Last month, I published a journal post about Maths activities that could be included in “5 Minute SEN Bags” to support SEN pupils when working towards their individual personalised targets. In this post, I will share some of my favourite Twinkl* resources for supporting SEN pupils with their reading and writing skills.
These Phonics Screening Word Cards (above left) are great for using with SEN pupils who are still developing their understanding of phonics. Laminating these word cards is a great way to ensure they are reusable. Children can practise reading the words independently or with an adult.
If you have pupils who are struggling to blend CVC words, these Phoneme Frames (above right) are fantastic! Once again, I laminated these cards so children can fill in the letters with a whiteboard penwhich can later be rubbed off so they can be reused. This is another great activity that allows the children to be independent whilst practising their phonics skills. Twinkl create a wide range of these phoneme frames for different types of words e.g. CCVC, CVCC, split digraphs etc. Just do a search for “phoneme frames” on the Twinkl home page.
Once your pupils have mastered phonics, there is still the issue of those tricky high frequency words that just don’t follow the rules. For pupils who are struggling with these words, use these High Frequency Word Flashcards (above left). They can be used in a similar way to the Phonics Screening Cards mentioned above. Children can practise reading the words independently or they can also be used by an adult to assess the child’s progress.
Another common struggle for some SEN pupils is ensuring their handwriting is neat and legible. Twinkl produce some fantastic resources for aiding pupils with their letter formation.
Before pupils even begin to think about forming letters, they can practise their pencil control with these Pencil Control Path Worksheets (above right). Laminate these and allow the children to practise keeping their whiteboard pen between the lines. There are a range of themes to suit different children’s interests; just search for “pencil control” on the home page.
When you are confident that the pupil can control their pen/pencil accurately, you can move them onto these Letter Formation Worksheets (above left). Again, I would laminate these so they can be reused multiple times. These worksheets allow the child to practise forming the different letters of the alphabet. At first, the worksheet shows them where they should be positioning their pen to begin forming the letter. As the child becomes more confident, they can then practise forming the letters without the guidelines. These worksheets also allow the child to practise writing the letter within a word.
Finally, it can be very difficult for children to remember which way round certain letters go, in particular ‘b’ and ‘d’ so I always find it helpful to give them their own copy of this B and D Display Poster (above right). I usually shrink it down to A5 or A6 and the child accesses it independently throughout writing activities to remind them which way round each letter goes. It has proven to be very successful!
* Twinkl provide me with a free subscription in return for my reviews of their products. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
