What is Cued Articulation?

At Tenterden Infant School, we teach Cued Articulation alongside the Little Wandle Phonics programme to give your child the best support for learning sounds and reading. 

  What is Cued Articulation?

Cued Articulation is a system of hand signs developed by Speech Pathologist Jane Passy to provide a visual cue for each speech sound (phoneme). 

• Visual Support: The hand signs show children where and how sounds are made in the mouth, which helps them remember and produce the correct sounds more effectively.
• Multisensory Learning: Associating a physical movement with a sound is a multisensory approach that is especially beneficial for kinaesthetic learners and enhances memory and engagement.
• Clues to Voicing: The different colours and finger positions used in the cues indicate important information, such as whether a sound is 'voiced' (made with the vocal cords vibrating) or 'unvoiced' (just air). 

  How We Use It in School

We follow the government-validated Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised systematic synthetic phonics programme. 

• Integrated Teaching: Children are taught each new sound from the Little Wandle programme using the corresponding Cued Articulation 'action'.

• Consistent Approach: This consistent approach across all lessons helps children to blend sounds for reading and segment sounds for writing. 

  How You Can Help at Home

You can have a huge impact on your child's reading journey by supporting their practice at home. 

• Join In! When you are reading with your child, or they show you the actions they've learnt in school, please join in with them. This consistent practice reinforces learning.
• Use Pure Sounds: The Little Wandle programme emphasises using 'pure sounds' without adding an 'uh' sound at the end (e.g., say 'm' not 'muh', 't' not 'tuh').
• Access Resources: You can find helpful videos and guides on correct sound pronunciation and letter formation on the official Little Wandle Letters and Sounds website 'For Parents' section.
• Look, Listen, Lip-read: Encourage "looking, listening, and lip patterns" at home, as watching how sounds are formed in the mouth supports the development of crucial early literacy skills.