Primary literacy ...split digraphs

sorry, teacher of English

I have never heard of that term (although I do know what one is I realise)

#motherofenglishteacher

It is important to know that the magic "e" changes the sound of the vowel, just like the accent does in French. Simple.
But as for the posh name, I dislike it. It sounds too complicated! I'm guessing those children who enjoy language will retain it, whereas others will file it in the back of their brains along with stressed syllables and such like.

Yes Elegran that's what I was taught at school. I've never heard of split digraph. A bit too technical I think.

Going back even further "The e at the end made the other vowel say its name" instead of its sound. Knowing how the final e works is a part of learning to read fluently. Reading hop or hope, dim or dime, makes sense of what is printed.

It doesn't matter what the rule is called, though why it has to be changed every few years is beyond me. Makes it a "new approach" I suppose. The innovators love that.

Those of us who taught in the seventies ( and used 'Words and Pictures') would have called a split diagraph 'magic e 'and later it became 'modifying e' . My granddaughter refers to a split diagraph confidently but I think that would have been the case whatever it was called!

Take a word like plane. The letter A is pronounced as its name in the alphabet, rather than the soft a in plan, because of the letter E at the end of the word.

That is a split digraph as opposed to spelling the word PLAIN.

What is a split digraph?
I have managed to retirement without this knowledge and considered to be reasonably literate.

"either"

The nonsense of course is that those children who do not know A from B are also required to know these obscure facts and are simply rendered completely confused to no purpose whatsoever for wither them or the bright sparks. Some of these obscure grammatical items have apparently been made up by the DofE. Sigh.

School is full of obscure facts. Who knows which of them will come in useful? If she enjoys using words and writing, perhaps that is just the kind of bit of knowledge she finds exciting - which will make her more interested in learning other bits of knowledge. Her brother may not find it interesting or useful. They are different - vive la difference!

FFS! - what nonsense. I am sure that her whole future life does not hinge on knowing these obscure facts.

Sorry, he not she.

If she is proud to know it, then it is not too early for her (helping her to get it right could be useful - but when we first learn anything we don't always get it quite right)