Phonics
Children who read regularly or are read to regularly have the opportunity to open the doors to so many different worlds! More importantly, reading will give your child the tools to become independent life-long learners.
We can achieve this together through:
- Read Write Inc, a program to help to your child read at school
- Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily, at home and at school
- Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home
At The Oaktree School we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their literacy. We have put together a guide to how the RWI programme works together with some useful links. Please take the time to read the information as it will provide invaluable information as to how you can help and support your child in reading.
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics programme which helps children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. However, at The Oaktree School we begin the programme in Nursery, through teaching phonological awareness, and will continue teaching RWI to children into Year 2 if they still need further support in their reading.
RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at –
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/
How will RWI be taught?
All children are assessed regularly by their teacher so that children are taught at the same level. This allows complete participation in lessons.
Nursery
When appropriate, children will be introduced to the initial sounds in short five minutes sessions.
Reception
In Reception all children will learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down.
Reading
The children:
- learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts – see below
- learn to read words using Fred talk and sound blending
- read from a range of storybooks and non-fictions books matched to their phonic knowledge
- work well with partners
- develop comprehension skills in stories by answering 'Find It' and 'Prove It' discussion questions
Writing
The children:
- learn to write and form the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds with the help of fun phrases
- learn to write words by using Fred Talk
- learn to build sentences by practising sentences out loud before they write
Talking
The children work in pairs so that they:
- answer every question
- practise every activity with their partner
- take turns in talking and reading to each other
- develop ambitious vocabulary
Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:
- Purpose – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about
- Participation – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning
- Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability
- Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning
- Passion – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally.
Children will be taught how to read as follows:
- Before you start to teach your child, practise saying the sounds below. These are the sounds we use to speak in English.
Fred Talk
- We use pure sounds (‘m’ not’ muh’,’s’ not ‘suh’, etc.) so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily.
- At school we use a puppet called Fred who is an expert on sounding out words! we call it, ‘Fred Talk’. E.g. m-o-p, c-a-t, m-a-n, sh-o-p, b-l-a-ck.
- The following video is an example of blending sounds with Fred. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEzfpod5w_Q
The children are taught the sounds in 3 sets.
Step 1:
- Set 1 Sounds are taught in the following order together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending.
|
Set 1 |
|
|
Sound |
Rhyme |
|
m |
Down Maisie then over the two mountains. Maisie, mountain, mountain. |
|
a |
Round the apple, down the leaf. |
|
s |
Slide around the snake |
|
d |
Round the dinosaur's back, up his neck and down to his feet. |
|
t |
Down the tower, across the tower, |
|
i |
Down the insects body, dot for the head. |
|
n |
Down Nobby and over the net. |
|
p |
Down the plait, up and over the pirates face. |
|
g |
Round the girls face, down her hair and give her a curl |
|
o |
All around the orange |
|
c |
Curl around the caterpillar |
|
k |
Down the kangaroos body, tail and leg |
|
u |
Down and under the umbrella, up to the top and down to the puddle |
|
b |
Down the laces, over the toe and touch the heel |
|
f |
Down the stem and draw the leaves |
|
e |
Slice into the egg, go over the top, then under the egg |
|
l |
Down the long leg |
|
h |
Down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back |
|
sh |
Slither down the snake, then down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back |
|
r |
Down the robot's back, then up and curl |
|
j |
Down his body, curl and dot |
|
v |
Down a wing, up a wing |
|
y |
Down a horn, up a horn and under the yak's head. |
|
w |
Down, up, down, up the worm. |
|
th |
Down the tower, across the tower, then down the horse’s head to the hooves and over his back |
|
z |
Zig-zag-zig, down the zip. |
|
ch |
Curl around the caterpillar, , then down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back |
|
qu |
Round the queen’s head, up to her crown, down her hair and curl |
|
x |
Cross down the arm and leg and cross the other way |
|
ng |
A thing on a string |
|
nk |
I think I stink |
Please do not use letter names at this early stage.
Follow the below link to hear how to pronounce sounds correctly.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6OiU2h3sUI&t=14s
- Children will also use pictures for each sound to help recognise the sound and then form the shape of the sound.
Step 2:
- The children are then taught Set 2 Sounds - the long vowels. When they are very confident with all of set 1 and 2 they are taught Set 3 Sounds.
|
Long vowel sound |
Set 2 Speed Sound cards Teach these first |
Set 3 Speed Sound cards |
|
|
ay |
ay: may I play |
a-e: make a cake |
ai: snail in the rain |
|
ee |
ee: what can you see |
ea: cup of tea |
e: he me we she be |
|
igh |
igh: fly high |
i-e: nice smile |
|
|
ow |
ow: blow the snow |
o-e: phone home |
ao: goat in a boat |
|
oo |
oo: poo at the zoo |
u-e: huge brute |
ew: chew the stew |
|
oo |
oo: look at a book |
|
|
|
ar |
ar: start the car |
|
|
|
or |
or: shut the door |
aw: yawn at dawn |
|
|
air |
air: that’s not fair |
are: share and care |
|
|
ir |
ir: whirl and twirl |
ur: nurse for a purse |
er: a better letter |
|
ou |
ou: shout it out |
ow: brown cow |
|
|
oy |
oy: toy for a boy |
oi: spoil the boy |
|
|
ire |
|
ire: fire fire! |
|
|
ear |
|
ear: hear with your ear |
|
|
ure |
|
ure: sure it’s pure? |
|
Step 3:
- Children will be introduced to ‘Ditty books’ when they successfully begin to read single words. The short vowels should be kept short and sharp.
- Children use sound-blending (Fred Talk) to read short ditties.
- Within the RWI books that they read in school children will have red and green words to learn to help them to become speedy readers. Red words are words that are not easily decodable and challenge words to extend children’s vocabulary. Green words are linked to the sounds they have been learning and are easily decodable.
Fred Fingers
When writing, children are taught to use ‘Fred fingers’ to first sound out a word before they write it down. ‘Fred fingers’ teach the children to use their fingers to break down words into their individual sounds to assist with their spelling. When children look at their own fingers, it allows them to visualise each sound of the word on a single finger.
Phonics Screening Check Year One
What is the Year 1 phonics screening check?
The Year 1 phonics screening check is not a formal test, but a way for teachers to ensure that children are making sufficient progress with their phonics skills to read words and that they are on track to become fluent readers who can enjoy reading for pleasure and for learning. Further information can be found here.
Helping at Home
Please read with and to your child as much as possible.
In Reception ‘sound sheets’ will be sent home weekly so that Parents are aware of the sounds that their children have learnt and are able to practise reading and writing these sounds.
Useful websites for Parents
Please find a list of websites that you may find useful in helping you and your child learn about phonics. Games and fun activity websites are also included.
http://jollylearning.co.uk/ - Games and information for parents
http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ - many games to play
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/ - fun games for the children to play
http://www.ictgames.com/literacy.html - fun games for the children to play
http://www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/kentict/kentict_home.cfm - fun games for the children to play and information for parents
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/ - fun games for the children to play
http://www.starfall.com/ - fun games for the children to play
http://www.firstschoolyears.com/ - fun games for the children to play
Sparklebox - lots of resources to print off and help you support your child at home
BBC Bitesize - many games to play covering all areas of the curriculum