I have been providing a variety of activities to support overlearning the basics of reading - knowing the 'regular' alphabet sounds and 'short' vowel sounds; 'chunking' bigger words; common suffixes and this week, initial blends.
At our group time on Monday J saw the word 'cartilage' in the text we were beginning to read and initially said, "I don't know that word" - her usual strategy! A moment later she said, "It's 'cartilage". When I asked her how she worked it out, she said that she knew the word 'age' and there was the word 'car' at the beginning and 'til' in the middle!!
In another group, K walked in the door and said he now knows that the 'uh' sound is made by a 'u' not an 'a'.
