Jj is for Jottings 109. 8 Types of Intelligence.
Most people know about the IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test, and you may have taken an IQ test at some stage. Some scientists argue that tests like these favour people with logical and mathematical abilities, and ignore other areas like artistic, linguistic, musical or interpersonal skills.
Harvard scientist, Howard Gardner finally discovered, after many years of research, that there are 8 types of intelligence. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 107. The Dreaded Apostrophe.
I don’t know why people seem to view it as “the dreaded apostrophe” and have so much trouble with it, more than any other form of punctuation. (For comments on the importance of punctuation in social media, see here.) The basic applications of the apostrophe are really quite easy. Granted, it can get a bit tricky in more advanced situations, but the majority of the population would rarely encounter that end of the scale. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 105. Phonics: Visualising Versus Listening.
We have another major problem with phonics: visualising versus listening, in addition to the problems created when children don’t know their sound letter links, This is a problem I encounter frequently when working with children, but I have never heard anybody else mention it in those terms. I am referring to the fact that children often use their visual modality when they need to be using their auditory modality. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 100. The Importance of Punctuation.
Following on from Prince William’s comments on punctuation and the subsequent “toe-dip” into the importance of punctuation, we’ll add a bit more detail here. We are referring to punctuation of anything written, not just social media, which was the specific topic of the prince’s remarks. There may be a slight overlap with the earlier article because each article needs to stand alone. But repetition is important for learning anyway! (And so is more repetition.) Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 98. Reading Difficult Words.
Reading difficult words is not an issue with this book!
When your child starts to read aloud to you, they will often have problems with reading difficult words. These words may be just long, or tricky in other ways, such as having several consonants together. (See consonant clusters). Or they could have vowel patterns which are unfamiliar, the rules for which they don’t yet know. It is important to give children time to try to work out the word for themselves. This helps develop reading skills. However, when they get really stuck you will need to help them out. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 97. Reading-Aloud Games.
Following on from interactive reading with children, here are some ideas for “reading-aloud games” which you can play with children while reading stories with them. The idea is to be spontaneous, just playfully engaging in banter whilst actually providing wonderful learning opportunities as a bonus. It may sound strange, saying to be spontaneous and then making suggestions as to what to do. But it is helpful to see the types of games you can play and, once you have the idea, you can invent your own activities in the moment. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 94. Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness and Phonics.
Learning phonics with this book helps with phonemic awareness and phonological awareness skills, too.
You may have heard the terms “phonological awareness”, “phonemic awareness” and “phonics” and wondered what they mean and whether they are different terms for the same thing. Let’s sort this out right now.
This is sound-letter links – i.e. learning which sound is made by each letter of the alphabet, and other sounds which are made by combining 2 or more letters. Children develop the concept that there are consistent relationships between letter symbols and sounds. This book is a great way to learn sound-letter links. But you need to make sure you are saying sounds rather than letter names. You can find this on the video. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 93. Consonant Clusters.
Consonant clusters, or blends, can cause problems when analysing sounds and blending. Children with speech, language or literacy problems often have difficulty in detecting the second sound in a consonant cluster. I mentioned this in a previous article on blending sounds. Children who can easily analyse a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word, may completely disregard the second sound in a consonant cluster (CCVC). This is even when they say the word correctly. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 88. Hearing Loss Effects on Speech, Language and Literacy.
Hearing loss effects on Violet’s speech, language and literacy? None, because at this stage there is no evidence to suppose that Violet has a hearing loss. And Simon is certainly getting her off to a flying start with speech, language and literacy by reading “Aa is for Alpacas” to her.
Moving on from discussing fluctuating hearing loss in the previous article, we now turn our attention to the effects of hearing loss on speech, language and literacy. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 80. Decodable Readers.
As mentioned in the previous article (see here), decodable readers support the teaching of phonics in a cumulative manner. The rules and patterns of the English language are taught sequentially. As the student learns the rules, he practices using decodable readers. In this way there are no nasty surprises involving unknown words, because they know the rules and every word can be decoded. This gives the reader both skills and confidence, and makes learning to read much less of a challenge.
