sound that is written ‘qu’ is actually
the consonants /k/ and /w/ together. While children
initially learn the spelling ‘qu’ with out any difficulty,
kr- qu- krill quill
it can cause confusion when we start teaching
consonant clusters.
consonant cluster units
Avoid using magnets or printed material that shows consonant clusters as single units. Consonant
clusters are different from digraphs precisely because they are two units making two sounds. Dis-
courage children from rote learning consonant cluster units and encourage them to really listen to
hear the sounds instead. It will give them a skill set that they can use more efficiently.
the language of consonant clusters

When describing the relationship between letters use emotive language and discuss them like ani-
mate beings. We want to bring letters alive and give them personalities as this makes them more
engaging and therefore memorable. For example, some letters are friendly—like /s/ who likes be-
ing close to lots of other letters. Others are shy, like /f/, who is also quiet. Digraphs are two let-
ters working together to make a single sound, whereas consonant clusters are just two letters
close together, sometimes so close you can only just hear the sounds e.g. /lamp/. Ask the child,
or better yet, children to act out the relationship between the sounds in the word.
how to support difficulties with consonant clusters

I find ‘Walking the Word’ an invaluable exercise at this point. It allows children to see where the
sound is missing and allows partial success to be recognized. Many children struggle with this step
so use mirrors and aural awareness activities to support them.
Holding Sounds is the idea that once a child has given the correct sound you will
remember it for them. For instance if a child was trying to provide sounds for the word ‘clamp’ and
had provided /c/, /l/, /a/, p/ you would hold these sounds while they focused on the missing
sound. This is because it allows the child to focus entirely on identifying the missing sound without
also remembering other sounds and their order. It reduces the cognitive load of the task and
allows them to focus on the area of difficulty.
/c/ /l/ /a/ ? /p/

DyslexicLogic© 45
final consonant clusters
In English most final consonant clusters are made of two sounds. However, the most
common consonant clusters are those created when adding plural and past tense end-
ings. They end in the /s/, /z/, /t/ and /d/ sounds. They will be considered later when
we begin building complex words, but for now should be avoided.
 bags  caps  loved  wished

There are also words that sound like they have consonant clusters at the end, but because of
English spelling rules are actually spelled with an additional vowel. This is because every syllable in
English must include a vowel. Sometimes these vowels are pronounced and other times they are
not. These words often end in a /l/ or /n/ sound and will also be taught later.
 often  signal
two consonant clusters
-sp crisp -sk desk -ct fact -pth depth
-mp lamp -nk sink -ft soft -dth width
-lp help -lk milk -st past -mth warmth
-pt kept -nt sent -nth month
-nd hand -lf wolf -lt belt -ngth length
-ld cold -lm film -lth health
when to move on
At this stage children should be able to build CCVC and CVCC words
three consonant with support. They should be able to identify all the sounds
clusters independently, but may need prompting when they have missed a
sound out. They may occasionally need support in ordering the
sounds within consonant clusters. They are not expected to read or
write these words independently.
-nch lunch
Many complex words have consonant clusters, and children will
continue working on the skills of segmenting and blending
-lch belch consonant clusters throughout the rest of this programme.
description and sound buttons

-mpt tempt
c vc c c vc c c c c vc c
-nst against
cat drink strength
-ngst amongst c vc c c vc c c c c vc c
chick shrimp scrunch
46 DyslexicLogic©
STAGE 5: ACTIVITIES
At this stage the focus is on developing the skills to blend and segment words containing
consonant clusters. Many of the activities introduced earlier can also be used with words contain-
ing consonant clusters.
teaching consonant clusters example consonant cluster activities

Minimal pairs/groups also work really well What’s My Word – The child is given clues to help
for consonant clusters. Choose pairs of them identify a target word e.g. ’don’t stand on a
words that differ by just one sound for
word games. banana you might…’.They then build the word using
magnetic letters. Use similar word groups so they
recombine consonant clusters, e.g. ‘slip’, ‘snip’,
skim slim
‘snap’, ‘slap’, ‘slam’.
snug smug
Investigation – Look through text (props like a
lost loft magnifying glass can help) to find what letters can
be in initial consonant clusters. Scribe a mind map to
spring string keep track of all the varieties they have found.
Discuss which are rare and which are more common.
Avoid focusing on ‘word family’ games as Tongue Twisters – Work together to generate a
these encourage the child to rote learn group of words containing the same consonant clus-
consonant cluster sounds. This strategy is ter and then try to make a sentence using as many
unlikely to be helpful for children with of the words as possible. e.g. ‘the slug slid slowly on
literacy difficulties as it vastly increases the his sled’.
number of units they need to recognize.
Word Chains & Sound Counters – These are use-
Instead use game formats that recombine
ful games when focusing on single sound changes
consonants to make different clusters.
consonant cluster words. e.g. ‘sand’, ‘stand’, ‘strand’.
teaching number of sounds and example number of sounds versus

letters letters activities
Explore the difference between the number What’s in the Box? – Provide clues to which is the
of letters and sounds in a word. This helps correct answer using numbers, e.g. ‘it has four
highlight the difference between consonant letters but only three sounds’, and provide options to
clusters and digraphs. It is common for choose from e.g. ‘frog’, ‘ring’, ‘string’. Encourage the
children to get confused when the number child to sound button the words to find the correct
of sounds and letters in a word does not answer.
match as the relationship is 1-1 for simple
Pairs Game – Provide word pairs with different
CVC words. Use sound buttons to explore
numbers of letters and sounds (from 2-5). Ask the
this relationship.
child to match the pairs together. Encourage the
child to use sound buttons.
c c vc c c vc c Witches Cauldron – Read a spell which asks for
things with a certain number of sounds or letters.
trim crisp Have a collection of suitably grizzly words for the
child to select from and put in the cauldron. e.g.
frog, bat, twig, sock, slug, bug etc.
c vc c vc Sound Circles – Build words where digraphs are
shown by placing two counters on top of each other
thing chat while consonant clusters are individual counters.
DyslexicLogic© 47
STAGE 6: MORE SHORT VOWELS
vowel differentiation
Most children will have one or two vowel distinctions that they struggle to make. These are most
likely to involve the short /ĕ/ and /ŭ/ sounds, which is why they are introduced after the child is
confident in making /ă/, /ĭ/ and /ŏ/ distinctions.
SHORT VOWELS– e u
Focus on supporting the child to distinguish Hints and Tips
between the different medial vowel sounds.
There is more variation between how different
1. Start with picture sorts people pronounce short vowel sounds than
other sounds. This is true for both regional and
2. Then practice word picture matching
international accents. For instance, there are
3. Then word sorts marked differences between Australian, Ameri-
4. Then add in consonant clusters again. This can and British short vowel pronunciations,
process should be quicker now that they can along with marked regional differences within
apply the skills they have already learnt: the UK.
• Initial consonant clusters
When children are working with adults who have
• Final consonant clusters
• Initial and final clusters together different accents using standardized hook
words, sound-cards and sound-gestures are
important, particularly where children are hear-
ing these sounds in isolation.
sound-cards and sound-gestures

