Word Chains
Research over the past 30 years has confirmed that the majority of children learn reading and writing skills most effectively when taught explicitly and systematically.
While some children seem to “pick-up” reading and spelling quickly, they are not likely to master the complex alphabetic code without explicit and systematic phonics instruction.
Word chains are a list of words that use known graphemes and systematically increase in complexity. They may change one letter at a time making a new word, eg. snap > snip > slip > slap > slop > stop. This approach gives repeated opportunities to build mastery of the basic alphabetic code. This is an effective way to build the skill of Grapheme-Phoneme-Correspondence (GPC). The more efficient this skill is, the more children can focus on the meaningful parts of reading and writing. As children master the code at a simple word level, they are ready to be challenged at a more complex word level.
If your school is not providing spelling lists that follow a systematic sequence, then you can use the free word chains developed by the incredible UK educator, Alice Frendo. Alice is a Dyslexia Assessor and Teacher and has developed Dyslexic Logic, a support service full of high-quality resources available free for parents and teachers: dyslexiclogic.com/blending
To determine which word list your child should start on, click here to complete the Powerful Vowels Quick Check.
An explicit and systematic spelling list will include words that have common graphemes and increase in complexity.
Words that follow a specific spelling rule.
