READING WORKSHOP

PHONICS

Charles Darwin Community Primary School

Phonics is all about the

SOUNDS in words.

Using phonics, to help

decode words, is only

ONE of the strategies

we employ when reading.

There are 44 sounds in

the English language

represented, in writing,

by 26 letters.

Some sounds are

represented by one letter,

some by a combination of

letters - ee, sh, igh.

Letters sometimes

represent more than one

sound ow – cow/snow,

oo – moon/book.

Sounds are sometimes

represented by different

combinations of letters -

- burn, her, first, worm

bear, chair, care, there

soon, flute, group, suit.

Sounding out doesn’t help

for some words

SO …

DON’T

ask children to do it

for those words.

Correct terminology:

phoneme = sound

grapheme = the written

representation of a sound

blending = saying the sounds,

seen as letters,to help read words

segmenting = breaking up words,

into sounds,to help spelling

Reading for meaning is

VITAL

Reading In order to read we decode words in different ways

including:Using sounds

Using meaningBy building a sight

vocabulary

Reading Other strategies are also vital...Using picture cuesMissing difficult words out and re-readingRe-reading checking for senseFluency, expression and accuracyin reading

Literal QuestionsWho are the main characters? What do they look like?How does the story begin?Can you tell me what happened when…?What are the main points in this non-fiction text?Which phrase tells you…?

Questions that show understanding

What is happening?Which part of the story do you like best? Why?How did the author make it scary?Can you explain why…?What in the text makes you think that…?

Reading between the lines

How do you feel about…?Can you explain why…?Why did the author decide to…?What do these words mean and why did the author choose them?How would you have reacted to …?

What can you do at home?Use some of the strategies that you have seenTalk about your child’s reading and writing targetsRead a variety of texts including comics and magazinesShare books with your child