Blog

This is the second post looking at spelling lists generated by teachers.* This one comes from the Outwood Grange Academies Trust which has coined the phrase the “Dirty Thirty” spelling list. It includes many commonly misspelt words that come up regularly in TST workshops and Post-16 Phonics trainings. The list as it … Read More

This is a guest post by Georgina Mavor, an experienced literacy tutor who works with children, young people and adults who often come with significant barriers to learning, particularly dyslexia. When people ask if TRT and TST work for dyslexics, my answer is, ‘Yes but more slowly than for those without’. This … Read More

Whenever I get talking to a teacher about spelling, I offer them my brilliant idea that every school should, in the first couple of weeks of the first term, have a “-tion Day” when each first year student and teacher will adopt a useful word ending in -tion. By the end of … Read More

There are two reasons for teaching spelling through a consistent approach like TST. The first is obviously to make sure students are spelling accurately but the second is equally important if not as obvious. It helps to create a culture of spelling in your classroom. It becomes a conversation rather than a … Read More

This post is based on a long twitter post @spelling_thing. If your child has a teacher who is sending home illogical or overwhelming spelling lists, please point them here. I’m happy to answer their questions and yours! ***************** A parent has asked me for some advice on what to do with a … Read More

Over on Twitter @ChrisHallsEd says: Of course #syntheticphonics is vital, but does it help a child spell photosynthesis in Yr. 5? We need to equip ALL children with ALL the tools to succeed. #syllables The only reason phonics doesn’t currently help a year 5 child to spell photosynthesis is that year 5 … Read More

This is a slightly modified excerpt from That Spelling Thing. Bundling by tricky code <ough> isn’t a common grapheme but it occurs in very common words and it worries people because <ough> words look so similar. However, by thinking in sounds and using the TST script, anxious spellers no longer have to … Read More

Struggling spellers tend to think of short words as easy and long words as hard when it’s often the little words that require more memory. The best way to convince a student of this is to use the TST ‘building with puzzle pieces’ lesson rather than going right into spelling. Building is … Read More