Synthetic Phonics Hints and Tips

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Fishing game - Sam and I use a 'Fishing Game' to learn new words. Newly learned words are written onto cards shaped like fish. A paper clip is then attached to each card. These cards are later strewn into a large cardboard cover (this is the 'pond') Sam holds a rod with a magnet tied to the end of the line. When the game starts, his job is to catch a 'fish' and read the word written. He keeps the 'fish' when he correctly reads the word. (M.H.C., Singapore)

Have you got your mouth ready? - When I take A.P. for reading and he gets to a difficult word I always say to him, "Have you got your mouth ready. 'That seems to help him to look at the first sound of the word. When I first started with A.P. he would more often than not say the final sound first. I asked him if that was what he actually saw when he looked at a word. He said it was, so I tried a strip of paper under the line of words. That didn't help. In the end we found that if I pointed to the beginning of the words with a pencil, then he would get his mouth ready for the sound. In this way we have trained his eyes to look at the first sounds and not the end sounds. With using phonic prompts, especially learning the short sounding vowels, this has really helped A.P. to decipher the difficult words with confidenc. He knows now that he can help himself! (G.K., New Zealand)

Children teaching children - Children remember 90% of what they are taught by another child. (Neil Mackay, Dyslexia Conference, Jan 2006, London, UK)

Spelling homework - Spelling homework was always a nightmare. Buying magnet letters and using the side of the fridge was a breakthrough. He can make two, three or twenty attempts, without having to worry. I can leave him good morning messages, showing I need to use the fridge too. (Paula, UK)

Letter sounds and colors - Teaching a child with many difficulties, including no knowledge of color names, I taught her letter sounds and colors at the same time, by making large fabric letters. S (her initial letter) was silver, soft and shiny, with a squeaker inside it. B was big and blue, covered in bubblewrap and enclosed a bell Red was rough and raggy, patchwork, enclosing a plastic bag that rustled.... Yellow was more difficult: yummy yellow sweets were the answer.... G - green grass of the type used in shop displays.... After she had the idea, other letters needed less specific teaching, and went in with more conventional letters, covered in objects she found in catalogues. (Alis, Wales)

Stevenson Language Program - I use the Stevenson Language Program which incorporates visual cues such as a snaky s, fins on a fish are made with f's, a rope is made in the shape of an r, etc. This program also focuses on phoenimic awareness. (N.N., Bartlesville, Oklahoma)

Spelling words - Our dyslexic 11 year old had a horrible time with spelling at the beginning of this year. I used the computer to make crazy pictures of his favorite things and people - with a short phrase to depict the spelling words. We have a scanner and a color printer. To save time, I print things or scan and use the old-fashioned cut and paste with scissors and tape. The crazier the picture the more he remembered. I also asked for a couple more study days from the teacher. Spelling grades went from the 40's to the 90's in a matter of week. He's now a happy camper! (D.A., Washington, DC )

Colored letters - When my son was in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade, I used a large font technique. I would retype the spelling words in at least a size 72 font. I also learned that it seemed helpful to change the color of the letters for the part of the word he was having trouble with. For instance, if he was spelling "friend" as "freind," then I would change the color of the "ie" to red. I reasoned that he knew how to spell the rest of the word, so he should concentrate on that "ie" part. It seemed to help. If he had themed spelling lists, I sometimes even changed the font colors depending on what the words were emphasizing. So "station" would have the "ion" in red, while "patient" would have the "ien" in blue, because they sound similar but are spelt differently. (E.S. New Jersey, USA)

Large print spellings - I type spelling words in MS Word, select a large font size (font = 72) and print the words onto large index cards. This way my second-grade son has the individual word in front of him when using it in sentences or writing and can focus on the one word. I also allow him him to draw a picture on the back which he associates with the meaning of the word. (R. J., Decatur, GA)

Essay writing - My dyslexic daughter, 11, has such a hard time spelling that it takes her forever to write a report or essay at school, especially if she is constantly looking through the dictionary. Two things that helped were:
(1) A very small 40,000-Word list book - it has just the words, not the definitions, and
(2) A Franklin electronic speller.
With the latter, she can enter a word phonetically, and it comes up with a list of correctly spelled options. She can choose the option she thinks is correct, and a definition pops up to ensure it is the correct word. This was so helpful that four other children in the class purchased one, too. Rather than having her spelling problem being a stigma, the other kids like her cool gadget! (R. F., Boise, Idaho )