Ensure you refer to the sound-cards and use the sound-gestures when talking about the medial
vowels. Encourage children to compare target words to hook words when making decisions. It is
important that you articulate words clearly. Accentuate the features of each sound slightly when
you say it. However, make sure that you still move your mouth in a natural way.
What are the sounds in - ‘bend’?

e egg
Does it have the /ĕ/ egg sound (point to sound-card)
or the /ĭ/ insect sound? (point to sound-card)
i insect
Listen to me say it - ‘bend’. (say the word slowly)
teaching short vowel doubles

Often an explanation of WHY some-
Some children find memorising spelling rules easy. thing is the way it is helps us
In this case teach that the following letters are remember it...
doubled after short vowels. If the child does not find
rules easy then leave this step until later when we Scribes knew that some short or quiet
will revisit it in the context of long vowels. sounds were likely to be missed when
people wrote things down. To make
this less likely they wrote the letter
twice to make sure people did not for-
get that letter.
-ss -ll -ff -zz -ck
It does not even need to be true!
48 DyslexicLogic©
STAGE 6: ACTIVITIES
At this stage focus on developing the ability to differentiate between all the medial vowels, and
to begin reading and writing sentences. An important aspect of this is to check that sentences
make sense. This begins to develop proof reading skills, which will be critical for children with
poor accuracy.
teaching word order example word ordering activities

Deciding that something is not correct is Picture Labeling – Give the child a picture to label
an important skill and we need to encour- along with a selection of words to use to label it. They
age children to check that they have writ- need to read the words and put them in the correct
ten what they thought, both at word and order. Include words that will not be part of the final
sentence level. Do not point errors out to sentence in order for the child to reject them.
them. Prompt them to find the errors.
Walk the Word (ordering extension) – Ask the
punctuation child to walk the word and then write down the word
on a piece of paper. Repeat this until they have all
Use actions to support punctuation from the the words needed to make up a sentence. Then put
beginning. Salute for capital letters (Captain the words in order to make a target sentence.
Capital), high-five or table-tap a full stop.
That’s Not Right! – Give the child pictures with la-
‘Punctuation Kung Fu’—provides a fun way to bels which contain errors in word use or word order.
teach punctuation actions. Taking a more The child has to find the mistake and fix it.
toned down approach means it can be assim-
ilated into independent writing activities Sentence Remix – Provide words to reorder to
more easily. make different sentences. How many can they make?
teaching sentence writing example sentence writing activities

Initially sentence writing work should be inci- Walk the Word (sentence extension) – Ask the
dental. Play games where several words are child to walk the word and write down each word in
written separately and then ‘discover’ that turn until it makes a sentence. Then ask them to
the child has written a sentence. This takes read the sentence with punctuation actions and add
the fear out of having to tackle a whole sen- the capital letter and full stop so we know it is a
tence. sentence.
hold a sentence Picture Prompt Sentence – Provide the child with

the target sentence. Count the words together and
This is a technique to teach children how to draw one line for each word. Next, quickly sketch
‘hold’ in their memory the sentence that pictures for key words above the relevant line. Use
they are trying to write down. This is very ‘hold a sentence’ before asking them to write it.
challenging for many children with literacy
difficulties, but it also a skill they need to Scrambled Sentence – Write the target sentence
develop for independent writing. on the board. Ask the child to read it. Erase one
word and then ask them to repeat the sentence.
• Say a sentence. Ask the child to repeat Repeat until there is nothing left on the board. Then
it with you. ask them to write the sentence. Once they have writ-
• Ask the child how many words are in the ten it ask them to change one word at a time until
sentence and count on to your fingers. they end up with a completely different sentence.
• With the child, say the sentence one
word at a time.
• Ask the chid to do it again. Turn it into a Do not speak or repeat the sentence while the child
game—’touch your toes, tell me again, is writing, unless asked. One downside of 1-1 is that
now your nose, tell me again?’ until they adults tend to step in too quickly. Allow thinking
know it very well. time. Give a prompt to proof read the sentence
• Only then ask them to write it. before you ‘look’ at it.
DyslexicLogic© 49
CLASSROOM INTEGRATION
CONTINUITY
Work with the class teachers, teaching assistants and parents to ensure that there is as much
continuity as possible between in-class and out-of-class support, as well help provided at home.
terminology expectations
It is particularly important that the language used by Use Sound-Rings and Tricky-Word Book-
adults when talking about literacy is consistent, marks in and out of class so that all
particularly in relation to phonics. Make sure you are adults are clear what the child has been
clear what terms the school uses. If there are no taught and what they are expected to
guidelines in place, work with the adults involved to use in their independent work.
agree on what terms they are most comfortable using.
MAKING A CLASSROOM DYSLEXIA FRIENDLY

