Learning to read is never dull – ll, z, zz. Visit a zoo and an aquarium, and read about a chameleon who zaps a fly.
When we see a double consonant, just say the sound once, e.g. “ll” in gulls, jelly and jellyfish; and “zz” in buzz and dizzy.
(We always put “ll” after a single vowel in a short word, e.g. gull; and following a single vowel in a longer word if the vowel says its (short) sound, e.g. jelly (jel-ly). This is also usually true for “zz”, e.g buzz and dizzy (diz-zy). Rules like these will help children later when they are refining their spelling skills. At the moment, just make sure they can see the “ll” and hear where the /l/ sound comes in the words. Also for “zz”. This helps develop *phonemic awareness.)
Use any opportunity that arises to talk about anything new or interesting, whether it is as you read to your child, watch videos, go for a walk … Make a deliberate effort to make sure they become familiar with new and unusual words. Just drop them naturally into conversation. It is very important to make a habit of doing this well before children start reading harder words for themselves. Sometimes, there can be more than one possibility for the pronunciation of some letters, children need to decide where syllable breaks are, and/or it is important that they get the stress in the right place. The wider their vocabulary, the more easily they will “get it”. The video clip for “zoo” provides an ideal opportunity for this.
Give lots of practice in reading words that only use the letter/sound combinations that children have learned, especially those that have been taught most recently. Humour is a powerful motivating tool.
* Identifying the initial sound, final sound and middle sound(s) in words all develop phonemic awareness, a key skill in learning to read. (A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound, e.g. the phonemes in “zoo” are /z/ and /oo/.)
Click on the bottom right hand corner of each video to see it full screen. If you have trouble seeing the videos try ll, Phonic Comic 1/27, z, zz, Phonic Comic 1/28
Thanks to Sydney Aquarium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia for permission to film the jellyfish and to Zoodoo (Trevor Cuttriss, owner/manager), Richmond, Tasmania for permission to film for “zoo”.
All illustrations for Phonic Comic books © A. H. M. Wherrett, 2004.
To see the other videos go to Videos for Children
Print the books easy 1-27 and easy 1-28 back-to-back on A4 paper, cut each one across the centre on the line, assemble, fold and staple.
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