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As seen in the UK, where phonics teaching and testing has been mandatory for over a decade, at least 25% of children do not reach the 'self-teaching' phase, after 2 years of systematic synthetic phonics instruction. Book a session with Miss Emma, the Neurodivergent Learning Whisperer. Visible English Spelling Code is the perfect bridge to self-teaching.
The IPA and the issue of accents while teaching phonics.
SSP teachers use the IPA to Code Map®, so children can use a universally recognised mapping system, even if students then ‘translate’ to their accents after following the monster sounds and blending! Eg the mapping for 'class' will show klɑːs (and the linked phoneme monsters) but I then ‘translate’ klæs ! And I say ænt but a lot of Aussie kids would ‘translate’ the word 'ant' to ˈeənt!
We’re developing a way to teach Code Mapping® anywhere in the world, as the kids understand everyone speaks with different accents, and yet the words (more or less) are spelt in the same way globally. We aren’t asking everyone to speak with a British accent; we are addressing the issues teachers face when teaching children to ‘talk on paper (encode/spell words) and when teaching them to say the words already on paper (decoding/reading) Even within one classroom the phonemes used (and where stressed etc) can vary enormously! When creating the code, to represent speech on paper, the ‘code creators’ faced an incredibly difficult challenge. So let’s explore that with students too! (Etymology, morphology as well as orthography)
You will have seen how quickly students learn to read and spell high-frequency words, using Code Mapped and Monster Mapped text.
We also focus on the meaning of words, and use them in real reading and writing activities!
The Speech Sound Monsters are simply an alternative to the phonetic symbols !
Read more about Code Mapping® and Monster Mapping® to speed up the rate at which students learn to read and spell here
Use the IPA within the Speedy Six Spelling Activities
Use the Speedy Six Spelling Activities to help children understand phoneme to grapheme mapping; especially when outside of 'code level'.
Phoneme manipulation is the highest level of phonemic awareness, and can take some kids a while to get there. This is why Activity 5 of the Speedy Six is so important.
Make sure they know the meaning of the words.
Let them try to do it with eyes closed, so no visual distractions.
Also use the Speech Sound Monsters as a visual representation of the phoneme (and not a link to a letter) This can also help. They can SEE where the phonemes 'sit' ie the order. It gives them something concrete, to understand the concept. However we need them to do this with their eyes closed - but this can help them get there.
YOU will likely do this when manipulating in your mind ie you think of the word (as you know which letters/ graphemes are used) and then you add, delete, subtract etc. The word is in your mind.
Kids who are learning to read can't visualise all words, and so they can't get a mental picture of where the representations for the speech sounds (graphemes) sit. But they don't need to know the graphemes for this activity (I'm just reminding you that this is what you likely do, as you can read)
Some kids struggle to visual anything, even when they can read. So if they have this issue AND poor phonemic awareness, they need this extra help (the Speech Sound Monsters, in order) I have found it easier not to have the speech sound lines and numbers, even though great for the initial word; they can then get confused when one is taken out, as it changes the order of the others. We can change them, but by then many can be lost. So the way I've done it here is most likely to help the highest number of children.
Important activity, and lots to understand about how to get kids there. Kilpatrick, of course, outlines why this higher level of phonemic awareness matters. I'm showing you how to get them there. Theory to Practice!
