INFORMATION BROCHURE

TEACHING HANDWRITING READING AND SPELLING SKILLS

Australasia & Canada

IT IS AN ILLEGAL ACT TO REPRODUCE, PHOTOCOPY OR RE-CREATE THIS CHART

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THE IMPORTANCE OFSPELLING AND LITERACY

Spelling and literacy are the cornerstones of education. If a learner cannot successfully spell words then they are less likely to succeed at formal learning.

Skills and strategies for learning how to spell words are a very important part of the spelling process. Even if a learner is able to spell a word, if they do not understand the process they cannot apply this knowledge to spell unfamiliar words.

As in mathematics, it is not just the correct answer that is important. The working memory and understanding of how to achieve the correct answer are vital to the cognitive process for future learning.

A TOOL FOR THE EXPLICIT TEACHING OF LITERACY SKILLS

The THRASS® Institute, Australasia & Canada, is an Australian company that has developed a Specific Pedagogical Practice (SPP) for the teaching of literacy, marketed as THRASS® – an acronym for Teaching, Handwriting, Reading And Spelling Skills.

WELCOME TO THRASS®

THRASS® is a phonetics teaching tool that has made a paradigm shift in the teaching of English. It has a phonographic, multisensory focus, complemented by an analogous learning model that makes reading and spelling acquisition much simpler, faster and more sustainable than conventional ‘phonic’ approaches. As a classroom strategy THRASS® is fun, systematic, explicit and linguistically correct.

The THRASS® SPP, its associated THRASS® Charts and other teaching resources have been highly effective in schools and learning institutions since 1996 and are the most widely used and recognised teacher reference tools for teaching the phonographics and orthography of English.

This brochure provides only a brief overview of THRASS®. For further information on our professional development courses, teaching materials or more general information, visit our website or contact our office.

INFORMATION BROCHURE

INFORMATION BROCHURE

TEACHING WITH THRASS®

Teachers using THRASS® are able to easily cater for multi-level classrooms and support EALD Learners and students with Dyslexia or other Specific Learning Difficulties. It can also be used as an effective adult literacy strategy.

THRASS® does not depend on specific intervention with individual learners but focuses on instructing teachers in the technique for whole-class implementation. Rather than being an additional task for an already time-poor teacher to work into a cluttered curriculum, THRASS® is designed to form the cornerstone around which the teacher can build their classroom reading and writing activities, spanning all areas of the curriculum.

English words are produced using a combination of 44 individual speech sounds called phonemes. These phonemes can be represented in writing using the 26 letters of the English alphabet, either individually or combined with other letters. There are numerous spelling choices (graphemes) for each phoneme.

For example:

EXCEED ACARA BENCHMARKS USING AN EVIDENCE-BASED PHONOGRAPHIC APPROACH

THRASS® does not subscribe to an exclusively workbook model that provides ready-made lesson plans or page-turner worksheets for teachers and learners. Instead teachers can select from a comprehensive suite of print and digital resources to support and enhance their teaching.

THRASS® has really opened up my eyes and given me a sense of purpose and direction in my teaching. It has INSPIRED and MOTIVATED me to take it all into the classroom.

Knowing the 44 sounds of English and the various spelling choices that can represent these sounds, enables the learner to understand the spelling system (orthography) of our language.

By explicitly teaching these basic building blocks of English orthography, THRASS® reduces reading and spelling to their basics. It is a tool that enables students to tackle every single word they wish to access. There is not a single English word that THRASS® cannot adequately explain.

In English, the letter ‘ c ’ does not only represent the sound ( c ) heard at the beginning of the word cat. It can also represent the sound ( s ) as heard in the words city, Cindy and cent.

The sound ( f ) as heard in the words fish, coffee, dolphin and cough can not only be represented by the letter ‘ f ’ but also by ‘ f ’ ’ f ’, ‘ p ‘ ’ h ’ and ‘ g ‘ ‘ h ’.

The letter ‘ y ’ doesn’t always represent the sound heard at the beginning of yawn. It very commonly represents the sound heard at the end of words such as city, pony, Kelly, fly, by.

