Cracking and Checking Comprehension
As you move into systematic phonics instruction - if using the Speech Sound Pics (SSP) Approach following Speech Sound Play (SSP) - you will start to use Snap and Crack for comprehension, the Speedy Six Spelling activities, to explore the code not taught withn the Core Code. Rapid Writing for sentence construction, grammar and punctuation etc.
But even in the very beginning stages we need to get into the habit of knowing that the children UNDERSTAND what they are decoding and that this matters.
In reading, pupils are taught to identify graphemes in written words from left to right, identify the corresponding phonemes and blend those phonemes to say the whole word (Department for Education, 2023, p. 47).
When pupils can do this quickly and accurately, decoding places fewer demands on working memory and attention. Cognitive resources are then freed up to focus on understanding the meaning of the words, integrating ideas across sentences, making inferences and monitoring comprehension. When decoding is slow or effortful, more attention is consumed by working out the words, leaving less capacity available for understanding the text.
Comprehension checks can be used with or without speech