What is Phonics? November 2016

Phonics Terminology Grapheme Phoneme The smallest unit of sound and a piece of terminology that children like to use and should be taught.  At first it will equate with a letter sound but later on will include the digraphs (two or more letters which come together to make a sound e.g. ‘oa’).  For example `rain’ has three phonemes, / r  / ai  / n. Please note these are not the letter names but the sounds that are made when the letter is pronounced in a word. Grapheme A grapheme is a letter or a number of letters that represent a sound (phoneme) in a word. The children are taught grapheme phoneme correspondences (GCPs). This simply means that they are taught all the sounds (phonemes) in the English language and ways of writing them down (graphemes). These sounds are taught in a particular order. The first sounds to be taught are s, a, t, p. As the children progress through Reception and Key Stage One, they learn different ways to make the same phonemes.

Phonics Terminology Blending/Synthesis Children are taught to be able to blend. This is when children say the sounds that make up a word and are able to merge the sounds together until they can hear what the word is. This skill is vital in learning to read. E.g. /c/ /a/ /t/ = cat Segmenting Children are also taught to segment. This is the opposite of blending. Children are able to say a word and then break it up into the phonemes that make it up. This skill is vital in being able to spell words. E.g. cat = /c/ /a/ /t/

Letter formation As children are taught the GPCs they learn how to form them correctly. We practice letter formation using a range of multisensory approaches. Example: Writing in sand Shaving foam Chalks and a variety of writing materials Paint brush and water Cornflour The children learn to join their writing in Infants.

Blending for reading To begin with we focus on listening for the initial phonemes in words, with simple games: Eye spy using phonemes instead of letters Simon says hands on your b-a-ck etc. Matching pictures to initial sounds This then develops into sounding out CVC words and encouraging blending. Object/picture and word matching is a good way to support the children as it gives them prompts but can also help to show their understanding of what the word is. Reading is not a process of just blending the words, to enjoy reading children need to show an understanding of what they are reading. Children will have regular reading books to support their reading.

Segmenting for writing Segmenting involves hearing a word, splitting it up into the phonemes that make it, using knowledge of GPCs to work out which graphemes represent those phonemes and then writing those graphemes down in the right order. This is the basis of spelling. Throughout reception children tend to follow these steps with spelling: Hear and write initial sounds in words. Hear and write initial and end sounds in words. Hear and write initial, middle and end sounds in words- phonetical spelling. In Key Stage One, the children learn how to split words into syllables to help them to spell.

High Frequency Words High frequency (common) words are words that recur frequently in much of the written material that young children read and that they need when they write. There is a list of the words covered in the children’s reading diaries for parents to refer to at home.

Tricky Words Unfortunately there are some words in the English language that we cannot always sound out, these are known as Tricky Words. Throughout reception, children are given tricky words to practice each week. The first tricky words that are learned are: I no go to the into

How Can I help My Child? Practise sounds with your child at home Use them to make different words and play phonics games. There are some excellent game and resources available on the internet. Practise reading and spelling high frequency/ tricky words in the children’s reading diaries. Read everyday with your child if possible

Useful Websites http://www.starfall.com/ http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ http://www.spellingplay.co.uk/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/