Letters are Everywhere! - The Alphabet in July

See if you can spot any letters when you eat your tea tonight but don't get told off for playing with your food!

Fantastic!

This  is amazing!
Why not go and grab yourself a brilliant picture book right now and get lost in the story. You are NEVER too old for a picture book!

Using kinaesthetic methods to support phonics

Last week in The Learning Den we were looking at the "ou" sound and how it can be made two ways :- 

1. ow as in cow          

2. ou as in out

To help us remember some of the words with these patterns we made models using plasticine. We used a card with a picture on, such as a snake then we chose a word from the ou/ow box such as ground and used both of these words to make a sentence. Then we made a model to help us keep a picture in our heads that went with our ou/ow words. It was great fun!

Here are some photos of our fabulous models. Can you spot the ou/ow words?

Using a thought provoking photograph as a starting point..

Many children who find reading and writing a struggle are visual learners. Most people respond better to a task if it has an accompanying image that they can relate an idea to. 
I came across this fantastic photograph the other day when reading an article about global warming and thought the possibilities for a differentiated learning task in the classroom could be endless!

Just hand out copies of the photograph in the middle of a large sheet of paper with the caption "could this ever really happen?" using question prompts such as how?, when? where? why? etc... 
Ask the children to brainstorm in small groups for ten minutes with a more able child writing ideas down and others sketching ideas. 

See where it takes you....

Dyslexia-friendly Books

Here is a great selection of titles specifically written to help dyslexic readers. The age ranges shown -  9 to 12 and 12+ - represent the interest age applicable for the titles, whilst the reading age for each title ranges between 6 and 8 years.


Books for 9 - 12 year olds

Hostage: 4u2read
Malorie Blackman
Malorie Blackman is one of the UK’s top contemporary children’s authors and this book, even though it’s only 64 pages long is utterly gripping. The protagonist, Angela has been kidnapped. She’s blindfolded and alone and fears for her life but...

Zombie!
Tommy Donbavand
Fast-paced and fun it will have you quaking in your boots quicker than you can say knife.  Chaos ensues when Jake discovers that a zombie likes to party and my goodness this one seriously likes to party.  Perfect for reluctant...

The Hat Trick
Terry Deary
Written by one of the most successful and readable writers for children, Terry Deary has once again delivered an excellent short read – just 64 pages – for children aged 8-12 but whose reading age is a little less....

Geronimo
Tanya Landman
This is a fascinating short book detailing an important aspect of American History - that of the native American people, the Apaches.  Geromino was a famous Apache who went on fighting the US government and the new settlers even when...

Fire Mask
Franzeska G. Ewart
An incredibly readable thriller that packs a real punch despite it running only to 64 pages. Josh and a long-standing best friend are now sworn enemies and when the ex-best friend plays a nasty trick on him he swears revenge....

The Robbers
Josh Lacey
Peter is minding his own business depositing his savings in a bank when there’s a ‘hold-up’.  Can Peter’s quick thinking surprise and overcome the robbers in order to save his and other people’s money.  Edge of your seat writing for...

Living with Vampires
Jeremy Strong
Family problems of an unusual kind make life complicated for Kevin. With vampires for parents, he does his best to control them but things can’t help getting out of hand… Blood is their favourite drink so it isn’t surprising that...

Ghost for Sale
Terry Deary
Terry Deary, one of the best known children’s authors writing today has written a scary yet funny short novel that is dyslexia friendly.  9+ year olds will find the storyline terrific yet the reading age for it is a little...

Cliff Edge
Jane A C West
With black and white illustrations interspersed in the text, this is a frightening adventure that calls upon the skills and nerve of a young boy climber to save his friend with no ropes and no help from anyone else.  It’s...

The Number 7 Shirt
Alan Gibbons
Perfect for reluctant or struggling readers, particularly boys with a reading age of 8+ but with an interest age of 8-12. This is an action-packed story involving a boy who dreams of being a football pro. Because fiction and non-fiction...

Young Merlin
Tony Bradman
Powerfully but simply written this is the dramatic story of the boyhood of the young Merlin. Even as a boy Merlin knows he is different: he has special magical powers. What he doesn’t know is they are going to put...

The Story of Matthew Buzzington
Andy Stanton
The bestselling creator of Mr Gum turns his hand to a wildly fanciful story about a boy with a very unusual power; he can turn himself into a fly. Matthew Buzzington’s adventures including getting locked into school and dealing with...

The Stepsisters' Story
Kaye Umansky
A romping comedy of catastrophes, this version of the Cinderella story comes straight from the mouths of the step sisters. They make no apology for their terrible behaviour as they greedily pursue their own ends while doing down their step...

Stat Man
Alan Durant
A footballing story with a difference sees Arnie, knowledge about the game but not so good at playing it, suddenly given the chance to prove his skills on the field as well as off. Arnie’s nickname comes from his amazing...

Snow Dogs
J A C West
A thrilling story of courage and survival set in the extreme cold of Alaska. Zeb is determined to win the Iditarod, a terrifyingly challenging dog sled race covering 674 miles. Everyone says that Zeb is too young to enter but...

Icefall
John Townsend
Danger surrounds Barney on all sides in this quick-fire thriller set on the slopes of a ski resort. When Barney is woken in the night by voices outside his room in the ski resort, he knows something suspicious is going...

