Phonics and Reading Comprehension Workshop

Thursday 13th March 2014

What is phonics?

• Phonics is the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds. For example knowing the letter ‘b’ makes the sound ‘buh’.

• Why is it so important? Phonics is key to the early learning of how to

read and spell words.

The Core Principles of Phonics

1. Linking sounds to letter names 2. Blending and segmenting3. Word recognition4. Language comprehension5. Letter formation

These principles work together to develop children’s reading and spelling skills.

Linking sounds to letters

1 2 3

c a t

b ir d

f i sh

kn igh t

• There are 44 sounds altogether.• Children learn to link the grapheme

(letter) to a phoneme (sound). This skill is the basis of reading.

These words each have 3 phonemes. Each of these phonemes is represented by a grapheme.

chain

At Churchill Primary we teach phonic sounds through ‘jolly phonics.’ This puts a

physical action with each sound and makes it more memorable and fun to learn! They are taught in sets that can make simple

words. We use books in line with these sets to allow children to read as soon as they

are ready. For example:

‘s’ – wave your hand in an s shape, like a snake, and say sssssss.

WORD OF WARNING!

It is important to enunciate phonemes as cleanly and clearly as possible. For example :

/c/ /t/ /p/ should be enunciated without voice.

/b/ /g/ /d/ should be enunciated without the ‘uh’ sound at the end

‘qu’ – Make a duck’s beak with your hands and say qu,qu,qu.

English is one of the hardest languages to learn and there are some words that do not follow the phonic rule.

We call these words ‘tricky words’ as the only way for children to learn how to read and write them is through memory. At

Churchill we teach these through our key word programme that also includes high frequency words. Each year group has

specific words they focus on.

Phonics game

Book Talk is...

• Learning about a book by talking about it• Talking to deepen understanding of the text• Getting children to think outside of the box.

I’m not sure but...

I was wondering whether...

Perhaps...

I’m puzzled by...

Tell me...

She can see it all from the verandacove and the white bougainvillea thatonce served her so well. For a momentshe sees herself too, a boyish girl runningacross the lawn to the sea. The lawn is overgrown now and nameless busheshave sprung up around the bougainvillea. Lizards have taken over the garden and the derelict tennis court. Even here on this upstairs veranda they no longer run away from her.

Children are made readers in the laps of their parents.

E. Buckwald

The more that you read,The more things you will know.

The more that you learn,The more places you’ll go!

Dr Seuss