Stage Two
To be an effective reader you have to know and be able to use these sounds.
A challenge for many children.
The Word Factory's unique structure groups the sounds, bringing the task within the reach of every child.
Then you can show the children how to use the sounds for themselves.
That’s a good feeling.
"If teaching materials are uncluttered , learning is more efficient".
Dr Vladimir Sloutsky, Prof Developmental Psychology, Ohio State University.
The vowel sounds are grouped.
In early learning a word ending in the a-e sound is likely to be written ay.
If the sound is inside the word it is likely to be written a-e or ai.
So, the choice is reduced.
blame, crate, maze and stare are gate words. air, claim, hair and train are rain words.
play, day, may and pray are tray words. Hooks for learning.
Eighteen books for the learning hooks.
“If all the information is coming from the teacher or the learning material, what the children are learning becomes more interesting as a result”.
Dr Sloutsky.
The belonging to apostrophe is introduced.
so that all the learners get it right first time.
Rules and patterns emerge.
The c sound after the short a, e , i, o or u vowel is written ck.
In Stage 1 back, sack and duck but now the children are looking for words with a short vowel followed by ck.
pack, deck, stick, rock, cluck.
Teach look,
looked and looking together.
Every page teaching or re-enforcing learning.
See and hear and put together.
The skill for reading.
You can hear a pin drop at writing time. Primary One teacher.
Making a story your own.
A lead sentence is given and the children add one.
The words are in My Second Spellcheck for easy access.
"You can hear a pin drop at writing time". A Primary One Teacher.
Looking for spelling of a word. A dictionary doesn't always do it
but it is easy to find eight, build, key, wrong eye, ghost, beautiful, money and many other irregular words in My Second Spellcheck.
Getting it right first time is so much better than trying to correct a mis-spelling later.
Not being able to get their spelling right leads to early frustration in young children.
In the first months
of school, at the end of
Stage 2, children have
learned these skills
How to use The Word Factory unique structure,
how to use rules and patterns to predict spelling of some words,
how to put together what they see and hear,
how to use the belonging apostrophe correctly,
how to connect their ideas in writing,
how to look up the spelling of 300 regular and irregular words.