No Nonsense with Nonsense Words

“Cug mank grooply defo tra sork?”, said Zog the Martian. We can guarantee you were able to read that sentence, but comprehend it? Not unless you have spent a few years hanging out with little green men!

The theory behind using pseudo-words

Giving pseudo-words to children is a great way to test decoding skills. It ensures that they are using their decoding skills and not any other strategies, like remembering the shape of the word or guessing from the picture. It is the most reliable way to accurately assess that a child has mastered the essential Synthetic Phonics skill of decoding.

Yes, you didn’t comprehend Zog the Martian but you could certainly read back what he said. As I teach you to read Martian, I would also teach you to comprehend Martian, but comprehension is a skill I would teach alongside Synthetic Phonics.

Ensure every child is using their decoding skills as first strategy to read unknown words, with the Martian Reading Card Games!

“Frapul mawka weefa zee op gheigh!”, or “Good luck with learning to read!”, in Martian.