Feedback related to older learners from age 10 to adult

Thank you to those people who email and phone us - please feel free to add to this forum.
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debbie
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Post by debbie »

Dear Debbie,

What an inspiring report! wow!!!!!

I cannot agree more with all of what was said there having used PI at school with the Year 5 and 6 children achieving outstanding results myself.

This is super report which I will definitely share with our Secondary schools in Argentina and Latin America!
Kindly sent to me by an ex-Principal of a bilingual school and SP teacher-trainer in South America. :D
Debbie Hepplewhite
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debbie
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Post by debbie »

Thank you so much for the posters. They arrived just in time for the teachers in Secondary to put on their classroom walls. I had a brief meeting with them to explain how to make CONSTANT reference to the poster, whether they are teaching English Language, Biology or Social Science.
Sent by a teacher in Spain who recently attended our two-day training summer event.

In response to many requests, for years, we are finally getting our act together re providing more ready-made resources - especially our Alphabetic Code Charts.

These are available in various sizes 'ready-made' from A4 Table Top charts to A1 glossy paper charts, to the Giant 'Pull-up' and 'Hang down' plasticised charts.

You will see more of these on our PI website shortly - and in addition, you can see them at this site:

www.blackberrycottageconsultancy.co.uk

You will be able to purchase hard copy resources from either site and more items will become available in the future.

Please let me reassure people that these simply provide people with choices. The online 'virtual' Phonics International programme is a full and comprehensive programme - not dependent upon the ready-made resources which are available for additional cost if you prefer.

We shall always continue to provide a range of Alphabetic Code Charts at no cost - for anyone to download as required. :wink:
Debbie Hepplewhite
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debbie
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Post by debbie »

What percentage of schools' KS3 pupils have reading and spelling ages below their chronological ages which prevent them from accessing the wider curriculum?

Thank you to this local authority Specialist Leader in Education for Phonics for this latest feedback re use of synthetic phonics teaching and the Phonics International programme's resources:
From our point of view I use it regularly as an intervention particularly in years 7 & 8 with high success rates.

I have recorded up to 3 years improvement in reading and spelling ages over a period of 8 months.

Particular success has been recorded with EAL pupils who initially learn the basic skills of blending and segmenting and then progress to expanding their vocabulary.

I have also had success using the programme as an intervention with KS2 pupils. Like KS3, they are very conscious of having covered a version of phonics at KS1. However, the maturity of the vocabulary and lack of "childish" images makes Phonics International acceptable to these pupils.

They recognise the gaps in their learning and accept that this is not just about reading and spelling, but so much more.

Pupils also appreciate the routine built up over time using this programme and begin to be able to take ownership of their own learning.

It's also accessible both in and out of the classroom. I regularly set homework using the programme or pass it to teaching assistants for 1:1 intervention.

Parents also appreciate pupils receiving targeted intervention using Phonics International and are grateful that their children are bringing home work which is clearly going to improve their performance in every aspect of their academic lives, and is also something that they can easily become involved with.


As a Specialist Leader in Education for Phonics, I can thoroughly recommend the programme; nothing else I have trialled over the years has been so easily accessible and had such consistent success rates.
What fab feedback - thank you so much! :D
Debbie Hepplewhite
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debbie
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Post by debbie »

Randomly pleased to see this contribution on a 'Readers' comments' section of 'Teachers' Network' following the controversy caused by Professor Andrew Davis via his pamphlet questioning the 'imposition' of systematic synthetic phonics!

busylizzy
04 March 2014 12:24pm

Recommend

As a secondary teacher asked to set up a literacy programme for a nurture group. I have had to learn some phonic sounds in order to improve spelling. I have used the International Phonics programme and their spelling has vastly improved but it is very difficult to recover reading skills in the secondary environment because of time and timetabling restraints. With any programme, if children are struggling by the time they reach Secondary school it is difficult for those children to catch up.
May as well provide the link to the article in question:


http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-netw ... mentpage=1

Also - may as well provide the link to the thread I've developed re Andrew Davis's paper as it has hit the national headlines and keeps on doing so it seems:

http://www.phonicsinternational.com/for ... .php?t=556
Debbie Hepplewhite
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debbie
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Post by debbie »

Another lovely message from someone who attended one of our 2-day training events some time ago and now keeps in touch with me every now and again - always much appreciated:

Hi Debbie,

SO pleased that you are getting such enthusiasm for your training courses, from those who know where phonics is at!!!

I am teaching daily supply cover this year and 'popping' in your phonics wherever I can. However, I've been given a HUGE weekly treat; the chance to work with a 14 year old lad of a family I've known for years.

My challenge to myself was ' I'm going to make him smile by half term (given the teenage lack of enthusiasm and that he is struggling with reading, spelling and writing). We had the smile on the first session!!!