INFORMATION BROCHURE

THRASS® FOR PARENTS

THRASS® is intended primarily as a teaching tool for those who have been trained in the THRASS® SPP. However parents can play an important role in supporting the work of the classroom teacher.

By learning and referring to the THRASS® Chart and using correct terminology in the home, parents can consolidate classroom learning and avoid confusing children with conflicting (or incorrect) information.

The THRASS® Institute encourages schools and parent groups to consider scheduling a Parent Information Session once or twice a year to introduce parents to the THRASS® Charts and basic terminology and methodology used with THRASS®.

Parents are also encouraged to purchase basic support materials for home use and are also welcome to attend THRASS® training themselves.

The THRASS® Parent Notes, including a suggested items list and an introduction to the THRASS® Chart can be downloaded from our website - www.thrass.com.au

THRASS® PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

THRASS® training provides teachers with the skills and knowledge and understanding needed to explicitly teach literacy from the earliest building blocks to the more advanced tasks.

The THRASS® Institute provides three levels of training in phonetics instruction. A THRASS® Accredited Certificate is issued upon completion of each level. Instruction time is recorded with The THRASS® Institute.

FOR EARLY LEARNING, K-12, TESOL, EFOL, ADULT LITERACY AND REMEDIATION IN SPELLING, READING AND WRITING

Brilliant! Loved all the components of THRASS®. I can see how it’s going to help improve many aspects of children’s reading and spelling through phonetics.

THRASS® is a cost-effective, whole-school literacy model that is sustainable from foundation onwards. It is most effective as a whole-school approach but can also be used effectively with individuals or in small groups.

Successful implementation of THRASS® is dependent on the competence, commitment, skills and knowledge and understanding of the teacher using the pedagogy. As THRASS® is a specific approach, professional development is vital.

THRASS® may be taught by teachers, teacher aides, speech pathologists, home tutors and parents.

The THRASS® Institute conducts regular training throughout Australasia, in capital cities and major regional centres. Each course type can also be delivered as a whole school in-service.

For schools already using THRASS®, our trainers can provide Support, Planning and Demonstration Days and Parent Information Sessions to help ensure the sustainability and success of THRASS® within the school.

For more information visit www.thrass.com.au or email us at courses@thrass.com.au

THRASS® CHARTSThe THRASS® Charts were designed as a whole-picture multisensory teaching tool for accessing the 44 phonemes of spoken English and 120 common graphemes of written English. Various themes have been incorporated into the charts for use in teaching oral and written language skills and basic grammar skills.

Knowing and having instant recall of a mathematics tables chart is a vital part of teaching and learning mathematics. Likewise, knowing and having instant recall of the THRASS® Charts is a vital part of teaching words for both reading and spelling.

When learners have instant recall of the common graphs, digraphs and trigraphs for each of the 44 phonemes of English, they are more able to competently spell and read complex words.

Chart knowledge and its specific application are integral to literacy learning when using the THRASS® teaching methodology.

The THRASS® Chart is a very powerful tool for those who have been trained to use it correctly.

red

yellow

blue

green

orange

purple

pink

brown

white

black

grey

r e d

y e ll ow

b l ue

g r ee n

o r a n ge

p ur p l e

p i n k

b r ow n

wh i te

b l a ck

g r ey

Colours

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

M o n d ay

T ue s d ay

W e dne s d ay

Th ur s d ay

F r i d ay

S a t ur d ay

S u n d ay

Days of the Week

Months of the YearJanuary

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

zeroonetwo threefourfivesixseveneightnineteneleventwelvethirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteennineteentwentythirtyfortyfiftysixtyseventyeightyninetyhundredthousandmillion

z e r oo netw o th r eef ourf i ves i xs e v e neigh tn i net e ne l e v e nt w e l veth ir t ee n f our t ee n f i f t ee n s i x t ee n s e v e n t ee n eigh t ee nn i ne t ee nt w e n t yth ir t yf or t yf i f t ys i x t ys e v e n t yeigh t yn i ne t yh u n d r e dth ou s a n dm i ll i o n