suggest the following changes to the class environment
Reduce background noise. This could simply be earplugs or a quiet corner. Lots of
children with dyslexia find filtering out external vocals, in order to focus on their internal voice,
very difficult. A loud music lesson next door may be less distracting than someone quietly reading
to a adult next to them.
Reduce visual distractions. For instance the student could face a wall when working, or cover all
but the relevant text on a page. Avoid sitting children so they face doors or windows. The trend
towards colourful engaging classrooms does not always benefit easily distracted children.
Avoid working from the board. Board-work can be very challenging for children with poor
visual memory and place finding. They cannot remember what was on the board when they look at
their page, and they cannot find their place on the board when they look up again.
Ensure that the student is not singled out. For example have a drawer of resources that all
children in the class can access when needed, which incudes Sound Maps, pencil grips etc. Put
word-banks of topic words or high frequency words on the class wall facing where the student
usually sits, but without making reference to that specific child.
adaptions
Use multisensory methods when teaching. Include diagrams, illustrations, video and
audio as well as written material when presenting new information.
Focus on the learning objective for the task given. Consider whether it is possible for children
to meet the learning objective in different ways. e.g. some children could write about a topic while
others give presentations to the class.
Consider whether reading/writing is really the focus of the activity. Separate marks and
feedback for the content of work from the marks given for presentation. Only mark spelling errors
where the child has been specifically taught that spelling/spelling pattern. Consider whether mark-
ing all errors is really supportive or productive—perhaps there is one high frequency word or
spelling pattern which could be focused on.
however difficult it is having a dyslexic learning in your class,

it is much harder to BE a dyslexic learning in your class.
do not equate output with effort!
50 DyslexicLogic©
SUPPORTING READING IN CLASS
provide learning supports match reading level and text
Have reading supports such as Sound-Rings, Do not overstretch the student. As difficulty
Tricky Word Bookmarks, Cue Cards and Sound with decoding increases, comprehension will
Maps available to help the student. decrease, even if this is not reflected by a drop
in speed or fluency.
Where new irregular words are included in the
text introduce these before the child reads the Where possible reduce the amount/complexity
text and where possible provide a picture of written material, adapting the task to the
prompt sheet to remind them of the definition. reading standard of the student.
Encourage using an opaque ruler to hide the
UPPER line of text. make text visually easy to read
Use simple fonts when presenting text. The
reduce quantity of text simplest fonts like Comic Sans or Arial are much
easier to read than more complex fonts. Avoid
Avoid presenting information in large blocks of anything ‘interesting’. Dyslexic friendly fonts
text. Use mind-maps or bullet points where are free to download and are suitable for non-
possible. dyslexic children to read too.
Avoid presenting text at full contrast. Turning
no reading aloud to the class down contrast on a screen or printing on cream
paper can help. Similarly, some students report
Unless you are certain a child is confident do
coloured overlay or backgrounds reduce reading
not ask them to read aloud in public.
‘stress’ *. Print using slightly bigger font.
information finding skills

SUPPORTING READING
COMPREHENSION IN Provide text that can be written on. Encourage
the student to highlight so they do not loose
CLASS information they have found.
provide alternatives to reading Encourage activities which ensure the student is
engaging with the text not just ‘speaking the
Separate out activities which are about words’, even if this is just telling another
strengthening the students reading skills, and student about what they have just read.
activities that are about the student accessing
the curriculum for other reasons. At this level reading should be out loud. This
slows children down and prevents them skip-
Where appropriate provide alternatives to read- ping words. In addition the auditory feedback
ing- e.g., listening to a recording, watching a helps them check words for meaning. They can
film or having another student read the text to read to a supportive partner.
the student.
when there is no alternative stick to single modes to present

information
When reading the text is unavoidable:
Avoid providing information in multiple modes
• Allow extra time for reading.
at the same time. Many dyslexic students find it
• Encourage the child to read the text more
difficult to hear and read words at the same
than once.
time and process anything.
• Give the child a chance to read it once them-
selves and then read it to them. Make sure the child has had enough time to
take in visually presented information (e.g. on a
* research suggests this may simply be due to whiteboard) before you provide written or
contrast preferences, and not colour specific. spoken information.
DyslexicLogic© 51
SUPPORTING WRITING IN CLASS
decide on the focus of an activity
Dyslexic students can find it overwhelming to focus on many of their difficulties at once. Make sure
that the student is clear whether spelling and presentation is the priority, or whether getting down
ideas is the important part (this can be an adaption particular to that student).
Where there is a writing focus, separate out ‘getting ideas down’ from ‘presentation’ writing by
writing a first draft. Also choose just one focus e.g. spelling OR handwriting. Be aware that if a
child is focused on their handwriting or spelling it is likely that the content of their work will suffer.
make sure non-literacy subjects provide compensatory time for task

are not impacted. completion
Ensure that students regularly access activities Where possible give the student extra time to
where their dyslexia does not hold them back complete written tasks, or shorten/adapt the
and where their strengths are recognised and task to the students writing speed. This is partic-
celebrated. ularly important in assessment situations.
Ensure that non-literacy subjects are as little
effected as possible, e.g. presenting science provide organisational support for
ideas as a mind map, reading narrative maths extended written tasks
questions to the student etc.
Encourage planning before writing for all activi-
provide spelling support ties. This can be as story boards or writing
frames to help organise ideas. Ask the child to
Have reading supports such as Sound-Rings, tell you what they are planning to write before
Tricky Word Bookmarks and Sound Maps availa- they write it. If there is sufficient support then
ble to help the student. do this for each sentence in turn.
However, find a balance as it is easy for these
to become a distraction or to break the flow of
writing. Writing a first draft without support can handwriting
be more productive for some children.
If there is a policy of cursive writing in the class
Provide word-banks to support topic words. decide if this is appropriate for the child in
Provide a white board, spare paper or pencil so question. Often cursive writing becomes
the student can try different spellings and check unreadable more quickly, and even the writer
visually. may have difficulty re-reading their work.
However, other children find cursive writing
builds a stronger motor-memory for word shape
scribe work and this can be beneficial for spelling.
Where fine motor skills are problematic a pencil
For beginner writers who are held back by the
grip and a slight slope may help with letter
gap between their writing and speaking skills
formation and pressure
provide scribing support. This might just be
writing down a particularly good phrase or some Avoid unlined paper, and where appropriate use
great vocabulary they that used when speaking three-ruled handwriting paper, especially for
about a subject. If there is more in-class presentation copies.
support then an adult could occasionally scribe Provide a letter formation sheet if using cursive
longer pieces. This is ideal for content focused script, showing the letter shapes.
work and gives the child an opportunity to show
their potential.
52 DyslexicLogic©
SIMPLIFIED PHONETICS
the international phonetic alphabet
The IPA is a system used to record the speech sounds in words, i.e. for phonemic transcription.
This allows us to represent how words sound. It is very useful when describing English, where
there are complex relationships between graphemes and phonemes. For instance, it allows us to
differentiate between different homographs such as ‘wind’, ‘lead’ or ‘desert’. However, it is also
quite complex. I have therefore used a simplified version in this programme.
Children with literacy difficulties can be easily thrown by differences other children do not even
notice. e.g. the difference between /th/ in ’think’ and ’them’. By explicitly teaching spelling and
sound patterns together children develop a clearer framework to organize their understanding of
sound and spelling relations.
simplified pa ipa example simplified pa ipa example

