As you may have noticed, on alternate Fridays we post about famous people with dyslexia and fun facts you may not know relating to literacy, education or reading tips. This one might be good to whip out at a party and show you really know your stuff!
Factoid of the Day:
Did you know that there are 1000 letter patterns to sound relationships and in English, compared with around 40 in Spanish?
For example, in English the letter ‘a’ can sound like ‘ay’, ‘aah’, ‘aw’ or even ‘uh’.
In Spanish, the letter ‘a’ is always pronounced ‘ah’.
No fair, right? You can guess which is easier to learn to read!
The resulting cycle of failure in teaching children to negotiate these many letter to sound connections in English has led to huge disagreements on the best way to teach reading. They are sometimes referred to as the “Reading Wars”, with good reason.
We are currently working on a book due for publication this year that explains the history of these wars and why they have continued for so long. The book is also full of other great facts to enjoy on Friday! Stay tuned for news…