How and why we teach phonics

The way that phonics and reading is being taught has changed recently as a result of the Sir Jim Rose Report. As a result of the findings from this report, phonics is now taught in 6 distinctive phases.

Phonics at a glance: Part one: Segmenting and blending skills Part two: Knowledge of the alphabetic code.

Phonics consists of: Identifying sounds in the spoken word. Recognising common spellings of each phoneme. Blending phonemes into words Segmenting words into phonemes for spelling

PHONEME The smallest unit of sound in a word. There are 44 phonemes that children will be taught unlike the alphabet that has 26 letters

Phases. Reception Early in the beginning of their education children begin to be taught the first of the six sets of sounds that they will require to decode a lot of the cvc words they will come across in their reading.

Set 1 -s, a, t, p, i, n Set 2 – l, m, n, d Set 3 – g, o, c, k Set 4 –ck, e, u, r Set 5 – h, b, f, ff, ll

Phase 3. At this stage children are learning all of the 44 most commonly used phonemes. They are taught to spell common cvc decodable words as well as a small amount of tricky words that cannot be decoded by sound.

Phase 3 This is a relatively easy phase until the children reach the diagraphs and trigraphs e.g. sh, ch, ur, th, ure, air, ear, igh. Reading – when reading encourage your child to look for letter strings and to use them when trying to decode unknown words. When reading with your child encourage them to look for letter strings and to use them when trying to decode unknown words.

Entering Key Stage 1 When the children start in year 1, they revise the tricky sounds and are encouraged to look for them and use them when writing. This can be quicker for some children than others – but the more repetition to better it becomes embedded.

The 44 phonemes /b/ /d/ /f/ /g/ /h/ /j/ /k/ /l/ /m/ /n/ /ng/ /p/ /r/ /v/ /w/ /y/ /z/ /th/ /ch/ /sh/ /zh/ /a/ /e/ /i/ /o/ /u/ /ae/ /ee/ /ie/ /oe/ /ue/ /oo/ /ar/ /ur/ /au/ /er/ /ow/ /oi/ /air/ /ear/ /ure/ Note – if a sound is made by 2 letters it is a diagraph and please refer to the letter names instead of the sounds

Moving through Key Stage 1 Phase 5 and 6 Begin to read phonetically decodable 2/3 syllable words. Using alternative ways of pronouncing words. Spell complex words using phonetically plausible attempts.

Graphemes and Alternative Graphemes ay, ou, ie, ea, oy, ir, ue, aw, wh, ph, ew, oe, au, a_e, e_e, i_e, o_e, u_e i, o, c, g, u, ow, ie, ea, er, a, y,ch, ou

Using phonics for BLENDING Recognising the letter sounds in a written word, for example c-u-p and merging or ‘blending’ them in the order in which they are written to pronounce the word ‘cup’

Using phonics for SEGMENTING ‘Chopping Up’ the word to spell it out The opposite of blending Use your ‘ROBOT ARMS’ for each spoken phoneme

Segment and Blend these words… drep blom gris Nonsense games like this help to build up skills – and are fun!

Segmenting Activity Use your ‘robot arms’ to say how many phonemes in each word. shelf dress sprint string

Did you get it right? shelf = sh – e – l – f = 4 phonemes dress = d - r - e – ss = 4 phonemes sprint = s – p – r – i – n – t = 6 phonemes string = s – t – r – i – ng = 5 phonemes

Assessment. At the end of Year 1 children have to be assessed. Pseudo and real words. We have completed this over the last 3 years and have exceeded the national average. We believe this has been achieved by the systematic teaching that we have in place.

TRICKY WORDS Words that are not phonically decodeable e.g. was, the, I Some are ‘tricky’ to start with but will become decodeable once we have learned the harder phonemes e.g. out, there,

Now you have the knowledge…. www.phonicsplay.co.uk www.letters-and-sounds.com www.parentsintouch.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk/schools/parents www.jollylearning.co.uk/ www.focusonphonics.co.uk/ www.syntheticphonics.com

How we teach reading in school.

How we teach reading Three approaches: Shared reading Guided reading Independent reading Purpose of reading is obviously to access the wider curriculum but also leads to independent enjoyment and opportunities to read for pleasure.

Shared Reading Whole class text Texts look different from Reception to Year 6 – examples Story time Happens most days in class 1; related to topic in KS2 frequently and planned and is about reading comprehension – always has a focus Opportunity to teach reading strategies

Guided Reading Happens in ability groups of about six Opportunity to use reading strategies There is a focus to the session eg use of adjectives; understanding; comprehension May be teacher or TA led Will be at least weekly for most children right up to Y6

Independent Reading One to one reading with a child To be instructional the book needs to be at the right level – 90-95% accuracy Perfect role for parents In school happens most often with younger children Opportunity to rehearse the way we approach a text – what clues do we use, which are the most appropriate

Book Bands Children’s book bands range from Lilac – Maroon. Teachers and adults who read with the children frequently assess their ability, and determine whether or not they should change bands. New guidelines suggest that re –reading a text deepens a child’s understanding and increases their vocabulary.

Some tips when you are helping at home Always be positive, it needs to be quality time… Try to find a quiet place, no TV in the background, phone switched off …. If the child is reluctant - begin by reading to them and gently suggest they take over / have a go If they are stuck on a word, it will depend on the place in the sentence how you help. Sometimes you give them the word – sometimes you read on and come back to it; sometimes you re-run the sentence and look for meaning. We work out unknown words in three ways – strategies are: phonics, context and semantics. By getting the children confident with all three approaches they begin to use them automatically as we do.

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