ELR Software produces a range of computer programs designed by speech pathologists for speech, language & literacy intervention. Our programs may be used interactively within therapy sessions, to increase efficiency in service delivery, and to improve access to the Internet for people with special needs. We are also available as consultants to clinicians and research projects in the fields of literacy and accessibility issues associated with the Internet.
The aim of this newsletter is to inform you of developments and changes to our major products eLr (Extra Language Resources), Build-a-Sentence and Word Meanings. We welcome the opportunity for feedback and questions, and will be pleased to consider including reader contributions and announcements.
This Newsletter (and previous editions) as well as a "print-ready" PDF version of the current edition is available online at www.elr.com.au/news. An email version is also sent monthly to members of our mailing list (See Subscribing/Unsubscribing).
In this issue -
Eighty four new tasks have been added to "Reading and Spelling", in the "Consonant Sounds" subsection targeting spelling options for the /z/ sound. These additions continue our current goal of providing activities to assist teaching letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) relationships of all the consonant sounds of English. To date we have added tasks which target the /p, b, k, ch, dge, f, s, sh and th/ sounds.
The target this month is /z/ which is a "long" consonant sound. It is produced by putting the teeth together and producing voice on the outgoing breath; hence it is called a "voiced" sound. The "long voiced" production of the /z/ sound may be contrasted with the /s/ sound which is produced in a similar manner (also teeth together) but since it does not have voice on the outgoing breath, it is referred to as a "voiceless" sound.
Within the new /z/ section there are five subsections representing the main spelling patterns for this sound: "z" (zoo), "zz" (buzz), "ze" (breeze), "s" (music), and "se" (noise). Within each of the subsections, a range of tasks are used, which together, provide a variety of ways to reinforce both reading and spelling of target words. WordSound Buttons encourages the student to segment the word into sounds or syllables and WordSearch provides an opportunity to practice decoding and eventually automatic recognition of words. SmileyMan reinforces spelling, MemoryWords and ConnectWords are further fun ways of encouraging formation of clear mental images of words to develop automatic recognition (sight words), and LookThenCover may be used to encourage the student to write the words and consolidate knowledge of spelling patterns.
As with all eLr tasks, the role of the instructor is to ensure that accurate decoding and reading has occurred, and to encourage vocabulary expansion (eg by talking about the meaning, and using the word in a range of sentences). For additional information about the development of these tasks, please refer to the February edition of ELR News which outlines the rationale and evidence base for the speech-to-print approach to teaching early reading and spelling skills.
As an occasional feature of this Newsletter, we include simple, unpaid announcements of products developed by other small, independent developers, who, like ourselves, are practising clinicians who have put their ideas and experience into resource materials for general distribution. Links and brief information about these sites may be found at www.elr.com.au/links/developers.htm. To date we have listed -
If you would like your materials listed on this page (at no charge), please contact us.
ELR has a number of free or evaluation files available for downloading directly from our website. Please see www.elr.com.au/downloads.htm for specific details. For other supporting materials and documents available for free download, please see www.elr.com.au/support.htm.
ELR Software offers regular, free eLr tutorials over the web. We can provide this sort of support to individuals, or to groups who would like to have an overview of eLr. Please contact us for details.
You are receiving ELR-News because you are an eLr subscriber, or have expressed an interest in either eLr, Build-a-Sentence or Word Meanings. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au
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