/b/ /b/ bag /ch/ /t∫/ chin
/d/ /d/ dog /sh/ /∫/ shop
/f/ /f/ fin /th/ voiced /ð/ them
/g/ /g/ got /th/ unvoiced /θ/ thin
/h/ /h/ hat /ng/ /ŋ/ sing
/j/ /dӡ/ jam gym ᴗ

/oo/ short /ʊ/ look could put
/k/ /k/ cat kid ᴗ
/er/ schwa /Ə/ away letter
/l/ /l/ leg
/ă/ short vowel /æ/ ant
/m/ /m/ map
/ĕ/ short vowel /e/ egg head
/n/ /n/ net know
/ĭ/ short vowel /ɪ/ ink
/p/ /p/ pin
/ŏ/ short vowel /ɒ/ on
/qu/ /kw/ quit
/ŭ/ short vowel /ʌ/ up
/r/ /r/ red wrong
/s/ /s/ sat circle grouping spellings by sound
/t/ /t/ tap Children are often taught spelling patterns in

isolation, with spelling such as these taught
/v/ /v/ vet separately:
/w/ /w/ wig when
shy screw
away put
/x/ /ks/ x-ray tie blue
letter look
might bloom
/y/ /j/ yet doctor could
mine plume
/z/ /z/ zip

By teaching that each of these contains exactly the
/ӡ/ /ӡ/ vision pleasure same sound we reduce the complexity of the task for
children. There are a limited number of discrete
speech sounds to listen out for. This makes the task
of segmentation more manageable.
DyslexicLogic© 53
ORGANIZING SOUNDS
how to organise sounds
Typically phonics spelling patterns are taught without much reference to how sounds relate to each
other. Children can end up with a vast bank of spelling patterns with little way of systematically
sifting through them. This programme provides a consistent framework, allowing children to
access methods like exclusion spelling much more easily.
the periodic table of phonics

The Periodic Table of Phonics, often called ’The Sound Map’, forms a vital part of this teaching
programme. While it relates mainly to the long and complex vowel patterns, it is important to pre-
sent even the short vowels consistently. Whenever you play games or produce resources place the
vowels in the same order as shown below. This will allow children to use their spatial awareness to
distinguish between vowels. As more vowels are taught the relationship between short, long and
r-controlled vowels is defined.
/ă/ /ĕ/ /ĭ/ /ŭ/ /ŏ/
The order in which these letters are organized allows an amalgamation of the phonetic approach to
the sounds in words and phonics approach to the letters in words. It is not in alphabetical order
because this order is more helpful later when working with long and r-controlled vowels. Generally,
avoid using alphabetic order as the alphabet is learnt using letter names rather than letter sounds.
This can cause confusion in the early stages of using phonics to read and write.
short vowels: sound–spelling correspondences

international phonetic alphabet
phonetic symbol /æ/ /e/ /ɪ/ /ʌ/ /ɒ/ /ʊ/ /ə/
a e i u o oo er
associated
graphemes ea ou or
example egg book letter

ant head ink up on could doctor
short vowels: sound–spelling correspondences

simplified phonetic alphabet
ᴗ ᴗ
phonetic symbol /ă/ /ĕ/ /ĭ/ /ŭ/ /ŏ/ /oo/ /er/
a e i u o oo er
associated
graphemes ea ou or
example egg book letter

ant head ink up on could doctor
54 DyslexicLogic©
Hints and Tips
The phonetic alphabet is useful for describing consonants: sound–spelling correspondences
the international phonetic alphabet (IPA)
speech sounds. However, a more accessible,
simplified version has been used in the main
text to ensure it is accessible to non-language
Bouncy Sound:
specialists. This sound map shows the IPA Stretchy Sound:
When this is taught it is voiced as
version. When this is taught it is voiced as a continuous sound.
a short repeated sound.
/p/ /t/ /k/ /tʃ/ /h/ /s/ /ʃ/ /ð/ /f/ /m/
phonetic symbol
p t c ch h s sh th f m
associated
pp tt k tch ss ff mm
graphemes
example
pen top cup chip hug sat ship thin fat
mat
phonetic symbol /w/ /l/ /n/
w l n
associated
DyslexicLogic©
graphemes wh ll nn
example
win leg nut
/ks/ /kw/ /b/ /d/ /g/ /dʒ/ /j/ /z/ /ʒ/ /ð/ /v/ /r/ /ŋ/
phonetic symbol
x qu b d g j y z th v r ng
associated
bb dd gg g s rr
graphemes
example x-ray quit bag dog got jam yuck zoo casual than van rat sing
voiced
voiced Minimal Difference: these sounds are arranged by similarity. These are the sounds which most children, particularly those with
English as an additional language, find difficult to distinguish.
55
unvoiced
Hints and Tips
56
The phonetic alphabet is useful for describing consonants: sound – spelling correspondences
speech sounds. However, a more accessible, the simplified phonetic alphabet
simplified version has been used in the main
text to ensure it is accessible to non-language
Bouncy Sound:
specialists. This sound map shows the simplified Stretchy Sound:
When this is taught it is voiced as
version. When this is taught it is voiced as a continuous sound.
a short repeated sound.
phonetic symbol /p/ /t/ /k/ /ch/ /h/ /s/ /sh/ /th/ /f/ /m/
p t c ch h s sh th f m
associated
pp tt k tch ss ff mm
graphemes
example
pen top cup chip hug sat ship thin fat
mat
phonetic symbol /w/ /l/ /n/
w l n
associated
DyslexicLogic©
graphemes wh ll nn
example
win leg nut
/x/ /qu/ /b/ /d/ /g/ /j/ /y/ /z/ /zh/ /th/ /v/ /r/ /ng/
phonetic symbol
x qu b d g j y z th v r ng
associated
bb dd gg g s rr
graphemes
example x-ray quit bag dog got jam yuck zoo casual than van rat sing
voiced Minimal Difference: these sounds are arranged by similarity. These are the sounds which most children, particularly those with
unvoiced English as an additional language, find difficult to distinguish.
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET A ALPHABET B
common words CVC words common words CVC words
initial final
initial letter medial vowel initial letter
letter letter
act bad nag baby bad bib
add bag pad belt bag bob
ant ban pal boat bam cab
axe bat pan book ban cob
above cab pat bowl bat cub
adult can rag beach bed dab
alarm brown
cap ran beg fib
ankle bread
cat rat bet jab
apple brush
dad sad bib job
attic brick
dam sat bid mob
awake brain
fan tag big nab
award button
fat tan bit rib
action banana
afraid gap tap basket bog rob
Africa gas tax bottle box rub