01234567891011121314151617181920304050607080901001 0001 000 000

Numbers

Shapes

circlec ir c l e

squares q u are

rectangler e c t a n g l e

trianglet r i a n g l e

Familymother

father

son

daughter

brother

sister

uncle

aunt

niece

nephew

cousin

parent

J a n u a r y

F e b r u a r y

M ar ch

A p r i l

M ay

J u ne

J u l y

Au g u s t

S e p t e m b er

O c t o b er

N o v e m b er

D e c e m b er

m o th er

f a th er

s o n

d augh t er

b r o th er

s i s t er

Seasonssummerwinter

s u mm erw i n t er

autumnspring

au t u mns p r i ng

© Denyse Ritchie 2014

THRASS HOTWORDS CHART HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS DECODED

THE THRASS INSTITUTE 2014

u n c l e

au n t

n ie ce

n e ph ew

c ou s i n

p a r e n t

NPS

red letters show vowel phonemesblue letters show consonant phonemes black letters show diphones (one letter representing two phonemes) T-188ISBN 978 1 876424 88 6

aA

bB

cC

dD

eE

fF

gG

hH

iI

jJ

kK

lL

mM

nN

oO

pP

qQ

rR

sS

tT

uU

vV

wW

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yY

zZ

IT IS AN ILLEGAL ACT TO REPRODUCE, PHOTOCOPY OR RE-CREATE THIS CHART

© 2015 DENYSE RITCHIE ISBN 978 1 876424 94 7 Code: T-194

THE THRASS INSTITUTE Australasia & Canada 2015

enquiries@thrass.com.au • www.thrass.com.au • www.thrass.ca

THRASS®

SPELLING MASTER

44 Phonemes

24 consonants 20 vowels

• Trigraph - 3 letter spelling choice

• Quadgraph - 4 letter spelling choice

• Graph - 1 letter spelling choice

• Digraph - 2 letter spelling choice

book bull

oo u

oul o

could woman

*

moon screw glue

oo ew ue

ough o u ou ui oe oup

oeu eu ous eau oux ut

through movie flu soup fruit shoe

coup manoeuvre sleuth rendezvous

beautiful roux debut

*

lureure

our ewer oer u

tour sewer

doer jury

*

fork ball sauce saw door

or a au aw oor *

*

bus glove

u o

ou oocountry

blood

*

tin pyramid

i y

e a ia ie o u ui hi

pretty sausage marriage

sieve women busy

build exhibit

*

frog swan

o a

au ho i ou eau e ow

sausage honest lingerie

cough bureaucracy

genre knowledge

*

nose boat note snow

o oa o-e ow

oe eau ough au ot ol ew oo aoh owe

doe bureau dough chauffeur depot

yolk sew brooch pharaoh owe

*

*

tiger kite light fly

i i-e igh y

ie ei ye uy eigh eye ir ih ay ais ai is

pie either bye buy height eye iron

annihilate papaya aisle bonsai island

*

ear deer

ear eer

ere e ea ier ir

eir

here zero idea pier

souvenir weird

*

fern shirt worm fur

er ir or ur

ere our yr ear e

rr urr yrrh eur

were journey myrtle earth

err burr myrrh saboteur

*

teacher collar doctor measure zebra garden fossil lion circus

er ar or ure a e i o u

our re ou ur

oi ai l ei eu

r eo ea ough

ae yr ue ir

oar iou io y

colour metre famous femur tortoise certain principle foreign amateur luncheon ocean

