Montessori Australia

Seven things to consider before you buy into phonics programs Phonics, or teaching reading, writing and spelling through sounds, is often touted as the golden path to reading and writing. National curricula in England and Australia have been rejigged to increase their focus on phonics, and entrepreneurs and publishers have rushed to fill the space with phonics programs and resources. But before you buy their wares, consider the following. 1. This may be an inconvenient truth for those promoting phonics programs, but English is not a phonetic language and never has been. English began about 1500 years ago as a trio of Germanic dialects brought over to the islands we now know as the British Isles. The Latin alphabet was a good phonetic match for spoken Latin, but it was not a good match for spoken Old English. There were sounds in Old English that simply didn’t exist in spoken Latin, so there were no Latin letters for them. Those letters were repurposed and some new letters were introduced. As a result, English is alphabetic, but not phonetic. 2. 3. 4.

Every Child - Playing with phonics - Teaching letters and sounds (APAFT) - Informit Abstract: Children in Australian early childhood settings are experiencing different types of phonics instruction. Research investigating views of 283 early childhood educators in Sydney about alphabetic literacy found nearly all educators believed phonics was important in preschool-aged children's literacy development. Over one-third of educators reported preference for explicit formal skills instruction and used commercial programs (e.g. Letterland, Jolly Phonics). Other educators reported a preference for a more holistic, childcentred approach to learning alphabetic literacy (Campbell, 2015; Campbell, Torr and Cologon, 2012). Extra readings New phonics test will do nothing to improve Australian children's literacy Minister Birmingham released a report today recommending that all Year 1 students in Australia complete a phonics test. The panel responsible for the report has recommended that Australia adopt the Year 1 phonics screening check that has been used in England since 2011. What is phonics? Phonics is the process of matching sounds to letters. It is an important skill when learning to read and write in English. Analytic phonics starts with taking a word that children know the meaning of, and then analysing it to see how the sounds in the word match the letters we see within the word. Synthetic phonics starts with letters which the children learn to match with sounds. Which phonics method is better? There is no evidence that one phonics approach is better than the other. All inquiries have concluded that whatever phonic instruction method is chosen, it should be one part of a suite of skills children should have when learning to read. What is the phonics test? Why are we introducing it?

A programme that grows with your children - Jolly Phonics A programme that grows with your children Our flagship programme, Jolly Phonics, teaches children to read and write using synthetic phonics, which is widely recognised as the most effective way to teach children to read and write in English. That was over 25 years ago. Systematic teaching of phonics, grammar, spelling and punctuation across the school years Teaching is multi-sensory and active, with fun actions, stories and songs Independent research supports the outstanding results achieved around the world with the programme Continues to revise and extend children’s phonic knowledge Flexible and easy to implement in your school Developed by teachers for teachers Click here to discover our brilliant range of brand new and refreshed resources for 2021! DfE Validation Response Emma Ince is the Deputy Head Teacher at Tudor Primary School in Suffolk, England. How Jolly Phonics works Alongside these skills children are also introduced to the main alternative spelling of vowels.

15 Preschool Counting Songs, Fingerplays & Rhymes 15 fun counting rhymes and songs for preschoolers. Fingerplays and nursery rhymes are a staple of the preschool and kindergarten classroom, and have been for generations. This list of counting rhymes and songs includes many of my personal favourites from my classroom days, that I also loved singing at home with my own kids as a mum. I have included a printable song list that you are welcome to hang in your classroom or home. 15 Counting Rhymes, Fingerplays & Action Songs Here is the Beehive Here is the beehive (make a fist) Where are the bees? Five Currant Buns Five currant buns in a baker’s shop (hold up five fingers) Big and round with a cherry on the top (draw a circle in the air Along came a girl/boy (or child’s name) with a penny one day, Bought a currant bun and took it away (tuck one finger down into fist). Four currant buns in a baker’s shop… (Continue until no currant buns are left in the baker’s shop). Continue until no little ducks came back, then; Four jellyfish… One jellyfish…

What do you think? Reference list Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, The - Feeling the pressure: Early childhood educators' reported views about learning and teaching phonics in Australian prior-to-school settings (Humanities & Social Sciences Collection) - Informit Abstract: Early childhood educators' beliefs about literacy teaching can impact on the types of phonics experiences educators provide for children in prior-to-school settings. 'The Australian Early Years Learning Framework' supports a play-based, intentional approach to teaching phonics, however little is known about what Australian early childhood educators believe is important in teaching phonics in the prior-to-school years. Using a qualitative content analysis, this research study investigates 115 early childhood educators' views about how phonics should be taught and the use of commercially produced phonics programs (e.g. Jolly Phonics and Letterland) in prior-to-school settings. This study further investigates educators' perceived pressures to include structured phonics lessons, as a way of addressing parental notions of 'school readiness'.

Why the focus on phonics? National Register of Archives for Scotland | National Records of Scotland The National Register of Archives for Scotland (NRAS) was set up in 1946 to compile a record of collections of private papers in Scotland, to encourage their care, and to make information about them available to researchers and others. The Register Over 4,300 lists or 'surveys' have now been added to the Register. These surveys describe papers held by private individuals and families, landed estates, clubs and societies, businesses and law firms. The NRAS does not hold any of these private papers. The Register also includes surveys of similar papers which have been deposited in the archives and libraries of local authorities and universities. Where to view the Register Many of the NRAS surveys are available on the electronic NRAS register at the National Records of Scotland (in Edinburgh). Find out more about NRAS for archivists, NRAS for owners of records, and NRAS for researchers. Contact NRAS by mail, email, phone or fax.

Art For Kids Hub - Art Lessons - How To Draw For Kids Dictionary of the Scots Language :: History of Scots to 1700 By Caroline Macafee (CM), incorporating material by the late A J Aitken (AJA) 1. Introduction (CM) Certain sections of this outline history of Older Scots (OSc) are based on the work of the late A J Aitken. It seems appropriate to place before the dictionary user revised and updated versions of his authoritative treatments of phonology, orthographic variation, and stylistic variation, which gather together his observations over many years as senior editor of A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (DOST), rather than compose new descriptions that must inevitably be highly derivative from his work. In writing this history of Scots to 1700, I am very much aware that it can only be a summary of the state of knowledge at this moment in time. A number of contributions to the subject have already benefited from the willingness of the DOST team to allow scholars access to the unpublished files. 1.1 Terms and Definitions 1.1.1 The Scots language 1.1.2 The family tree of Scots