Phonics A two-part course

Activity What is phonics and how does it help children to learn to read? Briefly discuss and feedback.

Successful reading demands both word level reading and the ability to comprehend what has been read. Word recognition skills through; – Phoneme awareness and phonics teaching – Repetition and teaching of ‘tricky’ words Language comprehension through; – Talking with children – Reading to children – Teaching comprehension strategies

The Simple View of Reading Different kinds of teaching are needed to develop word recognition skills from those that are needed to foster the comprehension of written and spoken language Learning to read Reading to learn for purpose and pleasure

Teaching of phonics

Systematic Phonics- a definition High quality systematic phonic work teaches children the correspondences between graphemes in the written language and phonemes in the spoken language and how to use these correspondences to read and spell words. Phonics is systematic when all the major grapheme- phoneme correspondences are taught in a clearly defined sequence.

Synthetic Phonics- a definition The reference here is to the process of blending (synthesising) the individual sounds in a word together, working from left to right, to read them. Synthetic phonics work can begin with oral blending (phase 1) They then learn to say the sounds, in order, that are represented by graphemes and pronounce these together to say a word.

Key messages about phonics Phonics should be taught in a multi-sensory way so that children’s learning is reinforced in a variety of ways. Phonics needs to be taught explicitly but with many opportunities to apply the principles. Phonics needs to be delivered within a broad and rich language curriculum. A clear, structured programme needs to be in place.

A whole school approach is necessary. There needs to be a regular, daily input. Learning must be fun, interactive and placed in context. A brisk pace needs to be maintained. Prior learning must be returned to on a regular basis. Key messages about phonics

The Skills for Phonics Children need to: learn to listen attentively. distinguish between sounds and to describe them. reproduce sounds. speak clearly and confidently in order to communicate meaning. play with sounds and words, building their vocabulary. understand concepts such as same/different and beginning/middle/end.

Articulation of Phonemes Crucial Consistent Clear Clipped The 4 Cs

Talk about it Phonics terminology Can you match the terminology with the correct definition? How many did you get right?

Phonics has four main concepts: 1.Sounds/phonemes can be represented by letters. 2.A phoneme can be represented by one or more letters (r, sh, igh). A grapheme is a letter or a sequence of letters that represents a phoneme. 3.The same phoneme can be represented (spelt) in more than one way (ee, ea). 4.The same spelling may represent more than one sound (rough, bough, brought).

Process of learning Hear it and say it See it and say it Say it and write it

An overview of Letters & Sounds Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3Phase 4Phase 5Phase 6 7 Aspects Environmental sounds Instrumental sounds Body percussion Rhythm and rhyme Alliteration Voice sounds Oral blending and segmenting 19 letters taught and the sound for each one and the 4 digraphs, ck, ff, ll, ss Blending and segmenting to begin Tricky words introduced and HfW 25 more graphemes taught including 7 letters, j, v, w, x, y, z, qu Letter names introduced Blending and segmenting CVC words Reading & spelling simple 2 syllable words/captions No new grapheme- phoneme correspondences Blending & segmenting words with adjacent consonants Further tricky words and HfW introduced Introduces more graphemes for the ones previously taught in Phases 2 &3 Introduces alternative ways of pronouncing graphemes taught in phases 2&3 Blending and segmenting Further tricky words and HfW introduced Increasing fluency and accuracy in blending and sounding out Teaching spellings – past tense, adding suffixes, spelling long words, doubling letter etc. Learning & practising a range of spellings Application of a range of spellings throughout nursery and may run beyond. Key to develop early sound discrimination 6 weeks duration 12 weeks duration 4-6 weeks duration throughout Y1 throughout Y2

Phase 1 Seven aspects Environmental sounds Instrumental sounds Body percussion Rhythm and rhyme Alliteration Voice sounds Oral blending and segmenting Phase 1 develops phonological awareness. This learning needs to continue through nursery (and beyond).

By the end of Phase 1 the children will be able to: distinguish between speech sounds (‘t’ sounds different to ‘s’). blend orally to create a word (b-e-d = bed). segment a word orally (bed = b-e-d). recognise rhyme (cat and hat rhyme). produce a rhyming string (cat, hat, rat).

Segmenting and Blending -Crucial Concepts Segmenting and blending are reversible key phonic skills. Blending consists of building words from their constituent phonemes to read. Segmenting consists of breaking words down into their constituent phonemes to spell.

Blending the words Keep it smooth Remember the articulation Model the process (use multi-sensory ideas – magnetic letters etc) Explain blending to the children Encourage the child to take a breath before sounding out the word Always repeat the word after they have sounded it out Encourage the child to read it as a ‘whole’ word for HfW/tricky words and words they are familiar with Re-read the text for blending and for the children to listen to what they have read!

