Phoneme Track

This fun CD-Rom helps improve  phonemic awareness with lots of talking, listening and playing with sounds. The learner hears phonemes in words and sees the written representation. Activities provide practise with phoneme manipulation, segmentation, and blending.

• Phoneme Take-Aways - ‘bill’ take away phoneme ‘b’ = ill
• Phoneme Changes - replace phoneme ‘o’ in ‘log’ with ‘e’ = leg
• Phoneme Chains - hear a sequence of five words. Change the phonemes to make a chain such as ‘cot-cut-hut-hug-jug’.

Supports the National Literacy Strategy word level framework. Suitable for Key Stage 1 and 2. With adjustable difficulty level, record keeping and a workbook of photocopiable extension activities.

• What is the most interesting thing that has happened as a result of using the software?
A five year old who was struggling to blend and put sounds together suddenly found he could think of words that sound the same and was able to put together a simple rhyming poem almost without help! He finds great delight in using Phoneme Track and is amused by the cartoon characters.

• How does it fit with other things you do in school for dyslexic kids?
There is no doubt that phonics are a key building block to reading ability. Phoneme Track helps and reinforces the ability to 'sound out ' in fun way.
Pupils with dyslexia are given extra tuition out of the class twice weekly, as well as in-class help from SEN staff. Phoneme Track gives her an extra tool to work individually with these children. Phoneme Track is very accessible for all abilities and therefore those with dyslexia and other learning difficulties are able to use it, learn from it and feel they have achieved set goals (by the teacher), thereby raising self-esteem and the confidence to move to higher levels of skill. Most children with dyslexia as young as Year One are lacking in self-esteem because they begin to realise they can't read as well as others. Phoneme Track allows them to work with differentiation but without feeling singled out.
Those who would normally decide they can't do it before trying, discover very quickly they can get visual help from Phoneme Track in the form of the heavy type on the phoneme needing to be changed.

Other comments...
It fits the curriculum at two levels. Although Phoneme Track was originally designed for special needs and reinforcement, I have found it very valuable as a class teaching tool, fitting very well into the KS1 curriculum.
Phoneme Track is fun for the children and cuts down preparation and record-keeping for teachers with its inbuilt teacher records. I have used Phoneme Track with a whole class, small groups and individually. It is very adaptable, being able to choose different levels for different students, as well as a choice of three different activities which vary in their difficulty.
Therefore differentiation is easy to apply. Phoneme Chains challenge my most able five year olds, whilst my least able concentrate on Phoneme Take-Aways with only three letter words all within one session.

Mrs H Steel