Phonics Explained…

Children who read at home do well at school

• Read fluently

• Write confidently

• Speak articulately

Try reading this!

It iz tiem too gow hoam sed v kator pilla.But iy doat wont 2 gow howm sed th butt or flie. Iy wot to staiy heyr.

Read, Write Inc. Phonics

short promotional film.

Who is phonics for?

A bit of technical knowledge…

• Phoneme – The smallest unit of sound in a word.

• Grapheme – What we write to represent a• sound/ phoneme – for some phonemes, this• could be more than one letter.

The English language is a complex code…

It would be easy if we only had to learn Set 1 and Set 2 sounds.

Set 3 sounds

How does phonics help us read?

Say “hello” to Fred.

Fred can only talk in sounds...

He says “c_a_t.” Not cat.

We call this Fred Talk.

Watch Ruth Miskin does Fred Talk

Jolly Phonics/Letters and Sounds

• We combine all three programmes to ensure we meet each child’s learning style.

e.g. Jolly phonics songs and stories

Letters and sounds games and

activities

Blending

• Recognising the letter sounds in a written word, for example c- u- p, and blending them in the order which they are written, to read the word ‘cup’

Try blending these…

S i t l e g h a t

m e n n e t t i n

Digraph

• Two letters which make one sound.• A consonant digraph contains two consonants next to

each other, but they make a single sound. e.g. sh, ck, th, ll

• A vowel digraph contains at least one vowel but the two letters still make a single sound e.g. ai ee ar oy

Examples of vowels digraphs

Rhyme to remember:

When two vowels go a walking the first one does the talking

ai = rain ee= sheep oa = goat

Try blending these…

P ai n p ee p

m oa t th a t

O NOT ALL CHILDREN WILL LEARN AT THE SAME RATE!

O There is a very close link between difficulty with phonics and hearing, so if your child is making progress slower than expected, it is worth having their hearing checked.

How Can I Help?Writing:OHand eye co-ordination – pouring water into jugs and cups of different sizes, cutting, sticking, tracing, threading beads, puzzles – these all help!OPencil hold – The ‘pincer’ movement needs to be practised. Provide tongs, see if they can pick up small objects. Ask children to peg objects on washing line and provide plenty of different types of pens and pencils.OSet a timer: call out one word e.g. cat and ask your child to spell it on a magic board or a small whiteboard, against the timer – remember they can use magnetic lettersOPlay a game: hunt the word – hide words in sand/flour, set a timer, hold up the word that you want them to hunt for, and ‘go’! Repeat the word and encourage them to say – ‘I am looking for the word ‘the’.OPlay pairs: turning over two words at a time trying to find a matching pair. This is especially helpful with the tricky words

O Find real objects around your home that have three phonemes (sounds) and practise ‘sound talk’. First, just let them listen, then see if they will join in, eg.

O ‘I spy a p-e-g = peg’, ‘I spy a c-u-p = cup’O ‘Where’s your other s-o-ck = sock’O ‘Simon says, put your hands on your h-ea-dO Buy magnetic letters for your fridge and ask them to make

up a CVC word every time they walk past.O Make little words together, eg. It, up, met, pick, dogO Breaking up words: Now do it the other way, break the word

up and move the letters away saying, ‘met – m-e-t’.O Writing box: place a whiteboard and pen inside along with

various writing implements

Trigraph

• Three letters which make one sound

igh = n igh t

ear = f ear

How to help?O Sing an alphabet song togetherO Play ‘I spy’O Continue to play with magnetic letters, using some two-grapheme

(letter) combinations, eg: r-ai-n = rain blending for reading. Rain = R-ai-n segmenting for spelling

O Praise your child for trying out wordsO Ask for a list of tricky wordsO Create phonic games with a timerO Play pairsO Don’t worry if they get some wrong!O Use the computer – see websites at the end

These sounds and words are hard to remember and need plenty of practice.

