The Usefulness of Onsets and Rimes When Reading and Writing F-2, 2024

About this teaching resource

Diane Snowball's 2024 resource, The Usefulness of Onsets and Rimes When Reading and Writing and a Suggested Order for Teaching Them, offers practical strategies for enhancing early literacy skills.

This guide aims to simplify the process of teaching reading and writing, particularly for young learners in their initial years. It introduces onsets (the initial consonant cluster) and rimes (the vowel and subsequent letters) as effective tools for decoding and spelling words.

By focusing on these patterns rather than isolating individual phonemes, children can more easily generalise their knowledge to read and write new words. Diane emphasises integrating this approach into Shared Reading and writing activities, demonstrating how recognising and applying onsets and rimes can foster greater fluency and confidence in young readers and writers.

This resource is designed to make learning engaging and supportive, ultimately enhancing children's reading and writing independence.