anchor had van bucket bud sob
animal ham wax butter bug tab
answer hat yak bridge bun tub
attack jam yap bubble bus web
athlete lad zap brother but
accident lap balloon
alphabet mad bicycle
astonish man biscuit
alligator blanket
map
ambulance builder
mat
astronaut birthday
breakfast
DyslexicLogic© 57
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET C ALPHABET D
initial final initial final

initial letter initial letter
letter letters letter letter
cake cab back desk dab bad
cave can duck dive dad bed
clap cap kick doll dam bud
coat cat lick door den cod
coin cob lock down did dad
comb cod luck drum dig did
class mock duck
cog dim fed
climb muck daddy
con dip had
clock neck dance
cop dog hid
clown nick dream
cot dot kid
comic pack dress
cub dud lad
count peck drink
cup dug led
cream pick drive
camera cut rack danger lid
carpet rock digger and mad

carrot sack dinner end mid
castle sick doctor mud
crayon sock dragon nod
crisps suck dentist pad
cabbage tick diamond pod
cartoon tuck dolphin red
computer yuck drawing rid
cupboard check daughter rod
cornflake shack dinosaur
sad
crocodile chick discover
wed
calculator shock dictionary
caterpillar chuck doughnut
58 DyslexicLogic©
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET E ALPHABET F
initial final
letter letters
egg bed wet face fat biff
end beg yes film fan buff
echo bet yet fire fad cuff
edge den fish fin gaff
edit fed flag fit huff
elbow get frog fun muff
empty hem fairy fed naff
enemy hen fight fib puff
enjoy jet funny fix riff
led fog tiff

eldest fruit
leg fox toff
energy friend
engine let family fig
eraser men farmer
escape met father
expert net finger
elastic peg finish
emperor pen flight
envelope pet fridge
elephant red flower
exercise set feather
education ten festival
emergency vet firework
escalator web freezing
excellent wed football
expedition fantastic
DyslexicLogic© 59
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET G ALPHABET H

letter letter letter letter
game gag bag hair had
gate gap beg hand ham
gift gas big hate has
girl get bog head hat
glue God bug hero hem
goat got cog hill hen
dig
grey gum hope hid
dog
grin gun happy him
dug
ghost gut heart hip
fig
goose hedge hit
fog
grape horse hog
hog
grass hotel hop
hug
great jog house hot
green jug hammer hug
growl leg helmet hum
guard log hiccup hut
garden mug hiding
gloves nag hunger
glasses peg holiday
goodbye pig hundred
gorilla rag hedgehog
guitar rug homework
sag
goldfish hospital
tug
gorgeous helicopter
wag
grasshopper hippopotamus
wig
60 DyslexicLogic©
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET I ALPHABET J
initial final
letter letter
ill bib nip jam jab
ink big nit jar jam
itch bit pig jaw jet
igloo did pin job jib
ignore dig pit joy jig
inches dim rib jug job
indoor dip rid jail jog
insect fib rig jazz jug
inside fig rim joke jut
invite fin rip jump
imagine fit sin junk
inventor fix sip jeans
important hid sit jelly
injection him six juice
interrupt hip tin jacket
invisible hit tip jaguar
impossible jig wig jigsaw
incredible kid win juggle
imagination kin zip jumper
information kit jungle
ingredients lid jealous
interesting lip jogging
illustration lit journey
introduction mid jellyfish
mix jewellery
DyslexicLogic© 61
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET K ALPHABET L

letter letter letter letters
key kin back lady lad bell
kid kid duck lamb lag bill
kip kit kick lamp lap doll
kit kip lick lazy led dull
keep lock leaf fell
leg
kick luck line fill
let
mock gill
kill lion
muck lid
kilo lock gull
neck lip
kind long hell
nick lit
hill
king look
pack log
kill
kink love
peck lop mill
kiss luck
pick lot pill
kite rack laugh
lug sell
kiwi rock lorry
sill
kebab sack lunch
tell
koala sick little
well
karate sock ladder
will
kennel suck lemons
yell
kettle tick liquid
kitten tuck lizard
karaoke yuck lettuce
ketchup check library
shack
kingdom ladybird
chick
kitchen lollypop
shock
kangaroo lightning
chuck
62 DyslexicLogic©
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET M ALPHABET N

mask mad bam nail nab ban
milk man dam name nag bun
moon map dim neck nap can
magic mat gum nest net con
march men ham nice nip den
maths met hem nose nit fan
music mid him note nod fin
medal mix hum next not fun
melon mob jam nasty nut gun
metal mop mum night hen
mouse mud ram noisy kin
money mug rim nurse man
month mum sum niece men
magnet yum never pan
market needle pen
mirror noodle pin
minute number ran
monkey nibble run
mother nettle sin
machine nature sun
mistake necklace tan
monster nostrils ten
magazine nonsense tin
medicine newspaper van
mushroom nightmare win
DyslexicLogic© 63
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET O ALPHABET P
initial final
letter letter
on bob nod page pad cap
odd bog not park pal cop
off box pod pizza pan cup
occur cob pop party pat dip
offer cod pot paint peg gap
often cog rob panda pen hip

paper hop
olive con rod pep
plane lap
opera cop rot pet
pencil lip
otter cot sob pig
palace lop
object dog sod pin
parrot map
office dot son pit
prince mop
option fog top pod
poison nap
orange fox tot pop
police nip
oxygen God pirate pot pop
octagon got planet pup pup
octopus hog puzzle rap
ostrich hop prison rip
obstacle hot pocket sap
occupied job potato sip
official jog present tap
omelette log popcorn tip
opposite lop penguin top

