Phonics in the Family - Unlock the Mystery of Phonics and Spelling

This class will use the Language Experience Approach which acknowledges that students learn best from their own experiences. In the class we will look at each student's name and family names and examine the phonic elements and spelling patterns that are present in their names.  This will be an opportunity to focus on long and short vowel sounds, vowel diphthongs and digraphs and the derivation of spelling patterns and rules.
Phonemic knoweldge and the recognition of spelling patterns account for approxmately 70% of English reading and spelling.This approach capitalises on  the student's own language then extrapolates to further patterns and rules to enrich your student's reading and spelling capabilities.

The class will take the form of informal discussion with the use of a whiteboard to illlustrate phonemic and spelling patterns and rules. This will be an interactive class with students encouraged to make contributions to discussions and to value the input of their classmates. Thisclass model is in keeping with the philosopy of the Learning Experience Approach which embraces tthe premise that
students need to capitalise on their interests and experiences, reflect on these and ask explicit questions about the learning experience. I am an experienced teacher with a speciality in helping students who are struggling with reading and spelling. I have found this model to work particularly well.