thorough anaesthetic martyr guerrilla elixir cupboard anxious complexion pyjamas

*

anta

ai al iplait

salmon

meringue

*

baby tape snail tray

a a-e ai ay

ey eigh ea aigh et e ee ei au ae ie ez

they eight great straight ballet

cafe melee reign gauge maelstrom

lingerie rendezvous

*

car banana

ar a

are au ear al er aa

r ah ir

are laugh heart

calm clerk bazaar

galah reservoir

*

bed bread

e ea

a ai ay ie u eo ei

any said says

friend bury

jeopardy leisure

*

me beach tree key pony

e ea ee ey y

eo ie i uay ae

ei oe is

people movie radio

quay larvae protein

phoenix debris

*

*hair square

air are

ere eir ear a ai ae ar

heir aire ayor ayer

there their wear scary fairy aerial

scarce heir millionaire mayor prayer

coin toy

oi oy

uoy awy

buoy lawyer

bird rabbit

b bb

be bh pb

cube bhaji

cupboard

*

cat kitten duck school queen

c k ck ch q

cc que qu ke che x cq cch cqu kh kk

account plaque bouquet like ache excellent

acquire zucchini racquet khaki chukka

*

* chair watch

ch tch

t ti c cc

nature question

cello cappuccino

*dog ladder

d dd

ed de dh

played aide

dhal

fish coffee dolphin

f ff ph

fe gh ffe ft pph

knife laugh giraffe

often sapphire

*

* gate egg

g gg

gue gu gh tg

league guess

dinghy mortgage

handh

wh jwho

jalapeno

*

jam giant cage bridge

j g ge dge

dj dg d gg gi di

adjective budget education

suggest region soldier

*

mouse hammer lamb

m mm mb

me mn gm mme

came Autumn

paradigm programme

*

net dinner knee

n nn kn

ne gn nne pn mn dne gne

gone assign tonne pneumonia

mnemonic Wednesday cologne

*

leg bell

l ll

le lle e

gale grille muscle

*

* king ink

ng n

ngue ngg

tongue

mahjongg

thumbthh

eighth

*

feather

ththe

breathe

*

water wheel quilt

w wh uo

reservoir

*

zip fizz sneeze laser cheese

z zz ze s se

ss es x sp si

scissors goes anxiety raspberry business

*

*yawn

yi e j

million neutral

hallelujah

* voice sleeve

v vef vv

of savvy

cow house

ow ou

ough au o ho

bough

sauerkraut

our hour

rain cherry wrist

r rr wr

rh rrh

rhythm diarrhoea

*

sun dress horse city ice

s ss se c ce

sc st sw z ps sth sse sce cc

scene listen answer pizza

psalm asthma mousse

convalesce flaccid

*

shark station chef

sh ti ch

ci si ssi sch ss c sc

s sci che ce t s

hi

special mansion session schwa

pressure ocean fascism sugar conscious

moustache liquorice ratio cushion

*

tap letter

t tt

ed te tte pt bt z ct th cht tw

asked mate omelette

receipt debt pizza indict

thyme yacht two

*

* treasure

s

si ge g z ti

erosion garage

genre azure

equation* panda hippo

p pp

pe ppe gh

cape steppe

hiccough

ore o ar oar our augh ough al

aur awe aul ure orps oa hau

more story award board your taught

thought walk dinosaur awesome baulk

sure corps broad exhaust

k

b

T

d

f

g

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F

l

m

n

N

p

r

s

Z

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q

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w

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i

y

E

W

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x

A

C

O

u

U

c

o

X

V

A-AffricateD-DiphthongF-FricativeL-LiquidLM-LongMonophthongN-NasalP-PlosiveS-Semi-vowelSM-ShortMonophthongU-UnvoicedV-Voiced

THRASS IPA CHART

A–Affricate D–Diphthong F–Fricative L–Liquid LM–Long Monophthong N–Nasal P–Plosive S–Semi-vowel SM–Short Monophthong U–Unvoiced V–Voiced

aA

bB

cC

dD

eE

fF

gG

hH

iI

jJ

kK

lL

mM

nN

oO

pP

qQ

rR

sS

tT

uU

vV

wW

xX

yY

zZ

THRASS® I.P.A. CHART – CLASS-SIZE

© 2000 DENYSE RITCHIE & ALAN DAVIES

THE THRASS® INSTITUTE (Australasia & Canada) 2012 • www.thrass.com.au • www.thrass.ca • enquiries@thrass.com.au