lot picture yap
optician
mob princess zap
operation
mop zip
observation
64 DyslexicLogic©
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET Q ALPHABET R

quiz quit rich rag
quack quiz ride ram
quake quid rock ran
queen quack rope rap
quest rose rat
queue rain red
quick ring rib
quiet river rid
quilt robot rig
quite rabbit rim
quiver rescue rip
quality ribbon rob
quarrel robber rod
quarter rocket rot
question report rub
questionnaire recipe rug
return run
rainbow rut
rubbish
railway
remember
rectangle
ridiculous
restaurant
rhinoceros
DyslexicLogic© 65
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET S ALPHABET T

sky sad bus tree tab bat
star sag gas time tag bit
sing sap yes town tan cat
snow sat toad tap cot
storm set lass tail tax cut
skirt sin mess trick ten dot
sleep train fat
sip boss tin
slide tooth get
sit cuss tip
slime tummy hat
six less top
smell tower hit
sob miss tot
smile troll hot
sod kiss tub
snake truck hut
sub loss tug
sword teddy lot
sum moss
space tiger mat
sport sun mass tunnel met
square chess tissue net
spooky toffee not
scream tongue nut
secret toilet pat
sneeze teacher pet
spider tractor pit
seaside treasure rat
sandwich tomorrow rot
skeleton triangle sat
spaghetti terrible sit
skateboard tortoise vet
strawberry television wet
66 DyslexicLogic©
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET U ALPHABET V
initial final
letter letter
us bud rug vase van
up bug run vast vet
ugly bun rut very
undo bus sub vest
uncle but sum view
under cub sun visit
upset voice
cup tub
untidy vacuum
cut tug
unpack valley
dud yum
undone vanish
dug
unfair velvet
fun
unkind violin
gum
unload voyage
unused gun violet
unlucky gut vampire
unusual hug vanilla
utterly hum variety
unhappy hut vehicle
umbrella jug victory
upstairs jut village
understand lug villain
underwater mud vinegar
underground mug vitamin
unfortunate volcano
mum
uncomfortable vacation
nut
valuable
pup
vegetable
rub
DyslexicLogic© 67
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET W ALPHABET V

initial letter included letter
wind wet axe six
wing win text box
worm wag next fix
wish wax exit fox
wood wig exam wax
wolf web taxi mix
wall extra
wed tax
wand exact
wash sixty
wave relax
whale exist
wheel excuse
white mix-up
witch expert
waist expect
water excite
wicked earwax
wizard example
window explain
wallet mixture
wellies extinct
whistle explain
whisker example
whisper explode
weekend exercise
wardrobe expensive
wonderful
68 DyslexicLogic©
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
ALPHABET Y ALPHABET Z

letter letter letter letters
yak yak zap zip buzz
yam yam zip zap fizz
yes yap zit zit fuzz
yet yes zoo jazz
yob yet zany
you yob zero
yuk yum zest
yum zing
yank zone
yard zoom
yawn zebra
year zigzag
yell zombie
yeti
yoga
yolk
yuck
yacht
yeast
yikes
yo-yo
young
yellow
yogurt
yesterday
DyslexicLogic© 69
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
DIGRAPH SH DIGRAPH CH

initial digraph initial digraph
sound digraph digraph digraph
shy shed cash chat chat much
ship ship dash chew chin rich
shoe shop dish chin chip such
shut shot fish chip chop
shed shut gosh chop chug
shape hush chain
shark chair
mash
sheep cheat
mush
shell cheek
rash
shock cheep
rush
shore cheer
sash
short chest
wish
shout chick
shock chance
shine cheese
sheet cherry
sharp chilly
share chapter
shake charity
shadow cheetah
shower chuckle
shrunk champion
shiver charming
shampoo children
shoulder chocolate
shipwreck chimpanzee
70 DyslexicLogic©
WORD-BANK WORD-BANK
DIGRAPH TH DIGRAPH NG

initial digraph final digraph
digraph digraph digraph digraph
Th Th than with bang bang
the thin that math fang fang
than thick them path* gang gang
that thief then bath* hang hang
them think thin king king
they third this long long
thick lung
this thud lung
thorn ping
their ping
pong
these throw pong
rang
those thumb rang
ring
though thread ring
rung
there- thirty rung
sang
fore throat sang
sing
them- theatre sing
song
selves
through wing song
thirsty bring wing
thunder cling
thousand flung
thermometer sling
thunderstorm sting
thing
belong
sprang
spring
strong
*dependent on accent string
DyslexicLogic© 71
WORD-BANK
FINAL DOUBLED CONSONANTS
medial a medial e
-ll -ff -ck -ss -zz -ll -ff -ck -ss -zz
shall chaff back lass jazz bell deck less
staff lack mass bill heck mess
all pack dell neck chess
ball sack pass fell peck bless
call black brass sell check cress
fall crack class tell fleck dress
hall smack glass well speck press
mall stack grass yell stress
tall track quell
wall shell
small smell
stall spell
swell
dwell
-l influenced vowel medial o

the ’a’ sound becomes /ɔː/ like ’or’.
-ll -ff -ck -ss -zz
British Received Pronunciation accents: off dock boss
-f and –s influenced vowel the ’a’ sound be- doll
roll lock loss
comes /ɑː/ like ’ar’. rock toss
toll
troll sock moss
stroll shock cross
medial i block floss
clock gloss
-ll -ff -ck -ss -zz flock
stock
ill biff kick hiss fizz
bill whiff lick kiss frizz
fill cliff nick miss
hill sniff pick bliss medial u
kill stiff sick
mill tick -ll -ff -ck -ss -zz
pill wick
sill chick dull buff buck fuss buzz
till quick gull duff duck puss fuzz
will thick hull huff luck
chill brick lull puff muck
quill click mull ruff suck
drill crick skull muff tuck
grill flick chuff yuck
prick bull fluff chuck
skill
slick full gruff cluck
spill
stick pull scuff pluck
still
trick stuff snuck
thrill
stuck
truck
struck
-l influenced vowel
the ’u’ sound becomes /ʊ / like ’oo’ in book.
72 DyslexicLogic©
WORD-BANK
INITIAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS
without digraphs with digraphs
four sounds twig twin twit

