Decoding words and spelling are separate activities!
It is important to understand this because so often we put obstacles in the way of our children enjoying reading by including spelling activities. Yes, a lot of children will naturally acquire spelling knowledge through reading, but most children with learning difficulties will not!!

How do we create these obstacles? Simple!

By insisting children stop every time they get to an unfamiliar word…. and s..ou..n..d it out! The child becomes so focussed on individual
words, they forget the story! It impacts their ability to comprehend what they are reading as well as their fluency. Reading will become something they dislike, won’t attempt and will try to avoid at all costs!
Especially visual learners! (It is estimated that about 80% of children diagnosed with dyslexia are visual learners so learning to read becomes even more challenging).

The only thing they are going to learn is

Frustration!

When children start to resist reading, homework time and school readers become a stressful chore for everyone involved!! Reading is one of the most important aspects of a child’s learning because it affects everything they do so it is essential they enjoy it.

Make reading time an enjoyable time and let your child read “for reading’s sake”!

© Playground Sound