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The THRASS
(Teaching Handwriting Reading And Spelling Skills) synthetic
phonics programme is widely accepted as having the potential
to more than double the normal rate of progress for reading
and spelling in English, and THRASS UK is now delighted to
be part of the exciting new Memory 4 Teachers ICT project
that is being promoted by the RGS Media Group.
The inclusion of groundbreaking free THRASS software in the
Memory 4 Teachers project will make the THRASS programme
readily available to thousands more teachers and educators
across the UK. Through Memory 4 Teachers, 800,000 teachers
and educators will be provided with free fully interactive
memory sticks, in which will be embedded free educational
resources to help them manage their ever-increasing
workloads. Worksheets, lesson plans, homework guides as well
as many other useful tools will be readily available and the
memory sticks will also provide access to selected websites
and free file storage.
THRASS UK will be helping teachers and educators by
contributing a full presentation of the THRASS synthetics
phonics programme to both the Educational Resources section
of the memory sticks and also to the associated Web Channel.
The presentation will contain a wealth of information on how
to use THRASS, demonstration lessons, case studies, guidance
on choosing the most appropriate resources and a link to the
main THRASS picture-based training website. But the biggest
prize of all will be the inclusion on the memory sticks of
the full version of the groundbreaking THRASS Phoneme
Machine 6.0 software.
Phoneme Machine 6.0 is the latest version of this amazing
software that uses moving human lips to pronounce the sounds
(phonemes) in hundreds of frequently used English words,
thereby developing a good understanding of the 44 sounds
(phonemes) and the 120 main spelling choices (keygraphemes)
of English. It will be launched in January 2009 at the BETT
Show (the world’s largest educational technology event) and
will include a Cued Speech option that will enable deaf
children to be taught using synthetic phonics.
The THRASS Phoneme Machine is an excellent resource for
teachers, assistants and parents for learning about, and
also teaching, the fundamental building blocks of English in
an entertaining and fun way. It is suitable for learners of
all ages and abilities and has been found to be particularly
helpful for use with children starting to read, children
finding reading difficult and those for whom English is not
their first language.
There are three sections to the Phoneme Machine: the
interactive Calendar, the Word Grid and the Phoneme Grid. In
the interactive English Calendar, children’s voices say the
days, dates, months, numbers, colours and letter names.
Interactive Calendar Charts for other European and African
languages can be downloaded and added, and printable
calendar charts are also available. In the Word Grid and the
Phoneme Grid, a female voice and moving human lips pronounce
the words and phonemes and a male voice names the letters.
In the Cued Speech option, which can be turned on and off in
the Phoneme Grid, the shapes, positions and movements of the
hands are displayed alongside the moving human lips, with
the cueing for each of the 500 basewords of English
demonstrated in a video box.
The Memory 4 Teachers project will also give teachers the
opportunity to become familiar with the THRASS SING-A-LONG
Family Reading Resources that use 44 songs that teachers and
parents can sing with children to explain the 44 sounds and
120 main spelling choices of English. Singing has been shown
to accelerate learning and improve the memory, and the songs
have wonderful imaginative titles such as “The moon fell out
of the sky”, A great big gorilla” and “You don’t get pandas
in Africa”, and really memorable tunes in different musical
styles and dance rhythms from around the world. The
SING-A-LONG resources include an interactive book, an audio
CD, a 96-page hard-back book, a colouring book, a sheet
music book and a MOVE-A-LONG with SING-A-LONG DVD.
Alan Davies, Executive Director of THRASS UK, is extremely
pleased with the latest developments: “THRASS UK is
delighted to have the opportunity to provide guided training
and speech, reading and spelling skills resources for
teachers and, in particular, to be able to share with them
the latest version of the groundbreaking Phoneme Machine. We
are certain that all teachers, including teachers of
children with hearing impairments and other learning
difficulties, will find it invaluable.”
The THRASS synthetic phonics programme meets all the
criteria for a good phonics programme published by the UK
Department for Children, Schools and Families, and is being
used with resounding success in thousands of schools across
Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the
USA. Wherever it is used, it surpasses all expectations and
using THRASS in a balanced language curriculum can more than
double the normal rate of progress for learning reading and
spelling for primary and secondary school children,
including dyslexics and those for whom English is not their
first language.
It is an indication of the significance of THRASS that in
South Africa it is being sponsored by Absa Bank, a member of
the Barclays Group, through the THRASS Absa TalkTogether
Project. In addition, the THRASS Accredited Certificate is
already a compulsory module for Foundation Phase student
teachers at six South African universities.
Notes to Editors
The THRASS extensive picture-based training website for
schools and parents with access to a wide range of resources
and support materials, and extensive evidence of the
widespread success of THRASS and details of THRASS
Professional Development Courses is at
www.thrass.co.uk/teaching.htm
For full details of the Memory 4 Teachers Project, visit
www.memory4teachers.co.uk , where teachers can also
register for the free USB memory stick.
Issued by: THRASS UK News Media Centre
www.thrass.co.uk/nm.htm
Mike Meade, Media Director, +44 1829 741413 Mob: +44 7970
151 738
mikemeade@thrass.co.uk
Chris Griffiths, International Development, +30 266 203 1207
chrisgriffiths@thrass.co.uk
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