tw-
five sounds twist
swab swag swam swan swap swat swell swill swing swish Swiss swung
four sounds
sw- swig swim swop swot
five sounds swamp swept swift
pram prat prep prig prim prod prom prang press prick
four sounds
pr- prop
five sounds prank print
four sounds bang bran brat brim brick brill bring broth brush
br-
five sounds brand brink brisk branch* brunch
tram trap trek trim trip trod trot track trash tress trick trill troll truck
four sounds
truss
tr-
tramp trench trend trump trunk
five sounds
trust
four sounds drab drat drip drop drug drum drill dress dross
dr-
five sounds drank drift drink drunk drench
crab crag cram cred crib crop crud crack crash cress crick crock cross
four sounds
crush
cr-
cramp crank crept crest crimp crisp
five sounds
croft crust
grab gran grid grim grin grip grit grill gruff

four sounds
gr- grot grub
five sounds grand grump grunt
four sounds fret frog from fresh frill frizz frock

fr-
five sounds frank frisk frond frost frump
four sounds throb thrash thrill throng thrush

thr-
five sounds thrift thrust
four sounds shred shrub shrug shrill

shr-
five sounds shrank shrimp shrink shrunk
four sounds plan plod plop plot plug plum plus pluck plush
pl-
five sounds plank plant plonk plunk plinth
five sounds splat split splash splosh

spl-
six sounds splint
DyslexicLogic© 73
WORD-BANK
INITIAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS
four sounds blab blip blot blub bless bliss block bluff blush
bl- bland blank blast blend blimp blind blanch
five sounds
blink blond brink blunt
clad clam clan clap clef clip clod clog clang clash class click cliff cling clock
four sounds
clop clot club cloth cluck clung
cl-
clamp clank clasp cleft clink clomp clench clinch
five sounds
clump clunk
four sounds glad glen glib glob glum glut gloss

gl-
five sounds gland glint
flag flak flan flap flat flax fled flex flack flash fleck flesh flick fling flock
four sounds
fl- flip flit flog flop floss fluff flung flush
five sounds flank flask flint flunk flinch
slab slag slam slap slat sled slim slip slack slang slash slick sling slosh
four sounds
sl- slit slob slog slop slot slug slum slung slush
five sounds slink slump slunk
four sounds smog smug smut smack smash smell smith smock
sm-
five sounds smelt
four sounds snag snap snip snob snot snub snug snack sniff snuck snuff
sn-
five sounds
stab stag stem step stop stub stud stack stall stamp stash stick stiff still
four sounds
stun sting stock stuck stuff stung
st-
stalk stand stank stench stilt stink
five sounds
stint stump stunk stunt
strap strip strop strum strut stress string stroll strong struck
five sounds
str- strung
six sounds strand strict
four sounds span spat spin spit spot spud spun speck spell spill
sp-
five sounds spank spelt spend spent spilt
five sounds sprig sprang spring sprung

spr-
six sounds sprint
four sounds skid skim skin skip skit skiff skill skull
sk-
five sounds skimp skink skulk skunk
four sounds scab scan scud scum scoff scuff

sc-
five sounds scalp scamp scant scold
five sounds scrag scram scrap scrub scroll scruff

scr-
six sounds scrimp script scrunch
74 DyslexicLogic©
WORD-BANK
FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS
five sounds tempt

-mpt
six sounds prompt
bump camp damp dump hump jump champ chimp chomp chump
four sounds lamp limp lump pimp pomp pump
ramp romp rump temp wimp
-mp blimp clamp clomp clump cramp shrimp
crimp flump frump grump plump
five sounds scamp skimp slump stamp stomp
stump thump tramp scrimp
best bust cast cost dust fist gust jest chest

four sounds just list lost lust mist must nest pest
-st rest rust test vest west zest
five sounds crest crust frost midst trust twist thrust
desk disk dusk husk musk risk rusk

four sounds tusk
-sk
five sounds brisk frisk
four sounds cusp lisp rasp wisp

-sp
five sounds clasp crisp grasp
four sounds bulk hulk milk silk sulk

-lk
five sounds skulk
four sounds gulp help kelp pulp

-lp
five sounds scalp
bold cold fold gild gold held hold

four sounds
-ld sold told
five sounds scold
four sounds belch mulch zilch

-lch
five sounds squelch
four sounds helm film

-lm
five sounds
four sounds golf gulf self shelf

-lf
five sounds
four sounds tenth

-nth
five sounds plinth
DyslexicLogic© 75
WORD-BANK
FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS
bent font hint hunt lint mint pant shunt

four sounds rant rent runt sent tent tint vent
-nt went
blunt brunt flint front glint grunt
five sounds
print scant skint spent stint stunt
bank bonk bunk conk dank dink chink chunk thank think
dunk funk gunk honk hunk junk kink
four sounds
lank link mink pink punk rank rink
sank sink sunk tank
-nk
blank blink brink clink clonk clunk shrank shrink shrunk
crank drank drink drunk flank flunk
five sounds plank plonk prank skunk slink slunk
spank stank stink stunk swank trunk
band bend bond fond fund hand land

four sounds lend mend pond sand send tend
wind
-nd
bland blend blind blond brand frond
five sounds gland grand spend stand trend
(strand)
bench bunch finch hunch lunch

four sounds
munch pinch punch winch
-nch brunch clench clinch crunch drench
five sounds flinch French stench trench
(scrunch)
four sounds length

-ngth
six sounds strength
four sounds kept rapt wept

-pt crept slept swept
five sounds
(script sculpt)
four sounds duct fact pact sect tact