The Teaching Sequence for Daily, Discrete Phonics REVISIT AND REVIEW (Recently and previously learned grapheme-phoneme correspondences/blending & segmenting) TEACH PRACTISE APPLY ( Applying new knowledge in reading/writing )

Phase 2 19 grapheme-phoneme correspondences are taught. Decoding and encoding are taught as reversible processes. Blending and segmenting are reinforced. ‘Tricky’ words begin to be introduced. 6 weeks duration

By the end of Phase 2 the children will be able to: say the sound when shown any Phase 2 letter. find any Phase 2 letter from a display when hearing the sound. orally blend and segment CVC words ( h-a-t = hat). blend and segment when reading and spelling VC words such as in, it and at. read the five tricky words the, to, I, no and go.

Tricky words/CEW These are words which are not completely phonically regular Letters & Sounds clearly identifies the tricky words and in what phase they should be taught If there are phonically decodable sections of the word, encourage the children apply their phonics strategies e.g. said Make links to concrete references where possible to support the learning Consider ways that you can make the word more memorable for the children

High Frequency Words/Common Exception Words Many of these are phonically decodable and children should use phonic strategies to sound them out, e.g. mum If they are not : e.g. like - identify the phonically regular part of the word for them to read - then decode the ‘tricky’ part of the word – (possible PGCs they have not yet met) The children should to read these as a whole word as soon as they can.

Phase 3 Another 25 graphemes are introduced. Representations of the 42 grapheme/phoneme correspondences are taught. Children read and spell simple two syllable words and captions. More ‘tricky’ words are learnt. Up to 12 weeks duration 80% of children are expected to reach this level by the end of Reception.

By the end of Phase 3 the children will be able to: say the sound when shown all or most Phase 2 and Phase 3 graphemes. find all or most Phase 2 or Phase 3 graphemes, from a display, when hearing the sound. blend and read CVC words (pot, man, nib). segment and make a phonically plausible attempt at spelling CVC words. read the tricky words he, she, we, me, be, was, my, you, her, they, all and are. spell the tricky words the, to, I, no and go. write each letter correctly when following a model.

Phase 4 Knowledge of grapheme/phoneme correspondences (GPC) is consolidated. Adjacent consonants are introduced - just, blend. 4-6 weeks duration

By the End of Phase 4 the children will be able to: say the sound when shown any Phase 2 and Phase 3 grapheme. find any Phase 2 and Phase 3 grapheme from a display when hearing the sound. be able to blend and read words containing adjacent consonants. be able to segment and spell words containing adjacent consonants. be able to read tricky words. be able to spell the Phase 3 tricky words. usually write each letter correctly.

Phase 5 Alternative spelling patterns are introduced. Alternative pronunciations for reading are taught. Automaticity of reading begins. Securing reading and spelling will extend through year 1. 85% of children are expected to reach this level by the end of Y1

By the end of Phase 5 the children will be able to: say the sound when shown any taught grapheme. write the common graphemes for any given sound. apply phonic knowledge and skill as the prime approach to reading and spelling unfamiliar words that are not completely decodable. read and spell phonically decodable two-syllable and three- syllable words. read automatically all the words in the list of 100 High Frequency Words. accurately spell most of the words in the list of 100 HFW. form each letter correctly.

Developing a Challenge Level! Can you guess the connection? Which phoneme links these sounds?

Phase 6 – Take care Increasing fluency and accuracy Teaching spellings – past tense, adding suffixes, spelling long words Learning & practising spellings Application of spellings WAS: Typical duration throughout year two (although teaching of spelling continues well into KS2) NOW: much of this is involved in the SPAG of Y1 &2

SPELLING STRATEGIES – PHASE 6 For longer words break them up into Syllables. Clap/ say these out loud. Write each syllable using a ‘spelling voice’ listening for the sounds fan tas tic Sound and BLEND f l a g street _. ANALOGY: If you know how to spell down, you can spell town, clown and frown! Mnemonics: ‘Because’ Big elephants can always understand small elephants Words within words - There’s a rat in separate Shape and size/length of words Base words – find the base word and then add to it – smile+ing + smiling

Planning at Phase 6 Teach SPAG to all the children Consider revisiting and returning to key areas of phonics. Plan in opportunities to teach spelling strategies and return to tricky words & high frequency words Consider how to teach spelling conventions (Support for Spelling - give suggestions) /teachingandlearningresources.org.uk/collect ion/ /teachingandlearningresources.org.uk/collect ion/35326

Planning at Phase 6 Find opportunities to identify children’s own misspellings – develop the use of spelling logs For assessment, differentiation and intervention consider whether the child is at in their phonic application, then consider whether they are applying spelling conventions and strategies as these are two separate skills

Gap task 3 week phonics investigation Observe good phonics lessons for one week (preferable covering from EYS toY2) Working with the planning from the teacher deliver a week of phonics lessons Team teach/independently teach a week of phonics, planning and assessing for the class/group.

Be ready to discuss outcomes in the next session E.g. what did the children learn? how do you know? what are your next steps (for teaching & CPD)? How did your assessment help your planning/teaching? What worked well? What didn’t!

End of session 1