I learnt that the difference between phonemes and phonograms.

I learnt about additional resources to teach and familiarise with phonemes sounds Eg. Jolly Phonics songs (paired with hand actions) and Phonogram sounds app.

Response to first part of comment: Oh dear... Hope you are okay.

i also made a new friend today ☺︎. [Response: That's great!]

I also learnt how strings can be made into a multi-sensorial tool to teach blending and segmenting.

I learnt that emphasis on words per minute or speed might not be an accurate way to determine a child's reading fluency as a child might be fluent in certain texts due to repetition but this cannot be generalized to other texts. Having a high words per minute/speed does not determine whether a child can also understand the text.

Also today Sciene of reading (SoR) where some examples are not backed up by science evidence, such as sight words. and that 85% of english words are decodable!

it was an eye opener that how language that we take granted for, that comes so naturally for most, have some necessary foundation steps that cannot be missed during the formative years..

teaching in secondary sch, trying to help students with dyslexia, there’s no short cut, the foundation are fundamentally necessary..

1. Structural analysis - how this helps to break down the word further into morphemes. E.g. unhelpful = un + help + ful. I have seen the English teachers asking the students what "smaller words" can they see in the big word? Most students could pick up the spelling of new words more easily this way.

2. I find the slide on "11 useful questions - when I don't know the word" useful. They serve as possible question prompts for me to ask when necessary during future interventions with my students.

3. Teaching phonemics are essential for both reading and spelling. The need to strengthen their phonemic awareness will go a long way, even when in secondary schools.

1. "If need ruler to read line by line, no need to remove the ruler (e.g. if need glasses to read, do you remove the glasses?)

2. Aid student who need reminder to read from left to right by following the ruler direction.

What is sight / high frequency words: When these high frequency words can be read ‘on sight’ then it is considered sight words.

Video – Blending sounds to read words

Strategy: Use string (blue white red) touch the string and sound it out faster and faster. 2 ways – w a g / dog

*If the word is long with many sounds, use more strings?

I also learned that most sight words can be decoded. When introducing these words, it’s important to sound them out to the students. With repeated exposure through flashcards, we can help them build automatic recognition. I particularly appreciate Professor Lian’s approach, where instead of using traditional examples like "A is for apple," we can use "A is for at," a common sight word. This method supports students in embedding sight words more effectively into their memory.

I also realised that phonics is important even for older children, as it helps them strengthen their reading foundation, become more confident in spelling and decoding and also better understand unfamiliar words.

I also recalled something that was mentioned during the lecture, ''Reading is not a simple process; it is a complex process. Those who cannot decode words, they require explicit instructions".

I will always remember to give my student concise, clear directions to make the reading process easier for them.

I also learnt a lot from my pair when practicing sounding out the phonemes (e.g. how some sounds come from the back of the throat vs the front)

I was also surprised to learn that using the onset-rime method to teach students how to read is not an instructional practice supported by scientific evidence... As I used that when conducting literacy lessons with my students at EI.

I learnt that Dr Liz not only shares knowledge with us, but also cares for us by filling our tummies during lessons 😆 Thank you Dr Liz!

I have also learnt that there are interesting and creative ways to teach phonics - the example shown whereby you can use different coloured strings and tie them together for the visual representation to teach students how to blend a work together

I also learned that there is no need to remove ruler if the child is comfortable to read using rulers. Learnt that Reading is always one direction from left to right; Phonemes is smallest unit of spoken language.

Thank you! Dr.Liz

In this lesson, we finally touched on phonics, which was a topic I really wanted to learn when undergoing the school stint. I found the way we are being taught to be much more structured than my attempts to learn phonics during my school stint.

The different yet similar sounding terms are still confusing though- morphemes, phonics, phonetics, graphemes, etc.

My partner Adi was very kind and encouraging during the paired work. I struggled with remembering the sounds of the letters. I wondered how I learnt reading in my childhood. I may have subconsiously be reading aloud in mind. Maybe this helped.

It's also good to know many parts of my brain are working together in harmony when I read. Grateful and thankful.