-ct
five sounds tract (strict)
Consonant clusters that occur rarely have been excluded from this list. This included:
• initial consonant cluster ‘dw-’ found in the word ‘dwell’
• final consonant cluster ‘-pth’ found in the word ‘depth’
• final consonant cluster ‘-dth’ found in the word ‘warmth’
• final consonant cluster ‘-nth’ found in the word ‘month’
• final consonant cluster ‘-lth’ found in the word ‘filth’
• final consonant cluster ‘-ngst’ found in the word ‘amongst’
76 DyslexicLogic©
GESTURE PROMPT SHEET 1-
AN UNFORGETTABLE ALPHABET
short vowel–bouncy sound consonant–bouncy sound consonant–bouncy sound consonant–bouncy sound short vowel–bouncy sound
tip an ant off an apple bang a big blue boot crawl the curly be a dancing dinosaur open an empty egg
In front of your body, tip Pretend your fists are in caterpillar Make jazz hands as you Lift the top of the egg up
your fist back and forth to boots stamping as you Move your hand from left to dance. and look inside it. It is
tip the ant off. walk. right tipping it up and down. empty.
DyslexicLogic©
consonant–stretchy sound consonant–bouncy sound consonant–bouncy sound short vowel–bouncy sound consonant–bouncy sound
flop a flower forwards be a grumpy girl huff like you are hot be an insect covered scoop jam from a jar
Start with your fingers Run your left hand down Put your finger tips to your in ink Using your right hand
stretched up and slowly the right side of your face lips. Breathe heavily onto On either side of your face, scoop up the jam and then
flop your fingers forwards. as though you are stroking your palm as you lower it wiggle your fingers like jiggle it around.
your plait. away from your mouth. you are flicking ink off
them.
Hints and Tips
Begin with concrete objects e.g. hold up an actual umbrella, put on big blue boots, open a hard boiled egg etc.
Leave the objects in the teaching space as visual reminders. Activities that are not part of a typical day are more memorable.
77
78
consonant– bouncy sound consonant– stretchy sound consonant– stretchy sound consonant–stretchy sound short vowel–bouncy sound
kick like a kangaroo lick a lime lollypop be a mouse who has sew with a new needle catch an orange
Begin with a fist. Kick out Mime licking a lolly pop. eaten marshmallows Thread a nice new needle Move your hand like you
with two fingers. Ensure that children place Place your palm against your and make a stitch. Ensure are catching an orange
tip of tongue directly be- belly and rub it saying mmm, children’s lips are apart to that has been thrown
hind their teeth. like you have eaten something distinguish from /m/. towards you.
delicious
DyslexicLogic©
consonant–bouncy sound consonant consonant–stretchy sound consonant–stretchy sound consonant–bouncy sound
be a parrot wave like the queen be a rusted robot slither like a snake tap-dance like a tiger
spitting a pea Hold an umbrella with one Move your arm jerkily like Wiggle your whole hand to Tap with your toes and
Put your hand in front of hand and wave gracefully you are rusty. make the shape of a your finger tips with both
your mouth and spit a pea with the other. snake. arms out to the side form-
into it. Feel the puff of air. ing the shape of the t.
/kw/ sounds blended
Hints and Tips Use whole body movements initially, the bigger the better. Make sure that the children make the movements rather than
just watch an adult make the movements. Draw attention to the links between the letter shapes and the gestures being
made. Use whole body movements initially. Always move hand from left to right, in the same direction that text is written,
unless the gesture is related to letter formation.
Short vowel– bouncy sound consonant– stretchy sound consonant– bouncy sound consonant–stretchy sound consonant– bouncy sound
catch drips under an show the beak of be a wiggly worm say shush to the sheep chat like a chimp
umbrella a vile vulture
Use two fingers to trace the Put your finger to your Pretend you are a chimp
With one hand hold a bro- Pull a mean face and pretend lips. with swinging arms.
path of a wiggling worm.
ken umbrella and with the your hand is a beak trying to
other catch the drips. peck things.
DyslexicLogic©
consonant consonant– bouncy sound consonant–stretchy sound consonant– /th/ & /th/ consonant
X-ray your arms eat yucky yogurt zip up a zigzag hank them show off your ring
Cross over your arms/ Pretend you’ve eaten dis- In front of your body pre- Move your hand as though Be the king and bend your
fingers and place them in gusting yogurt and motion tend to zip up a zigzag you are taking something. fingers forward so people
the x-ray machine. from your mouth over your shape. Say both the voiced and can admire your ring.
shoulder. unvoiced versions of the
/ks/ sounds blended sound.
Hints and Tips
Ask children to ‘act out’ words.
This will allow them to ‘feel’ the difference between common homophones like pear/pair, male/mail and site/sight.
It will also allow them to ‘feel’ the similarities between similar words like; shift, ship and shin
79
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DYSLEXIA AND

I went on to gain a first class honours degree in Experimental Psychology from

ETHOS AND APPROACH

For further information visit the website at DyslexicLogic.Com

THE SYNESTHETIC LEARNING PROGRAMME 1

building a cognitive profile 5

teaching using phonics 13

using synthetic phonics 14

behavioural and emotional needs 15

BEGINNING THE PROGRAMME 17

teaching session format 18

stage 1 phonemic awareness 21

stage 2 grapheme-phoneme correspondence 26

stage 3 introducing CVC words 31

stage 4 short vowels— A I and O 33

stage 5 introducing consonants 41

stage 6 more short vowels— E and U 46

supporting reading in class 49

supporting writing in class 50

WORD-BANKS- ALPHABET AND CVC 55

final doubled consonants 70

initial consonant clusters 71

final consonant clusters 73

sound-gesture prompt sheets 75

what is synesthetic learning?

why choose this programme?

who is able to teach the synesthetic programme?

how many students can be in a group?

can synesthetic learning be taught to a whole class?

oral blending This will

oral segmenting This will identify whether

assessing learning style

Hints and Tips

reasons for poor literacy

information holding information

when a strength becomes a problem

areas of concern for children with literacy difficulties:

DEVELOPING A COGNITIVE PROFILE

cognitive skills (understanding)

non-decodable high frequency spellings:

phase 2 phase 3 phase 4 phase 5

no (unstopped) he (unstopped) so (unstopped) oh

good sight-word memory

poor sight-word memory

dolch word list dolch word list

the up one here the up one here

Early Readers Intermediate Readers

Handwriting is important because...

• It is difficult for adults to read/correct/respond to work that is not readable.

perfect handwriting is not a priority

cursive versus printed handwriting

the phonics debate—decoding versus reading

phonics—analytics versus synthetics

Progress of typical Nursery/ Reception/

Progress of typical Nursery/ Reception/

how we accelerate learning

-increasing the effectiveness of teaching and learning by matching to the

-increasing engagement by Hints and Tips

I had a student who turned away and