Books for 12+ readers

Twisting the Truth
Judy Waite
A fantastic new thriller featuring a strong female main character – perfect for teenage girls. When Elsa’s friend goes missing from school someone is arrested who may be innocent and it’s up to Elsa to find out who really abducted...

The Ghost of Shadow Vale
Jonathan Stroud
This thrilling Icelandic myth published by Barrington Stoke in their RELOADED series that introduces readers to new lands and cultures in an accessible way features some terrific characters that will bring to life a world of myth and legend. Thorhall is...

The Five Lords of Pain: Book 1 The Lord of the Mountain
James Lovegrove
This is a brand new series from Barrington Stoke with huge appeal to fans of manga, martial arts and magic and particularly suitable for reluctant or struggling readers of 9 or 10+ as the books are real page-turners and best...

Sink the Tirpitz
Jim Eldridge
A real story in history is brought to life brilliantly for the seriously struggling reader. In addition, it is also very dyslexia friendly as it’s printed on cream paper, as all Barrington Stoke titles are, with plenty of space between...

Lewis Hamilton
Andy Croft
Formula 1 is one of the most popular global sports with boys and girls all over the world eager to emulate their star.  For many children, however, until Lewis Hamilton became F1 World Champion this sport was seen by some...

Crazy Creatures
Gill Arbuthnott
A true story that’s stranger than fiction. Find out about the bird that fights by being sick on you, the frog that can kill 1,500 people, the Bee Duvet of Death, plus many more fabulous facts, in this laugh-out-loud collection...

The Return of Johnny Kemp
Keith Gray
A really gripping thriller for teenage boys.  Short and fast-paced, it’s the story of Johnny Kemp, a boy that no one is prepared to mess with, until that is, Dan manages to get him excluded from school.  But now he’s...

The Evil Eye
Oisin Mcgann
With an interest age of 10+ but with a reading age a little younger, this incredibly dyslexia friendly action-packed retelling of an Irish myth will have wide appeal.   Balor has a terrifying eye of destruction that incinerates all in his...

Liar
Pete Johnson
The author Pete Johnson gleaned his inspiration for this title from a memory back from his school days when a good mate of his said he was to blame for something he didn’t do.  It messed up their friendship.  In...

Diary of an (Un)teenager
Pete Johnson
Spencer is determined that he’ll stay exactly as he is when he turns 13. As he tells his diary, he wants nothing to do with the clothes, kit and attitudes that other teenagers adopt. But when his friend Zac turns...

Two Words
Tanya Landman
Reluctant or struggling readers with a reading age of around 7 but an interest age of 12+ will thoroughly enjoy this novel.  A tense story of how life can change from one moment to the next. Best friends Matt and...

Hide and Seek
Cathy Macphail
Chilling from start to finish this is a brilliant, fast moving and spooky story. When new girl Destiny arrives at school she asks if it is really haunted… Everyone knows it isn’t but tricking Destiny seems like a bit of...

Freerunner
James Lovegrove
An incredibly fast-paced short thriller about a boy called Taj who is the top ‘freerunner’ around but can he use his skills successfully to stop a gangland hit involving his father. Tense and well-written teens will love it. 

The Fix
Sophie Mckenzie
A tense novel about finding the special kind of courage needed to do the right thing in difficult circumstances. Blake is great footballer; playing football is all he wants to do but, with money worries at home, he knows he...

Ghosting
Keith Gray
A chilling and brilliant horror story, Ghosting tells how the make-believe of contacting the spirit world becomes horribly real for Sandy and her brother Nat. Taught by their Mum how to ‘talk’ to the dead, Nat and Sandy put on...

Flash Flood
Andy Croft
High drama in this simply written but gripping watery adventure. Bored on a wet holiday, Jaz and Toni set out to find some fun in the nearest town. But they don’t realise how quickly the river is rising. Soon they...

Amazing!

Willard Wigan cannot read or write. He is a sculptor with a difference and shows the world that sometimes it is the small things that matter...

Click here to hear more about him in this video 
where Willard tells his 
inspirational story.

Self Evaluation Traffic Lights Fans

Using traffic light fans in the classroom is a great way for teachers to see at a glance if their teaching is working! When asked if they have understood an idea or a concept all children can find the colour on their traffic light fan that corresponds to their understanding and hold it up.

 - If all hands show green, great! Maybe add a little something extra if everyone has grasped what you have said or ask some questions to expand their understanding.

 - If there are quite a few amber lights perhaps a student holding up a green light could go over the concept to the whole class  for the benefit of the amber lights who are not 100% sure yet.

 -If all are holding up a red light, perhaps a new approach is required to get the idea across! If just a few red lights can be seen, pair those lights with a green light to talk it over or work with the red lights as a small group when work has started.

Teachers can use a traffic light fan themselves to model that it is fine to hold up a red light when you are not sure about something. Some teacher judgement will be needed sometimes as to whether amber really means red.

These traffic lights can also be put onto three boxes that children can place their work into to be marked at the end of a task. It is a good way for teachers to compare a students self-evaluation of their efforts with that of their own evaluation. It can inform the marking process and give teachers a good understanding of a students level of confidence and self esteem in certain areas.

You can click here to get a printable copy of the

traffic lights. Print, laminate, cut out, punch a hole and 
connect lights with split pins....  

Let self evaluation commence!