Year 1 Phonics

What is phonics? Children are taught to read by breaking down words into separate sounds or ‘phonemes’. They are then taught how to blend these sounds together to read the whole word. Children have a phonics lesson each day and they are encouraged to use these strategies to read and write in other lessons. There are around 44 different sounds.

Lesson format In each year group, phonic lessons follow the same format: Revise: The children will revise previous learning. Teach: New phonemes or high frequency or tricky words will be taught. Practice: The children will practise the new learning by reading and/or writing the words. Apply: The children will apply their new learning by reading or writing sentences. From Foundation Stage 2 to Year 3 all phonics lessons follow this format

Phase 5 They will learn best fit spellings and learn about sound families, e.g. ai, a-e, ay all make the same sound in words (cake, rain, hay). Split digraphs will also be introduced, e.g. i-e, o-e and a-e (line, bone, lake). Alternative pronunciations will also be introduced, e.g. ea in tea, head and break. They will continue to read and spell tricky words such as theirs, people, Mrs and called.

Phase 6 The main aim is for children to become more fluent readers and accurate spellers Applying phonic skills and knowledge to recognise and spell an increasing number of complex words Introducing and teaching the past tense Investigating and learning how to add suffixes such as –ed, -ing and –est

Why are the children being screened? Every Year 1 child in the country will be taking the phonics screening check in the same week in June The aim of the check is to ensure that all children are able to read by the end of Year 2 This ‘midpoint check’ will ensure that we have a clear understanding of what the children need to learn in Year 2.

THIS IS NOT A READING TEST What will the children be expected to do? The check is very similar to tasks the children already complete during phonics lessons. Children will be asked to ‘sound out’ a word and blend the sounds together, eg d-o-g - dog The focus of the check is to see which sounds the children know and therefore the children will be asked to read made up ‘nonsense’ words. THIS IS NOT A READING TEST

Examples of words:

And the results…? We will inform you of whether your child falls below OR within the required standard If your child does fall below the expected standard, they will re-take the phonics screening check in Year 2 Results will be reported home in July

How can you help? Keep reading and spelling as fun as possible and linked to your child’s interests Encourage your child to ‘sound out’ when reading or writing, using their sound mat and actions to find the sound they need Look at tricky words Play matching games with words and pictures Children can practise their phonics by playing games online. The children particularly like ‘Buried Treasure’ http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/BuriedTreasure2.html

How can you help? REMEMBER: Phonics is not the only thing needed to become a fluent reader. Please continue to read with your child each night and encourage them to: Re-read to check it makes sense. Use pictures for clues. Ask questions about the book. And most importantly ENJOY READING!

Questions?