Day: December 5, 2007

News: Can yuo raed tihs?

Cna yuo raed tihs? Msot polepe can!
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig? I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

This is interesting, especially on a day when the government states that an extra £30 million scheme is being introduced to help children with the dreaded dyslexia!

It seems to me that we still do not really understand how children learn to read. Perhaps, more importantly, whilst the above text can be read and understood, if numbers were mixed up in the same way they would be absolutely impossible to understand

Free Y3 maths worksheet: Make shapes and describe their features

shape imageIn year 3 children will continue to make shapes and patterns; these becoming more complex and more accurate.

Drawing round shapes such as triangles, rectangles and hexagons and then cutting them out to make repeated patterns should be encouraged. When describing the patterns created, children should be encouraged to name the shapes. They should become familiar with the terms hexagon (6 sides) and octagon (8 sides) remembering that these do not need to be regular ie all the sides do not need to be the same length.

Often children will need to copy a pattern before they feel confident enough to create their own. When drawing round shapes the emphasis should be on accuracy and care, both in placing the shape in the right position and drawing round it.

Free Y3 maths worksheet: Using a rectangle to make shapes