Phonics

Phonics at Home

Reception parents should attend our phonics meeting early in September.  This will give you vital information as to the approach we take to reading and the importance of your involvement.  You will learn how best to support your child at home so that, together, we can help your children learn to read well and with enjoyment.

Ruth Miskin the founder of Read Write Inc had complied a selection of videos that give lots more information and examples. Click the link below to find out more about

·         Saying sounds correctly

·         Linking sounds to letters

·         Two letters, one sound

·         Practise, practise, practise

·         Putting sounds together to read simple words

·         Tricky words

·         Reading books

·         Using pictures

·         Writing letters

·         Read to your child as much as you can

 

Please click on the link to access a series of information and tutorial videos explaining the basics of Read Write Inc. Phonics.  These videos will help you support them at home.

 

Support from Parents

We appreciate you’re busy but here are two things that will make the biggest difference to your child’s progress.

1. Read a bedtime story to your child.  You will become the role model for good reading.

There is some really good advice about how to make bedtime story time fun on the Read, Write Inc website.  Please click on the picture link above.

2. Listen to your child read any flash cards or books we send home each evening. Data shows the more a child reads at home the more progress they make in school.

 

Reading and Read Write Inc in Year 1

In year 1 children are still developing their phonic knowledge so continue to have daily phonics lessons as well as English lessons. We continue to teach Set 1, 2 and 3 sounds and children are grouped according to their development through the programme. We develop confidence in reading and spelling and start to introduce new spelling patterns, punctuation marks and grammar concepts to support writing.

Nonsense Words - Alien Words

As children build up their knowledge of sounds they are able to apply their decoding skills to any unfamiliar word may it be real or nonsense. During lessons each day children will practice their decoding skills by sounding out the letters in ‘Alien words’. Children are unable to rely on existing knowledge of real words, and instead have to use their letter-sound knowledge. This is an important part of the Phonics Screening Test children complete at the end of year 1.

Reading and Read Write Inc in Year 2

In Year 2 we continue the work from Year 1, with daily phonics sessions.  We revise the set 2 and 3 sounds from the Read Write Inc programme and then focus on specific spelling patterns, linked to the spellings that the children are learning that week.  For this, the children will be grouped into approximately three working groups.  We learn through fun activities, games and puzzles.

This phonics session is conducted at the start of each English lesson and is followed by topic related reading and writing activities.  The children in Year 2 are expected to become more fluent readers and writers and we use a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, as a stimulus for lessons. Grammar too becomes very important and this is taught through stand-alone lessons, as well as being interwoven into reading and writing sessions.

Guided reading sessions are also used to discuss our understanding of texts and to comment on the writer’s choice of language and viewpoint, as well as be able to give our own opinions about a text.  All children take part in a guided reading session fortnightly and are heard read, individually, at least fortnightly.  As the children become more fluent readers, emphasis will be placed on developing their full understanding of the texts they read.

The children are encouraged to read daily by being able to change their home reading books every morning.  We rely very much on the support of parents in hearing their own children read, as well as supporting school with any related home learning.  Reading records are provided for parents to comment in, with a section for the children to write about their favourite book of the week.  This way, the children are able to develop their writing alongside their reading.

This partnership with parents is vital in order for the children to progress in their learning and, all of the staff look forward to working alongside you, at each stage of your child’s development at St. Mary’s.