step007.htm/19DEC2001

Step 7, 8

Learn the letters f, x.

Learn the letters f,x. f begins with the top of a circle, and we go "back up, over, round and down", not down‑up like an r. Show how you can build: fat fad fog cox (the one who calls the stroke in the Boat Race).

x: Sometimes children find it hard to make the parts of an x, z and k slope down properly.

Practising with the boxes given will help this. Show how x and z fit into a square box. If a pupil forgets a letter, go back to where he learned it, let him sound out the three letters and remind himself what the letter says. If the letter he wants is at the end of 'dog', then it says the last sound in 'dog'.

If you teach "a for apple" or "Annie Apple", your pupil(s) can end up thinking "a SAYS apple" and giving too much importance to the first letter. This is why I use only a few words in which they can learn the letters, with all the letters equally important and they are getting left‑right direction and hearing‑sounds‑in‑words all the time, non‑stop.

Clear speech helps spelling. f is said by biting the bottom lip. This must be clearly fixed to the letter f, so that when th introduced it is NOT f.

x is the only letter that makes two sounds: ks.

f is said by biting the bottom lip.

Get the pupil to sound the phonics f, x.

Have the pupil practice writing the letters f and x, first, using the dot to dot guide above, then on lined paper.

Get the pupil to sound the sounds of the words box fox fix mix six next exact exit expand expect and explain them if necessary, so that the pupil can hear the X sounds.