Welcome to Introduction Welcome to Jolly Phonics. Jolly Phonics has been developed by practising classroom teachers and provides a systematic method for teaching children to read and write. It is a synthetic phonics programme: The children are taught to read by ‘synthesising’ (which is blending) the letter sounds together. By blending the letter sounds together, the children can work out unknown words themselves, rather than being asked to memorise words. In this presentation, we will look at : The principles of Jolly Phonics. The stages children go through to learn to read and write well and confidently. How providing additional support at home can help children achieve the best results. 1

The Alphabetic Code Letter Sounds Letter sound order There are 42 different letter sounds, which are divided into 7 groups. The order in which the letter sounds are taught go from the simplest to the more complex letter sounds. The first group of letters were chosen because you can make more simple, three-letter words than with any other combination of 6 letters. This enables the children to start blending and reading words from the first week. This is hugely motivating for them. Letter names Initially, only the letter sounds are taught, with the letter names coming a few weeks later. This helps to prevent the children getting muddled between the sound and the name. Digraphs The digraphs (where two letters make one sound) are introduced in the fourth group of letter sounds. 2

3 focuses within Phonics Forever: Reading Spelling Handwriting Letter Formation The next part of the lesson involves the second of the basic 5 skills: showing the children the shape of the letter that gives the /s/ sound: Multi-sensory approach A multi-sensory approach is used here too. The children can: feel the shape of the letter in the Finger Phonics books see it written on the board and write it in the air with their finger. (Demonstrate air-writing an ‘s’, facing everyone and making sure you draw the ‘s’ in its mirror image.) Getting it right It is important to get the formation correct from the beginning before any bad habits develop. Gentle guidance or correction given at home makes it easier for the children. 3

Skills of Blending shout pats tray letter sat kettle Blending Words Now the children can try and blend words that use the letter sounds they have been taught. Initially, blending is modelled by the teacher to the whole class. The sounds need to be said quickly. It is easier if the first sound is slightly louder, t-a-p ... ‘tap’. As soon as possible, the children are encouraged to join in as well. Some children find it easy to blend words and others find it difficult. It is a skill that comes with practice. Activity Demonstrate blending with the first word, s-a-t … ‘sat’. Ask everyone to join you in blending the rest of the words quickly. If there is time, ask them to try and think up some more words that can be made from the letter sounds /s, a, t, i, p, n/. It can be a quick competition! 4

Segmenting for Spelling - Sound out the words using fingers - Dashes to show sounds - Then fill in sounds on dashes

Link to video to show examples of some of the work http://www.blackberryphonicstraining.com/home/no-nonsense-phonics-skills-video Storylines and Actions The first of the 5 basic skills is learning the letter sounds: Action • There is an action linked to each letter sound. • This multi-sensory approach helps the children remember the letter sounds more easily. Storyline • Each sound and action is introduced through a story. • For the /s/ sound, the story is about a boy who takes his dog for a walk. • When the dog starts to bark, the boy runs over and sees a snake rearing up out of the grass in an ‘s’ shape, saying /ssssss/. • For the action, the children weave their hands in an ‘s’ shape, like a snake, and say /ssss/. 6