Jj is for Jottings 135.  Morphemes. There was a brief definition of morphemes in the article on learning vocabulary.  Direct vocabulary instruction referred to using morphological knowledge to work out meanings of more complex words.  So it’s probably time to go more thoroughly into morphemes and how important they really are.  Knowledge of morphemes is […]

Jj is for Jottings 133.  Vocabulary: Homonyms, Heteronyms and Homophones. Following on from learning vocabulary and direct vocabulary instruction, it is useful to consider another aspect of vocabulary: homonyms, heteronyms and homophones.  These categories are often either unknown or confusing for many people, so this is a good time to sort them out.  We can […]

Jj is for Jottings 132.  Direct Vocabulary Instruction. When a child has poor vocabulary knowledge for their age, it indicates that they struggle to learn vocabulary from their written or spoken language experiences.  They will then need direct vocabulary instruction to increase their chances of catching up with their peers. It also makes sense to […]

Jj is for Jottings 130.  Auditory Skills. Auditory skills underpin the development of speech, language and literacy.  Therefore it is vitally important to be aware of these skills and, wherever possible, assist our children to develop them. WHAT ARE AUDITORY SKILLS? Auditory skills include the following: The ability to attend to various sounds. Remembering sounds. […]

Jj is for Jottings 129.  Adjectives Add Interest. In previous posts we have discussed nouns  and articles.  The next part of speech we will cover is adjectives. Adjectives add interest to language because they describe nouns and pronouns, making our speech or writing more colourful and informative.  They are the difference between “The man walked […]

Jj is for Jottings 128.  Hard and Soft ‘C’ and ‘G’. The great thing about spelling rules – such as the bossy ‘e’ rule – is that, once you learn a particular rule, you can read (and hopefully spell) many different words.  In other words, rules give you lots of bang for your buck.  When […]

Jj is for Jottings 127.  Sequencing is Important. We probably don’t think about it very much, but sequencing is important in many aspects of our lives.  A definition of “sequence” is: a set of related events, movements, or items that follow each other in a particular order.  (This is the definition for the noun.  It […]

Jj is for Jottings 126.  The Bossy ‘E’. The bossy ‘e’ (sometimes called the magic ‘e’) appears so often in written language that it is worth revisiting in its own right.  It is a classic case of “Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish […]

Jj is for Jottings 124.  Neuroplasticity, Power and Children. This article follows on from the previous article on neuroplasticity and power.  However, I just want to mention a couple more points before moving on to the subject of neuroplasticity, power and children.  These points include people’s differing needs for power, and avoiding the negative effects […]

Jj is for Jottings 119.  Types of Listening and Nonlistening. Following the discussion on hearing versus listening, I promised to discuss more aspects of listening in the next article.  We have established that hearing is a simpler process than listening, so there is more to be said about  listening.  We will look at the listening […]

Jj is for Jottings 67.  Reading Comprehension – Is Your Child Barking at Print? When your child is reading to you, are you sure they (I’m using “they” to cover both boys and girls) are actually understanding what they are reading, or are they just barking at print? i.e. Reading the words correctly but not […]

Jj is for Jottings 116.  Children Who Own Books Read More. OWNING BOOKS BENEFITS READING. Children who own books are six times more likely to read.  And they are more likely to read above the expected level for their age.  The UK-based charity, The National Literacy Trust, did a survey of more than 56,000 children […]

Jj is for Jottings 114.  Digraphs vs. Diphthongs. Digraphs vs. diphthongs – what exactly are they and how do they differ?  They both begin with the same two letters, but then they diverge (get the pun?) THE ROOTS OF DIGRAPHS AND DIPHTHONGS. It is always helpful to understand the roots of words, because then we […]

Jj is for Jottings 113.  Neuroplasticity and Complaining. Following on from the previous article on neuroplasticity, we will now be more specific – how complaining rewires the brain for negativity.  Research shows that most people complain once a minute during a typical conversation.   Although complaining might feel good, but just like smoking or eating a […]