Teachers and educators have always been at the very core of Letterland's success and continued growth. In order to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day, Lyn Wendon, the Originator of Letterland, has written a thank you note to all the teachers who have supported us over the years.
'Back in the late 1960’s when I was attempting to teach some struggling young 7 and 8-year olds to read on a withdrawal basis so they could catch up with their classmates, the children and I came to know each other well. When I drew people and animals, etc. right in the letters to liven up our lessons, it was they who started coming up with little reasons for the times when the letters changed their sounds.
Over time I couldn't be sure whether excellent progress that followed might be due mainly to their personal involvement in what gradually evolved into a new way to teach phonics. Would the whole approach be much less effective when used with other at-risk children, or children in large mainstream classes, given that none of those children will have had a hand in helping to create it?
That was when I realised how crucial it was for the system to fall into a good teacher’s hands. I met some teachers who did not want to even try teaching with it! It was too different! Too round about, like a detour off the main road! So I was greatly relieved when those same strongly doubting teachers reluctantly started teaching it because their Schools required it, and ended up among its greatest enthusiasts!
Ever since those early days I have felt a personal debt of gratitude to every teacher who has brought Letterland to life in their classroom and achieved success with it! It is your willingness to join with children and act more like a tour guide in the pretend world of Letterland instead of continuing as a traditional teacher working through difficult phonic facts, that makes all those story reasons both fun to teach, fun to learn, and more effective than traditional methods for bringing home the difficult phonic facts!'
We've created a 'Thank You Teacher' Card download, that any little learners can print out, decorate and fold into a card for their amazing teachers! Post any of your creations on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and tag us @letterlandmedia so we can see your brilliant artwork.
Want to hear more from Lyn? Check out our post on How Letterland Began, or our feature on Lyn for International Women's Day.