Oxford University Press publish the resources

Reading• Begin by looking at books without text, telling own stories from

pictures.

• Children will work through the system at their own pace. We do not follow a scheme. As they enter year one each child will undergo a reading baseline to determine the appropriate book for their stage of reading. It is important to not rush your child, enjoy the stories they are given, take time with each book, read the books, talk about the pictures and above all relate these books they read to their own lives.

• Books supplemented by library books which the children choose.

Let’s have a go!

Games:

O‘What’s in the box’

O‘Full circle’

How to help your child at home…

Skills to Develop

• Encourage eye contact to show they are listening• Quiet reminders not to shout• Reminders not to interrupt

• Model correct pronunciation• Correct tenses and grammar• Correct letter formation to aid joining up letters in year

two.

You can read stories with your child. Relentlessly.

Read favourite stories over and over again

Read some stories at a higher level than they can read themselves.

Listen to them reading their take home Phonics storybooks.

Watch our storytime at home video.

You can practise pronouncing sounds.

• Remember no ‘fuh’ and ‘luh’!

You can have fun with Fred Talk.

“What a tidy r-oo-m!”

“Where’s your c-oa-t?”

“Time for b-e-d!”

The Phonics Check

• In June all Year One children will be expected to undertake a phonics check.

• The aim is to check that a child is making progress in phonics.

• If a child has not reached the expected standard we will ensure that additional support is given to help your child progress in year 2.

Some notes to add…

O Obviously the more children are exposed to letters and sounds, the quicker they will consolidate their newly acquired skills. Your involvement in this new learning is vital.

O Any questions at all, please come to speak to your child’s teacher. We are happy to help!!!

O Only spend short bursts on activities – regular and often works best. But remember, HAVE FUN TOGETHER!!!

Attendance and Punctuality

There is a staggered entry to school at 8.45. The start of the school day is 8:55am. The school expects all children to be punctual and prepared for the day ahead.

As a school, the attendance target for our children is always above 95.6%.

If children are to be collected by an adult other than their parents, please inform the office, or send a note, as soon as possible, who will then notify the class teacher.

All children should be collected punctually, at 3:25pm every day.

RoutinesThe children enter the classroom, put their personal things away (this should not include toys) and collect a whiteboard and pen to practise letter/number formation. We will also use this time to take small groups of children to work on skills specific to their needs. When the bell goes we undertake register, say prayers and proceed into the first session which is a combination of teacher led and child led activities.

Children will work in different types of groups such as ability, mixed (gender), friendship etc.

Each child will have the opportunity through the day for teacher and child led activities. Please ensure you dress your child appropriately as they will be working at activities indoors and outdoors throughout the day.

Additional Information…

• We will be sending home an empty ‘chatty bag.’ We ask your child to put objects of interest into it and bring it to school the following day where your child will get the opportunity for ‘show and tell’.

• We have a very special class bear, where each child will be invited to take him home for 1 night. Included in his bag is a special diary for the children to record what they have done that evening. Please encourage them to mark make, draw or put photographs in about their experiences.

General NotesPlease ensure all uniform is labelled with child’s name, including hats, gloves, scarfs and coats. Please encourage your child to put on their own jumpers and coats; including zips. It will not only help you in the mornings but develop their independence.

Packed lunches (no chocolate, sweets, fizzy drinks)

If, for some reason, someone different is picking up your child, please let us meet them before we discharge your child to them.

Head lice are common! Please check regularly and treat as recommended.

Any absence requires a note or telephone call explaining why.

Birthdays – please do not send in chocolates made from nut products or gelatine.

Useful websites

• www.ruthmiskin.co.uk• www.parentsintouch.co.uk• www.bbc.co.uk/schools/parents• www.jollylearning.co.uk• www.phonicsplay.co.uk• www.focusonphonics.co.uk• www.syntheticphonics.com

Thank you for listening!We hope that this helps you understand phonics and what we do here at St. Edwards Catholic Primary School.

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Please do not hesitate to ask any questions!