The Ditties are short, phonically decodable passages based on the letter sounds learned in Speed Sounds Set 1. Each book contains three Ditties and seven reading activities, including: a list of Speed Sounds to practise before reading each Ditty, a list of Green words and Red words ('tricky' high-frequency words) and questions to talk about. The Ditties prepare children to quickly move on to the Storybooks, building their vocabulary and ensuring they will be able to decode all the words in the stories with confidence. There are accompanying Get Writing! Red Ditty Books which provide practice in early writing skills and a Get Writing! Handbook which contains guidance on how to use the Ditties to support children's writing. Full guidance on using the Ditties as part of Read Write Inc. can be found in the Read Write Inc. Phonics Handbook. Channel 4 featured Ruth Miskin and the Read Write Inc. method being used in schools in a series of programmes broadcast in Autumn 2007 and Summer 2008. Read Write Inc. raised standards and turned struggling and non-readers into more confident and competent readers.