Make alphabet biscuits together, or use 'writing icing' to make words on ordinary ones - everyone has to say the one they have before eating it! (S. H-C, Surrey, UK)

Pupils highlight their spelling errors One of my students used to sigh and begin to switch-off every time I mentioned her spelling mistakes, so I changed it around and put her in control by suggesting she highlight any words she felt might need checking. We looked at the ones she had highlighted and ignored the other mistakes. It had a very positive effect on her attitude, as she was being her own critic rather than the teacher. (V.L., Hampshire, UK)

Clay letters - My dyslexic son is 8 years old and has difficulty with writing spelling words for his test. We did some research and found that molding letters out of clay helped tremendously. He seems to learn better with visual or 3D aides. We form each letter in clay and make the spelling words. He spells it out loud forward, backwards and forward again. So for it is working. (lexus443, Louisiana)

'b's and 'd's - My dyslexic son's 1st grade teacher taught him how to remember how to write his b's and d's by using his hands. He would say A, B (and make the letter 'b' with his left hand - the thumb up and fingers in a fist) C, D (do the same but use the right hand). This seems to work for him. (Janet, Longview, Texas)

'b' and 'd' - I have this problem and when I was at school to help me with my b's and d's they just wrote 'bed' because it looks like a bed and you can hear it (Carly Harris, UK)

Getting 'd' the right way round - My dyslexic son and I have found a cunning little trick to get the letter 'd' the right way round. He says: 'c, d, starts to write 'c' and continues it into a 'd'! (Rod, Los Angeles)

'b' and 'd' - My son gets b's and d's mixed up often. I bought him a bracelet for his right arm. Now he knows that "b" is for bracelet and goes in the direction of the bracelet side and "d" goes to the side of him not wearing the bracelet. (R.S., California)

Letters with tails - I find that the D'Nealian manuscript alphabet works better than the Zane Bloozer, because it makes greater differentiations between the letters with its monkey tails. The child can try writing the letter with their finger when they are stuck trying to decide, which is a "b" or a "d". (L.S., Atlanta, GA)

Shaving cream - My dyslexic 8-year old daughter hates practicing her spelling words. So while she is taking her bath we smooth shaving cream onto the wall so she can write the words with her finger. When she needs to try again we can just smooth out the shaving cream. We have also used peanut butter smeared on a paper plate and wrote the words with carrots! (Carla, North Dakota, USA)

Bath foam - Jake is 10 years old, dyslexic, and hasn't enjoyed spelling. So I bought a bath foam that comes in colors; I spray it on the glass table top and he writes the words into it. If he should get it wrong I correct it with him and then he says the letters forward and backwards a couple of time and then says the work. He also closes his eyes and says the letters forward and backwards. The last two tests he has scored 100. (P, USA)

Cookie dough - When my son was struggling to learn the alphabet at 6 years old. We made cookie dough, divided it, added different food colors, chocolate chips, sprinkles etc. We then formed the dough to make the letters of the alphabet starting with uppercase letters. We then baked them and ate them. This helped him learn the letters and isolate them so they would not move so much on the page. (J.J., Louisiana, USA )

Hearing your child read (1) - You could play a simple game with your dyslexic child. Choose a story that the child will enjoy. Before you begin tell the child that they can only read one word every time it appears in the book. This might make the child wonder why they can only read just one of the words. If the adult reads their part of the story with enthusiasm then the child will concentrate on reading their word when it appears. The child may well ask the next night if they can read more than their one word, building up their confidence. (from 'How to Reach and Teach Children and Teens with Dyslexia' by Cynthia Stowe - USA | UK)

Hearing your child read (2) - Tom enjoys 'paired' reading, when he and I read together. He tends to let me take the lead and he echoes the words. This takes the pressure away from him and he still gets to enjoy what he is reading. Usually we will read a few pages together, then I will ask him to read the next few pages on his own. If I sense that he is getting tired, I take over the reading for a time while he continues to listen to the story. When Tom comes across an unfamiliar word, he will make an attempt to sound it out. If he cannot manage the word, I tell him the word so as not to interrupt his reading. (M. W-B., France).

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