Our lesson plan is: sound activity sheet, 'I can read', 'sort it' (quick spelling test of all associated graphemes), writing sentences to include all the grapheme words in the word bank, copying my modelled writing for his sentences and a spelling test for the sound activity words.

He is taking an A4 laminated code sheet to school for reference and choosing his own graphemes for each lesson. Two lessons completed and a transformation on all levels already!!! SUCH fun for both of us and really easy to prepare each week, alongside supply lessons!!!

Have fun with your training ... and this gorgeous autumn weather!
:wink:
Debbie Hepplewhite
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debbie
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Phonics International with adult EAL learners in Saudi Arabi

Post by debbie »

We claim that Phonics International can be used with older learners and learners for whom English is an additional language.

It was wonderful to receive this feedback from an English teacher-trainer in Saudi Arabia - and I think we'll hear more from Tony as they roll-out Phonics International and he can report back on their findings:

Tony wrote that he'd struggled to register on the PI message forum so, in the interim, he asked me to copy and paste this message below:
Implementing Phonics International with adult EAL learners in Saudi Arabia

Having run two previous intensive phonics courses with our own materials cobbled together from Jolly Phonics and our own adult-friendly worksheets, it was with great relief I came across PI a few weeks ago. I have been nominated to implement a much more comprenhensive course this time around but was informed the frequency of our learner in-take was to be increased significantly. Consequently, working on my own to create materials for hundreds of adult Saudi nationals ( many of whom have zero knowledge of the English Alphabetic Code or Roman Alphabet and are absolute beginners) in a few weeks was rather challenging.

I took out a single user license in order to evaluate the full programme for my centres needs and context. Realising the materials and two-pronged approach is ideal for our use, I presented the case for PI to our Training Manager. It took a whole five minutes to persuade him how easily the materials and pedagogy could be adapted for our context. He agreed to take out a multi user license and gave me the approval to set up the materials in our classrooms and prepare training for over 100 teachers.

My intention is to establish a systematic synthetic phonics course for our CEF A1 learners over 30 to 45 weeks. In addition, for our CEF B1 learners,a Spelling Intervention programme will be set up for teachers and learners to 'dip into' as required. Teacher taining will be arranged so that teachers can deliver phonics lessons both systematically and incidentally.
This is a case of 'Watch this space...' as they say!


:wink: :wink: :wink:

Tony says that if anyone is interested in getting in touch with him regarding use of PI in his particular circumstances or similar, his email address is:

tony2frankish@hotmail.co.uk
Debbie Hepplewhite
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debbie
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Post by debbie »

It was heartwarming to receive this feedback re use of the Series of 8 eBooks in very challenging, resource-poor circumstances:
Greetings Ms. Hepplewhite,

I am working on the Language Arts Curriculum for Rising Academy and wanted to introduce myself. Prior to my writing life, I was a classroom teacher for 20 years, with a specific focus as a Reading Specialist. Here, in the US, that means I work with students who are having trouble learning to read for some reason—a traumatic life experience, a learning disability (like dyslexia), or a communication disorder (such as with speech or hearing).

I am explaining all this so that you might understand my next words.

My goodness-I am so impressed with your curriculum! I have worked for years (more than a decade) specifically on teaching phonics and found your program so incredibly easy to use for new teachers and students just learning phonics. What I loved was the sequence of the program. With phonics, each skill must be mastered before a new one is introduced and not every program does that. Most try to overlap with heavy comprehension and the kids just aren’t ready for that. Being able to take the program in small chunks and introduce it to kids who are just learning to read, or who have had trouble learning to read, is so important for their leaning. Unfortunately, I don’t get to see the kids grasping those concepts, but I know it is occurring. The program content is accessible and meaningful in ways that are growing readers. Since the focus in on a different age group, I have adapted it a bit, just tweaks here and there to more address the interests of teens, but those pages are truly invaluable for creating a school of readers.

This reads a bit like a fan letter, doesn’t it? J I’m not trying to butter you up, but do want to thank you for the contributions to the team. I do see that you are creating a website and other materials and I am very much interested in that. I do hope you send more information about it.

So glad to meet a fellow literacy advocate!
This is with reference to the work of the Solon Foundation which I have written about via another forum for 'Africa and India' here (and which I need to update):

http://phonicsinternational.com/forum/v ... m.php?f=18

This is the material that is being used - the Series of 8 eBooks designed to be a 'pick up and go' resource as the full Phonics International bank of material can be rather overwhelming!

http://www.teachyourchildtoread.co.uk

You can read about the rationale of the Series of 8 eBooks via this pdf - and these are being re-designed further for a series of 9 hard copy books - watch this space!

http://www.teachyourchildtoread.co.uk/e ... erview.pdf
Debbie Hepplewhite
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