THRASS
Teach the basics of reading and spelling
THRASS is the acronym for Teaching Handwriting, Reading And Spelling Skills. It is a system that teaches learners of any age the basic elements of reading and spelling, namely the 44 phonemes (sound sounds) of spoken English and the graphemes (spelling choices) of written English. THRASS has a unique approach called THRASS Specific Teaching Practices (TSPP).
THRASS is divided into three main skill areas – reading, spelling and handwriting. These skills are related and build upon each other to increase learners’ knowledge and understanding of the relationships between the 44 phonemes and 26 letters – the alphabetic principle) – the key to successful reading and literacy
How THRASS can help？
Learners who have difficulty writing will focus unnecessary attention on letter formation. They are unable to focus on the words and/or spelling choices (graphemes) within the words when copying from the blackboard, worksheet, or book.
Learners who have difficulty reading will not be able to follow written instructions accurately or derive the enjoyment and knowledge they deserve from reading books.
Learners who have difficulty spelling have problems expressing themselves creatively in dictation activities and free writing.
Many learners with poor reading and spelling skills lack confidence because they are unaware that speech sounds (phonemes) may be represented by different shapes, digraphs, triplets and tetragrams (one, two, three or four letters) A phoneme, i.e. spelling choice) is represented. That is, they do not know the alphabetical principle.
As with mathematics, it is not just the correct answer that is important, working memory and understanding of how to get to the correct answer are also critical to the cognitive process (deep understanding) of future learning.
THRASS Charts
THRASS Charts are designed to be a multi-sensory teaching tool for accessing the 44 phonemes of spoken English and the 120 most common graphemes of written English.
The chart contains a variety of topics for teaching spoken and written language skills as well as basic grammar skills.
The various THRASS Charts are designed to enable users to explain the spelling of words, develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and make good comparisons and judgments when reading and spelling unfamiliar words.
Teach with THRASS
Teachers using THRASS can easily meet the needs of 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 rely on specific interventions for individual learners, but instead focuses on techniques that guide teachers to implement as a whole class. Rather than burdening already time-strapped teachers with additional tasks in a disjointed curriculum, THRASS is designed to provide a foundation for teachers to build classroom reading and writing activities that span all areas of the curriculum.
THRASS does not subscribe to workbook models designed to provide teachers and learners with ready-made lesson plans or engaging worksheets. Instead, teachers can choose from a comprehensive range of print and digital resources to support and enhance their teaching.
THRASS is a cost-effective, whole-school literacy model that is sustainable from the foundation up. It is most effective as a whole school approach but can also be used effectively with individuals or small groups. Successful implementation of THRASS® depends on the teacher’s ability, commitment, skills, knowledge, and understanding to use the pedagogy. Because THRASS is a specific methodology, professional development is critical. THRASS can be taught by teachers, teaching assistants, speech-language pathologists, family counselors, and parents.
Explicit Spelling Instruction
Many children may be mistakenly considered to be “good spellers” because they score higher on a classroom spelling test. Unfortunately, many “good spellers” make the same word mistakes in their everyday spelling. So when they pass grades, on the one hand they are considered “good spellers” because of the results they get on the weekly tests, but looking at their spelling in daily applications, and when tested using a standardized spelling test, they The actual spelling of looks like it’s going backwards.
The problem is they don’t actually know “how to spell it”. They have a bunch of words they can learn by rote but don’t know how to actually spell them. They do not have the strategies needed to successfully apply this information in their daily tasks or to encode newly encountered words.