Hi all, I am compiling a list for parents of easier chapter books for my tutoring pupils to read once they have completed reading the BRI books or another SP programme such as the Sound Reading System. They no longer need decodable text but need lots of practice with books which interest them, with ...

I know that the main focus of this discussion is the Elf books but since the BRI/ARI books have been brought into the discussion I just wanted to clarify one point which has been made. As Geraldine points out, the mapping of the alphabetic code which underpins the BRI/ARI books, was carried out as p...

Hi Peter, Thanks for the clarification. Yes, I actually means EAL learners. I am working with a Polish girl and the books have been great for her vocabulary and her very weak memory but she did come to me understanding and speaking some English. She had been in the UK for 2 years at that point. I ha...

Hi Kelly, I got it wrong about reading from back to front. You have to turn the book upside down. I agree totally about the concern about all capitals. I have investigated further and the 2nd set - after only 5 books in the first I think - introduces all this: qu, ch, sh, th, ph oo and ee (fair enou...

I need to have a more thorough read of this website but it concerns me that the earliest books are read as all lower case letters or (even worse I think) by reading from back to front (which surely sets up confusion about how books in our script is read) all in capitals. I haven't used decodables wi...

Sorry, I meant to say that there are far more books in the whole of BRI and ARI than in Elf. As far as I know, it is the most extensive set of decodables out there. So many books is not necessary for all children and Dick says we can skip books/stories. So far, I have needed all the 'redundancy' oft...

These books look interesting and superficially similar to the BRI/ARI architecture. However, as Geraldine has pointed out the BRI books are the result of extensive research. There are far more books in ARI 1 than in the Elf series - more in the crucial first 2 sets than in the whole of Elf. I have o...

Here is a link which I found which may relate to the news item I was thinking of. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7063713.stm

Hi Susan, That is very interesting. I will look at those links. Here in the UK there seems to be some conflicting information about how much 'social' drinking is ok in pregnancy. I had thought that the recommendation was to abstain totally to be safe but I'm sure I saw something on our news recently...

I have recently discovered that pupils can get a level 4 with a reading age of only 8 (Burt test). This is what one of my Yr 6 tutees has been predicted and I tested him at the end of last term. So this isn't a very good measure of a fluent reader who will be able to access the Secondary curriculum....

Hi Cartwheel, Welcome to BRI. You'll find the books great. I use them for my younger pupils or those at a more basic level. Have you joined the yahoo group? You'll get loads of useful advice and info there. I find this is common amongst my older learners - whether they read m-s words well or not. I ...

Hi all, Happy New Year! I was looking at the links to Read Write Inc -thanks Susan for such user-friendly links. :grin: I noticed that there is a new programme available called Read Write Inc Spelling, aimed at Yr 2 - 6 as a follow-on for pupils who have learned basic phonics with Read Write Inc fro...

I do think phonological processing weaknesses are a factor but probably more for spelling than reading. Many of my older strugglers have problems pronouncing multisyllabic words and don't notice subtle differences between similar sounding words. For example when working on /ow/ last week for spellin...

Hi all, I am just wondering how others classify short and long vowels? I don't tend to use the terms with my younger/more beginner learners but there does come a point where I want to teach doubling and think they are a useful shorthand. I have always thought of short vowels as /a/ /o/ /i/ /e/ and /...

Hi all, Just as a follow-up to the suggestions for suitable reading material for my Yr 6 pupil, who is working at a pretty basic level. This particular pupil is not keen on football, so I think that set would be a non-starter! Songbirds has been recommended to me but I think it look a bit 'young' - ...