Jj is for Jottings 157. Word Confusions: Affect/Effect; Lie/Lay.
This article covers the topic of word confusions: affect/effect; lie/lay. Posts on word confusions will pop up from time to time. The two previous posts are: word confusions:ton/tonne;home/hone and word confusions:bought/brought;in a moment/momentarily. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 156. Speech Sound Problems: /th/
The speech sound problem /th/ is more complicated than many other sounds. This is because in some parts of the English-speaking world, substituting /f/ for /th/ is normal, part of a dialect. In this case it is not a speech sound problem. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 155. Auditory Discrimination and Sound Errors.
When children make speech sound errors, we need to consider auditory discrimination and speech sound errors. A child needs to be able to discriminate the difference between the correct sound and what they are saying instead. Otherwise they don’t have much chance of replacing the error sound with the correct (target) sound. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 154. How Smartphones Affect the Brain.
In this article we will cover some of the latest research on how smartphones affect the brain. We have previously discussed the effects of screen time on children. Amongst other aspects, this included language delay in children exposed to screens at an early age. We have also discussed the effects of digital distraction, which relates to a range of technological devices. Here we will look into the specific effects on the brain of smartphones, rather than screens in general. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 153. Speech Sound Problems: /k,g/
We have previously learned about /s/ as a speech sound problem. Let us now focus on speech sound problems: /k,g/. As always, if your child makes speech errors, you need to know whether the error is actually appropriate for age. (In which case, is it actually an error? Perhaps an “age-appropriate substitution”!) You can find out the rough developmental ages for speech sounds here. Continue reading
The alpacas and Kieran and Sue
Send our Christmas greetings to you.
We hope the New Year
Will bring much greater cheer,
As we farewell old Twenty Two Two.
Jj is for Jottings 152. The Effects of Watching Violence.
Did you know that the effects of watching violence are different from the effects of simply reading about violence? Researchers consistently find that, the more often you watch disturbing scenes, the more anxious you become. This can result in forming long-term traumatic memories. Your brain is unable to distinguish between reality and fiction when viewing violence on screen. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 151. Daily Reading Time.
Daily reading time for children is much more important than just reading books leading to a longer life. It makes sense that children who read more have better vocabulary, reading skills, fluency, reading comprehension and overall literacy. It can also strengthen family relationships and helps children to understand the world outside. So just how many minutes per day should we be reading with our children? Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 150. Reading Books=Longer Life.
Research – some but not all – is now telling us that reading novels leads to a longer life. On the other hand, it is well known that long periods of sitting increases health risks and reduces life span. Researchers from Yale University set out to investigate three things:
Jj is for Jottings 149. Poor Neglected Adverbs.
Unlike the dreaded apostrophe, which many people underuse and many people overuse, the poor neglected adverbs are in danger of disappearing altogether. (Although I still have no idea whether the same people underuse as overuse apostrophes, if they’re different people, or a bit of both. I suspect the third option.) If you are unclear about where to put an apostrophe, you can find out here. Continue reading
