An Introduction to Jolly Phonics 1 June 2006

Objectives To explain the principles behind the Jolly Phonics programme and to consider its place in the Revised Curriculum To demonstrate the use of some of the Jolly Phonics material To provide an opportunity for teachers to seek clarification about the programme

Phonics teaching is necessary… Children taught phonics systematically make better progress in reading and spelling than those taught unsystematically or not at all. (National Reading Panel, 2000)

…but not sufficient Children need … Phonological awareness Exposure to texts – modelled and shared reading Sight words

Analytic and Synthetic Phonics Analytic phonics starts at whole word level during or after reading books introduced often, one letter per week initial sounds first Synthetic phonics Letter sounds taught very rapidly Emphasis on blending sounds Usually, before reading scheme introduced

How phonics are taught in a sample of 12 Scottish schools Research into Synthetic Phonics University of St Andrews School of Psychology – Johnston & Watson 1992/93 - Teaching of reading in early stages of primary school 3 stages of study How phonics are taught in a sample of 12 Scottish schools Impact of analytic & synthetic phonics Comparison of three groups analytic phonics only phonemic awareness and analytic phonics synthetic phonics only

Third stage of study – intervention Johnston & Watson (1998) (Clackmannanshire Education Services & Scottish Office funded) Third stage of study – intervention 3 different methods of phonics teaching 304 five-year-olds in 13 P1 classes Whole-class teaching - 20 minutes per day 16 weeks - Sep to March

Findings - Word Reading (assessed using British Ability Scales (BAS)) Synthetic phonics group reading 7 months ahead of other two groups Synthetic phonics group reading 7 months ahead of chronological age

Findings – Spelling (assessed using Schonell Spelling Test) Analytic phonics group, 2-3months behind chronological age Phonemic awareness/analytic phonics group, 1 month behind chronological age Synthetic phonics group, 9 & 8 months ahead of other two groups Synthetic phonics group, 7 months ahead of chronological age

Good Phonics Teaching Essential features: Systematic Speedy Early Brooks, 2003

New Resource Fast Phonics First Synthetic phonics programme Written by Rhona Johnston & Joyce Watson Published by Heinemann Sounds taught in 16 weeks Interactive whiteboard Available online in April

What is ‘Jolly Phonics’? A synthetic phonics scheme for teaching children to read and write Developed by practising teachers, Sue Lloyd Used during the first school year In the first nine weeks children are taught one letter sound a day & how to blend sounds together Throughout year, teaching is reinforced & tricky words taught

Resources

Jolly Phonics 1. Learning the letter sounds 2. Learning letter formation 3. Blending 4. Identifying sounds in words 5. Tricky words Jolly phonics - 5 elements to be taught All necessary – fast track system for reading and writing

Sound Development Age at which 90% of children will have acquired the sounds 3 years – m,b,p,h,w and vowel sounds 4 years – k,g,t,d,n,ng,f 5 years – s,z,l,v,y,th,sh,ch 6 years – r,j Unit 2 ‘I Can’ 2002

Confusion with consonant sounds /p/ and /b/- both stopped by .. /t/ and /d/- stopped by .. /k/ and /g/- stopped by .. /s/ and /z/- partly stopped by .. /f/ and /v/- partly stopped by..

1. Learning the letter sounds s a t i p n ck e h r m d g o u l f b ai j oa ie ee or z w ng v oo oo y x ch sh th th qu ou oi ue er ar Not names – not t but /t/ not t in s nake s starts with /e/ Confusion Also – w - /d/ Also 42 sounds and only 26 letters – digraphs v and consonant different from blends. glossary Order well thought out – primary teacher – make plenty of words and not easily confused Ending in least needed. Children always know last on least well

Storyline and Action Each letter sound has a story Children hear the sound and see the action Action helps children to remember (multisensory) Illustrations in Big Books and wall frieze help children to remember

1. Learning the letter sounds s a t i p n ck e h r m d g o u l f b ai j oa ie ee or z w ng v oo oo y x ch sh th th qu ou oi ue er ar Me a, i n plus story.

2. Learning letter formation Pencil hold Finger phonic books Trace over dotted letters Write each letter Joining tails How jolly P does it – Pencil hold interesting not very foundation friendly! Yet children do need to be shown Handwriting in JP develops slower than phonic knowledge – that’s fine As you notice ch doing it wrongly – let them prac on the writing line Sand, carpet, paint. Rainbow letters, squishy, sparkly bag, etc.

3. Blending Letters sounded out by teacher Letters sounded out by children

Sounded out by teacher Can you see a s-u-n ? Where is the b-oy ? Some children will need a lot of practice In the beginning practice most days

Sounded out by children Children blend words as soon as possible Use regular words Use only letter sounds that have been taught Examples in Jolly phonics wordbook Children say blends in one go

3. Blending Letters sounded out by teacher Letters sounded out by children Pointing to letters to make a word Miming words Blending words with consonant blends Word boxes

Basic Code Vowel Digraphs ai – rain ee – feet ie – tie oa – boat ue – cue er –her ar – arm oi – coin ou - mouth Can you think of other ways to write each sound? 2 mins

Alternative vowel digraphs ai – rain ay play, a-e flame ee – feet ea leaf ie – tie y by, igh high, i-e ride oa – boat ow snow, o-e bone ue – cue ew few, u-e cube er – her ir girl, ur hurt oi – coin oy boy ou – mouth ow cow

4. Identifying sounds in words Hearing one sound I spy Sounds in three letter words Dictation Word families and rhyming words Take away sounds – what is left? Independent writing Magnetic letters Simple dictation

5. Tricky words Three spelling techniques: Reading tricky words - blend and learn - mostly irregular- not easy to blend so need to be learned by heart Three spelling techniques: Look, cover, write and check Say it as it sounds Mnemonics

Summary Aims to achieve in the first 9 weeks: Children can: Read and write the 42 letter sounds Know how to form the letters correctly Blend regular words fluently Make simple, regular words by listening for the sounds

What Next? Throughout the remainder of the first school year: Develop children’s skills further by : Consolidating letter sound knowledge Teaching correct formation of capital and lower case letters Group and individual reading Encouraging independent writing Teaching tricky words

Pilot Schools All P1 teachers changed implementation time slightly All teachers mentioned an increase in children’s confidence and independence in reading and writing All teachers intend to continue with Jolly Phonics

Implementation Commitment Pace Parental involvement Support Monitoring the programme