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Little Stars - Word Wizard - iTunes app

Learn and practise spelling and word recognition, on your own or with a partner, in this space-themed game. Answer questions to move your rocket ship and earn stickers on the way. Includes over 150 CVC words. Free when reviewed 6/6/15.

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Jumbled Sentences 9 - iTunes app

Learn to construct sentences by dragging jumbled words into place. You can turn on sound to hear each word spoken and hear your completed sentences read to you. With each successful sentence, you earn virtual coins to buy virtual stickers for your collection. This is one of a series of nine apps. Free when reviewed 6/6/15.

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Can We Help?: Dude: American words and pronunciations

Where does the word 'dude' come from? Why do speakers of English often pronounce words differently depending on their country of origin - not only because of their accent? Find out with Professor Kate Burridge when she takes on these questions from viewers.

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Can We Help?: Vanishing words: the process of language change

The English language is full of strange contradictions and vanishing words. Have you ever wondered why we sometimes put words together that contradict each other, such as 'pretty awful' or 'terribly good'? If we can be 'ruthless', can we be 'ruthly' as well? Watch as Professor Kate Burridge explains these curious irregularities ...

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Can We Help?: Challenging grammar rules, darlings and crowbars

Find out that what appears to be a straightforward grammar rule behind the use of the words 'fewer' and 'less' may not be as straightforward as it seems! Professor Kate Burridge explains that this grammar rule has been under challenge for centuries. She also explains the origins of the word 'darling' and why the 'crow' ...

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Can We Help?: Changing letter sounds and butterflies

Have you ever wondered why you can't just add a prefix such as 'in-' to the beginning of a word to make its opposite? Professor Kate Burridge explains how a prefix is influenced by the sound of the letters that come after it. She also gives two explanations about the origins of the word 'butterfly'.

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Big Ideas: Evolving English and the role of social media

How many times have you heard teenagers berated for using the term 'like'? Yet this term has existed at least since 1586 when the term, 'Yon man is like out of his mind' was written into history. The truth is, our language is constantly evolving, with new words added, others dying off and some resurfacing again. In this ...

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Can We Help?: Words and sayings over time

Have you ever wondered where sayings like 'hanging by the skin of your teeth' come from? Professor Kate Burridge explains the origin and meaning of this saying. She also explains the opposite word (antonym) to 'misogynist' (someone who hates or has a long and deep prejudice against women) and the origins of the word 'goodbye'.

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Can We Help?: Word histories: how extraordinary!

Words can change over time and so can their meanings. The word 'extra' broke away from other words to become a word on its own. Professor Kate Burridge explains how this impacts on words like 'extraordinary'. She also explains the origins and meanings of the words 'hearse' and 'rehearse''.

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A resourceful guide to prefixes and suffixes

Do you know what a prefix and a suffix is? Watch this clip as it explains what they are. Can you think of some words that have been created using a prefix or a suffix that are not included in this clip?

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Phonics Fun 4 - iTunes app

Learn letter sounds and rime as you tap pictures and hear letter sounds. Match the letters and sounds to the pictures. Covers 9 letter sounds (a, e, i, o, u, qu, sh, z, v), 5 rimes (ip, ot, x, at, un) in 75 words. Free when reviewed 6/6/15.

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Letter planet: a, e, o

Help a stranded space traveller return home by filling three fuel tanks with words that have the same letter. Select words with 'a', 'e' or 'o' in them. Read and listen to model words. Select similar words with the same vowel and place them in the fuel tank. Then construct sentences by putting words in the appropriate order. ...

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Letter planet: sh, ch, th

Help a stranded space traveller return home by filling three fuel tanks with words that have the same letter pattern. Select words with combinations of 'sh', 'ch' or 'th'. Read and listen to model words. Select similar words with the same pattern and place them in the fuel tank. Then construct sentences by putting words ...

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TrackSAFE Education Primary School Resources: Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 English

This unit of work focuses on developing student understanding of the importance of being track safe and the key message 'Stop, Look, Listen, Think'. It builds students' familiarity with the vocabulary and key concepts related to rail safety and provides differentiated activities for writers at different stages of development ...

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Feathers, Fur and Fins: A song about sugar gliders

Do you know any songs about Australian animals? Listen to this song about sugar gliders performed by Don Spencer. Don sings a gentle song about a gentle character. Look at the features of the sugar gliders as they glide from tree-to-tree in the Australian bush.

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Letter planet: oo, ee, ai

Help a stranded space traveller return home by filling three fuel tanks with words that have the same letter pattern. Select words with combinations of 'oo', 'ee' or 'ai'. Read and listen to model words. Select similar words with the same pattern and place them in the fuel tank. Then construct sentences by putting words ...

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Words and pictures: beginning letters

Meet Di, an artist who paints phrases. Help Di paint three pictures by matching words that begin with the same two consonants. Choose two words that begin with the same letter pattern such as sheep and shoe. Select a third word to make a phrase, for example a sheep under a shoe. Watch as Di paints a picture of the phrase.

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Words and pictures: final letters

Meet Di, an artist who paints phrases. Help Di paint three pictures by matching words that end with the same two letters. Choose two words that end with the same letter pattern such as lamb and comb. Select a third word to make a phrase, for example a lamb under a comb. Watch as Di paints a picture of the phrase.

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A comparison of the effectiveness of two strategy tutoring programs for children with persistent spelling difficulties

This teacher resource describes a small-scale research study into the capacity of two strategies of one-on-one tutoring (Look-Say-Cover-Write-Say-Check and Old Way/New Way - Mediational Learning) to help primary school students with persistent difficulties develop effective spelling strategies. It is presented in nine sections: ...

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CEOWA early literacy intervention

This teacher resource describes the Catholic Education Office of Western Australia's (CEOWA's) successful Early Literacy Intervention strategy, which provides intensive daily individual reading and writing intervention for the lowest-achieving students in year 1. Organised in nine sections: Summary; Target student group; ...