Foundation Stage Phonics Information Talk

What is phonics? When? Every day, 15 minute session. Phonics is a method of teaching reading and writing. Children are taught the sounds that letters make and how to put them together to read and write words. Phonics teaches: The letter sounds – individual alphabet sounds plus sounds made from two or more letters (eg sh, ai, igh) and the different ways that the sounds (phonemes) can be written (called graphemes) Blending Segmenting Tricky words When? Every day, 15 minute session.

What have the children done so far? Rhyming. Listening to rhyming stories and poems, playing rhyming games eg ‘silly soup’ and playing with words. Oral blending. Before we introduce letters children learn how to ‘blend’ or merge sounds together to make a word. Using single syllable words, we model eg “touch your l-e-g, leg” using sound-talk. Oral segmenting. Children are given a word and asked to speak in sound-talk, ‘segmenting’ or breaking down the word into sounds. Pure Sounds. Important to use letter sounds, not names, eg s is ‘ssss’, not ‘ess’ and not ‘suh’. Try using a mirror to help with pronunciation. Children who can hear sounds in words and sound them out accurately are well placed to make a good start in reading and writing. We practise sound-talk throughout the day. Eg. Put on your c-oa-t, coat.

Ways to help at home Find objects around your home that are single syllable and practise sound-talk, let your child listen first then see if they will join in: I spy a p-e-g, peg. Where is your h-a-t, hat. Simon says put your hands on your h-ea-d, head. Always sound-talk the last word you say. Remember - sounds not names of letters.

Learning the letter sounds 4 sounds introduced each week – one sound a day. We use ‘Jolly Phonics’. Each sound has an action and a song, eg…. The sounds are taught in a specific order (not alphabetically) so that as soon as the first group of 4 letters are introduced (s, a, t, p) they can start to build words with them (pat, tap, sat). We send home a ‘sounds book’ starting next week.

Sounds Book We have stuck the first four sounds in, please keep the sounds book at home and we will send four more letters home each week for you to stick in.

Words to practise it is an in dad and sit sat pit pip sip nip pan pin We also send words home that have the letters introduced so far. Cut them up and practise reading them. words using s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d it is an in dad and sit sat pit pip sip nip pan pin tin tan nap am man mat map sad dim did

To help at home: Ask your child to teach you the songs and actions. You can find them by searching on Youtube for jolly phonics songs. Practise the sounds daily, encouraging your child to be as quick as possible, make cards with the sounds on and flash them. Use magnetic letters – ask your child to find the letter when you say the sound. If your child is already confident with the sounds, practise writing them with correct formation.

Beginning to read and write words As soon as we have introduced some letters we start to blend and segment with them. We use ‘sound buttons’ eg We play games And use the internet eg www.phonicsplay.com We use magnetic letters to make words, and when the children are ready we start to write words using individual whiteboards. We also introduce ‘alien words’. at

Tricky Words We also introduce some of the very common words which have irregular spellings, we call them ‘tricky words’. These need to be learned so that the children can recognise and read them straight away without sounding out. We send home sets of tricky word flashcards, starting with : I, the, go, to, no. To help at home play games with the cards and practise them regularly, aim for quick recall.

Reading Books We will start to send reading books home when we feel your child is ready and is able to orally blend and segment words. We use a variety of reading schemes, with a focus on using phonic skills to sound out words. We send home two books and change them weekly. Please write in the reading diary. Just a brief comment each time. Five minutes a day is good.

Websites www.phonicsplay.com www.letters-and-sounds.com www.crickweb.com www.topmarks.co.uk http://jollylearning.co.uk/ www.ictgames.co.uk

Click on free phonicsplay

We will be starting Phase 2 soon. By the end of the Reception Year we aim to have covered Phases 1 to 4.

Writing Funky Fingers and dough gym Children need to develop their fine motor skills and muscle strength. There are lots of ways to do this, eg playdough, jigsaws, cutting, colouring, painting, threading. We do daily dough gym with specific exercises to develop hand and arm strength.

Stand up straight Hold your dough, Wait for the music And off we go! Dough Disco! Stand up straight Hold your dough, Wait for the music And off we go!

Move 3 pat it. Take the ball and flatten it with the other hand Move 3 pat it! Take the ball and flatten it with the other hand. Make a pancake! Swap hands so both sides of the ‘pancake’ get flattened.

Emergent Writing Drawing is the earliest stage where children create pictures which represent their thoughts. Scribbling (mock handwriting) where shapes & letter like forms begin to appear. Actual letters and clusters of letters showing children are confident in writing letters but still cannot write conventional words. Phonetic spelling where children begin to form the mental association between letters and sounds and start to create words using that knowledge. Conventional spelling. Starts with own name and words like mum and dad.

Writing Encourage children to hold pencil with a ‘tripod’ grip (thumb and first two fingers), once child has developed an incorrect grip it is difficult to correct. Ask children what they want to write and get them to ‘orally rehearse’. Do not correct spelling during the early stages, ask your child what sounds can they hear and use an alphabet strip to help them write them. Look at the completed writing and ask children what is says. Celebrate any writing – your child may be at any of the stages mentioned before.