PHONICS, READING AND WRITING WORKSHOP EARLY YEARS & KEY STAGE 1

PHONICS

What Is Synthetic Phonics? The adjective ‘synthetic’ refers to the fact that children are taught to ‘synthesise’ (i.e. put together or build up) pronunciations for unfamiliar written words by translating letters into sounds and blending the sounds together. Synthetic phonics teaches the phonemes (sounds) associated with the graphemes (letters). The sounds are taught in isolation and then blended together.

5 ELEMENTS OF A SYNTHETIC PHONICS PROGRAMME Learning The Phonemes Learning The Graphemes Which Represent The Phonemes Blending Sounds For Reading Segmenting Words For Writing Reading And Spelling High Frequency/Tricky Words

PHONIC KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS LETTERS AND SOUNDS Letters and Sounds is a phonics resource published by the Department for Education and Skills in 2007. It sets out a detailed and systematic programme for teaching phonic skills, starting in Nursery, with the aim of children becoming fluent readers by the age of seven.   PHONIC KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS Phase 1 (N/R) Pre-phonic knowledge and skills. Activities are divided into seven aspects. Phase 2 (R) 19 PGCs. Blending sounds together to make words. Segmenting words into their separate sounds. Beginning to read simple captions. Phase 3 25 additional PGCs including 7 single letter phonemes. Reading captions, sentences and questions. On completion of this phase, children will have learnt the "simple code", i.e. one grapheme for each phoneme in the English language. Phase 4 No new PGCs (phoneme-grapheme correspondences). Focus on blending and segmenting longer words with adjacent consonants, e.g. swim, clap, jump. Phase 5 (Y1) The "complex code". Alternative graphemes for known phonemes are introduced. Also different ways of pronouncing graphemes already known.

oo hook? or soon? ow low? or cow? ea sea? or head? g gate? or gem? c HOW DO YOU SAY………..? oo hook? or soon? ow low? or cow? ea sea? or head? g gate? or gem? c cat? or circle?

(and how to say them!) a b j PHONICS ORDER (and how to say them!) s sss not suh a t t not tuh p p not puh i i not eye r rrr not ruh h h not huh b f fff not fuh ff l lll not luh ll ss j v vvv not vuh ai as in rain ee as in been igh as in night oa as in boat oo as in balloon as in look ar as in car or as in for ur as in burn ow as in blow e-e as in Pete i-e as in like o-e as in home u-e as in cute

PHONICS LESSONS Must be practical and interactive Pace should be fairly quick Provide opportunities to say sound out loud in real and alien words every day Provide opportunities for writing real and alien words every day Robot speak and bring in phonological awareness at all opportunities throughout the day

PHONICS IN EYFS Children’s phonic knowledge assessed on entry into Nursery and Reception Children grouped according to need Up to 5 sounds taught per week – 30 minute sessions every day Constant reinforcement of phonic skills throughout the day Activities/worksheets sent home every week

A multi – sensory approach: See the letter shape(s) – grapheme Hear the sound (phoneme) - “ay” Learn a song and action to accompany each phoneme

PHONICS IN KEY STAGE 1 Children’s phonic knowledge assessed throughout Key Stage 1 Children grouped according to need Up to 5 sounds taught per week – 30 minute sessions every day Constant reinforcement of phonic skills throughout the day Activities/worksheets sent home every week Year 2 lessons become more GAPs focussed

PHONICS HOMEWORK Based on the sound or sounds worked on during the week Should show examples of the “sound” made by the grapheme if there are alternatives eg look or food Should be completed by the child with adult support Must be completed and returned to school every week

PHONICS SCREENING CHECK A phonic decoding assessment carried out in Year 1 at the end of the Summer term 40 words and non-words that each child attempts to read independently Children need to correctly read 32 words out of 40 to pass Children who do not pass will take the check again at the end of Year 2

READING

PHEASEY PARK FARM READING SCHEME Books of different genres – fiction, non-fiction, and poetry Standards First to 16 – clear progression in reading and comprehension skills Runs through EYFS, KS1 and KS2 Follow up activities/guide for parents in the majority of books

HOME READING Three Elements Key Words Reading Books Children’s Reading Record

KEY WORDS Flashcards Words that can be “sounded out” Sight words Chip went and Sight words wanted said the Learn in a random order! Checked by staff regularly

BOOKS Same characters appear regularly Familiar situations/range of topics/interests Constant reinforcement of key words Extremely detailed illustrations Text may appear easy but can the child understand the book?

Children’s Reading Record For parents and school staff Date/sign every time you read together Make comments! Please send words, reading book and reading record to school EVERY DAY

Reading Together Find somewhere quiet! Read the title and talk about the front cover Ask questions throughout – “what might happen next?” Discuss own experiences that relate to the story Use the correct terms - author, blurb, speech marks, exclamation marks etc. Discuss the story together – what did you like about the book? favourite part? Re-tell the story in own words

If your child gets stuck on a word… Give them some thinking time! Sound out the word Look at the picture for a clue Ask child to read sentence again – missing out difficult word. What could fit in the gap? Does that make sense? Read sentence again (missing out difficult word) – ask what could fit in the gap

Comprehension Comprehension is children’s understanding of what they have read Begin with verbal responses to questions Worksheets to compliment the books children bring home from school Children should read questions carefully and record answer in a full sentence This prepares children for the end of Key Stage 1 assessments

WRITING

HANDWRITING Tripod pencil grip Letter families Long ladders l, i, t, u, j, y One armed robots r, n, m, h, b, k, p Curly caterpillars c, a, d, o, s, g, q, e, f Zig zag monsters z, v, w, x

STAGES OF WRITING Emergent writing.

STAGES OF WRITING Initial or final sounds. Initial and final sounds. Medial Sounds. CVC Words. Tricky Words.

SEGMENTING SOUNDS FOR WRITING Listening for the initial, medial and final sounds in a word by “stretching it out” “shop” 3 phonemes = sh – o - p Knowing the correct graphemes to represent the sounds heard Children tend to identify and write initial, then initial and final sounds (medial vowels are often more difficult to hear).

WRITING EXPECTATIONS END OF RECEPTION Uses phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. Writes some irregular common words. Writes simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

Example of end of Reception Expectations

WRITING EXPECTATIONS END OF KEY STAGE 1 Consistent use of capital letters and full stops. Use a range of connectives to extend sentences e.g. because, so, then, when, but… Use descriptive features to add detail e.g. adjectives, expanded noun phrases, similes. Use a variety of sentence starters.

Literacy Homework in Year 2 To be returned on the specified date Must be written in pencil Pupils should take pride in the presentation of their work Based on concepts taught in school during the week, e.g. descriptive writing, connectives, letter writing Parents to support children but allow them to develop their own ideas