According to Tony Buzan, the author of “Brain Child’ the brain learns better if we use colours. In Readeasy Phonics, we use three main colours. Red is for vowels, black for consonants and blue for Look and Say words. The children will understand that red and black letters can be blended whereas blue words are to be memorized. These colour codes will help them decode words easily.

The brain also learns better if we use multisensory techniques. In Readeasy Teaching Instruction, multisensory techniques are used at all levels. We teach each sound by associating it to an action in a song. The sound /b/ is associated to the action of bouncing a ball while singing ‘Bobby Bear b b b’; the sound /n/ is associated to the action of driving a race car while singing ‘Nelly Nightingale n n n’.
When we relate a reading activity(left-brain activity) to singing(right-brain activity), we are optimizing the child’s brain(ie using both sides of the brain) for learning. The child will be able to remember the sound & symbol with ease. The brain also remembers better if there are feelings involved when children are learning. Singing and doing an action for each sound with fun will help them remember the sound & symbol easily.

The children are also taught to touch sandpaper letters or form the letter using modelling clay for each sound that they learn. They are trained to say the sounds as they do these activites.

When reading/blending words, we advise teachers and parents to encourage their children to use their fingers to point to or tap the letters as they blend the sounds. Children should also use sound cards to form words. For some children who are lagging behind, we get the parents to do Listen and Build activity using sound cards with them at home so that they go through a sensory process when reading.

For spelling/segmenting, get the children to do karate chops for each sound that they say.

At the word or sentence level, do dictation with your children. Writing is a sensory process that will help reinforce their learning.

In my personal experience, no child will be left behind if you follow these steps when teaching them to read. Moreover the reading texts in Readeasy Phonics presents highly decodable texts.