The 2,3 and 4 year olds in the Reading Ready Brains pilot could not explore words like 'Daisy' 'muddy' 'digger' and the words for numbers - within the first week - as they don't yet know the graphemes (print to speech) This might show why phonics is the essential kickstart to orthographic learning, but also limiting because restricted to 'print to speech'.

 

Because Jake already knows the Speech Sound Monsters he can figure out the word and THEN see the mapped graphemes (Speech Sound Pics) They learn the monsters really quickly, as they are interested - they make sense to the children. They WANT to learn the Monster Sounds. Our autistic children learn them even more quickly. Use the SSP Spelling Piano app to learn the monsters and also to build words in Monsters on the keyboard!

 

This is a ground breaking 'speech to print' (combined appropriate with print to speech) approach, making phonemes visible SO THAT children can learn the mapping of phonemes to graphemes more easily. They can do this ALONGSIDE explicit, systematic print to speech phonics instruction (the 4 SSP phonics Code Levels) They do not have to WAIT until someone has 'taught' them the graphemes - as with print to speech phonics.

 

Again, note that we DO offer the systematic phonics instruction - as seen in any synthetic phonics program - but we ALSO take them speech to print because we can... BECAUSE of the Speech Sound Monsters.

 

Speech to Print phonics approaches don't offer this.

 

So when arguing 'speech to print' OR 'print to speech' phonics SSP teachers are successfully doing BOTH in a way that 'just makes sense' to all children.

 

As this is such a different way to think about teaching orthographic learning I am doing it with 2 3 and 4 year olds and especially with neurodivergent learners. They can show grown ups with closed minds why so different - getting us closer to a NEW science of reading.

 

One day those claiming to understand the science, and who opposed to use of 'Miss Emma's Speech Sound Monsters', as alternatives to phonetic symbols (showing children the sound without a linked grapheme, unless in a written word) will realise how much harm they did by banning teachers from talking about them in SoR groups or using them in class - even though the data is there. Shame on them. True scientists, searching for the best solution, remain open minded. We leave NO STONE unturned.

 

Miss Emma X