Reference: The Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary ISBN 978 052 115253 6 • Acknowledgement - The PhoneticOx font used for the IPA symbols on this chart is available from www.linguistsoftware.com

bk

T df

gh Fl

mn

Npr

sZ S

t

QY

Ra e

iyE

WIx

AC

OuU c

oX

V

q D vw

jz

VPUP

UAVP

UFUF

UP

UF VFVF

VSVS

SMD

DLM

SMLMD

SM

LMSM

DSM

DD

SMLM

D

LMD

SM

VLUF VF

UFUP

VF

VAVL

VNVN

VN

VP

IT IS AN ILLEGAL ACT TO REPRODUCE, PHOTOCOPY OR RE-CREATE THIS CHART

w wh u *

bird rabbit cat kitten duck school queen chair watch dog ladder fish coffee dolphin gate egg

hand jam giant cage bridge leg bell mouse hammer lamb

king ink

panda hippo rain wrist s

un dress horse city ice treasure

ta

p letter

feather

voice sleeve w

ater

yawn

ant baby tape snail tray hair square car banana bed bread me beach tree key pony

lure fork ball sauce saw door cow house bus glove

ear deer

fern shirt worm fur

z Zw

W

y Y

x Xv

Vu U

t T

s S

r R

q Q

p P

oO

nNl

Lk K

jJ

i I

h H

g Ge

Ec Ca

Ab B

d D

f F

m M

cherry

shark station chef

laser cheese

thumb

wheel quilt

zip fizz sneeze

book bull

©1998 DENYSE RITCHIE & ALAN DAVIES • GRAPHEME-WORD CHART

net dinner knee

tiger kite light fly

nose boat note snow coin toy

frog swan teacher collar doctor measure zebra garden fossil lio

n circus

The THRASS Institute Australasia & Canada • www.thrass.com.au • www.thrass.ca

tin pyramid

moon screw glue

anatamascan

that ha shada ndra n

backthanksha llthanha ve

* carewhere there theirthey’re

*arefarparka ska s ked

fa s t can’ ta f terl augh

* mebethehe shewe

seebeenseenneedkeepmeet

even thesebe i ngeachreachbecau se

leavemean splea sereadpeople

*

herword

workwor ld

hur t were

*

was wantwhat watchwash

longtoldcolds topo ft en

onofgot offhotnot

* g o i ng own s l ow g rowthrowknow

gonosoon lymos t both

homegoesopenoverdon’ tthose

*boytoy

*

book goodcouldwouldshould

putpu llfu llpu shlooktook

*

nowhowdownout

roundfoundsoundour

*upu sbutju s tmus tsuch

muchfunny u nderunt i l done does

comesomeloveothermoney o nce

*

THRASS HOTWORDS CHARTHIGH FREQUENCY WORDS DECODED

r ightmyse l fI

mybywhyt rywhi le

*

l i kef i ndk indwr i teI ’ llI ’m

ini ti si fh i sd i ffe r e n t

l ives t i llw i th g i veintob e c au se

which th ink dr ink s incebr i ng

d id big th i swi llh im

*

saydaymayplaythey

same camegave make take

made laterwai tgreatbreak

*

red letters show vowel phonemes

blue letters show consonant phonemes

black letters show diphones (one letter representing two phonemes)

herenear

*

heardear

rea lly

smalla l soa lwaysa lmostwalktalk

more sure your thoughtbroughtbought

*

fororsawallfa llca ll

well te llverysentle f t

*themnex tevery bes tnever

thenwhenwent yes ge tye s t erday

saidsaysanymanyfr iend

dotowholosemove

throughyouu se

*

NPS

toosoonn ewkn ewthrew

NPS

*p urec ure

NPS

NPS

abouta long

toge ther

tomorrowaway again

beginbegan

*

amongaround

be foretoday

belongenough

anotherbecau se

athe

© Denyse Ritchie 2014

THE THRASS INSTITUTE 2014T-188

ISBN 978 1 876424 88 6

THRASS® TEACHING RESOURCES

The THRASS Institute has an extensive suite of print and digital resources that can be used to assist in the successful implementation of the THRASS® pedagogy.

Visit our website to view/purchase resources or download a copy of our most recent catalogue - www.thrass.com.au

ABN 15 081 990 490

For more information phone (08) 9244 2119

or visit us online at

www.thrass.com.au

THE THRASS INSTITUTE Australasia & Canada