Parent information evening – Phonics

Reading at Oakridge Phonics – reading is taught primarily through a phonics programme called Letters and Sounds. Guided Reading – children read to the teacher in small groups, following the same book. This covers comprehension and retrieval skills. Reading at home plays such a vital part in helping children practise the reading skills learnt in school.

Why teach phonics? Useful skill to decode unfamiliar words Government initiative: National Phonics Screening Test – Your child will take the phonics test in June. Most children should pass the phonics test in Year 1. All should pass the test by the end of Year 2. OFSTED focus Using phonics to write – Phonics can help early writers to get started.

What are phonemes? Phonics is a method of teaching children how spoken words are composed of sounds called phonemes. Letters of the alphabet are used to write words. We say the letter names when we say the alphabet and as adults when we spell words. Letters of the alphabet also make sounds (phonemes). It is useful for children to say the sounds of the letters to help them read unknown words. Letters can be combined into two or three letter groups to make more sounds.

c a t

Teaching reading through phonics… Individual phonemes are the sounds the letters of the alphabet make - a, b, c, d Digraphs are single sounds represented by two letters – sh (shop) ch (chip) ai (rain) Trigraphs are single sounds represented by three letters – igh (night) ear (hear)

Letters and Sounds Phases

Phase 1 aspects – Reception Environmental sounds Instrumental sounds Body percussion Rhythm and rhyme Alliteration Voice sounds Oral blending and segmenting 7 ASPECTS

Oral blending and segmenting Adult begins to model oral blending e.g. get your h-a-t I spy Sound talk across the river game Spell out the word eg p-e-g child who has that object can cross the river

Phase 2 Is the start of systematic phonic work. Begins the understanding of grapheme- phoneme correspondence. Understand that words are constructed from phonemes and that phonemes are represented by graphemes.

Phase 2 phonemes s a t p i n m d g o k ck e u r h b f ff l ss c ll A Phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a word. s a t p i n m d g o c k ck e u r h b f ff l ll ss Pronouncing the phonemes correctly is very important. eg the letter s is pronounced sssss and not suh. We all need to use the same language at home and at school.

Phase 2 - Next steps … Children then begin to segment and blend for reading. Starting with simple VC (vowel consonant) words e.g a-t, i-t, i-s Then CVC (consonant vowel consonant) words. e.g d-o-g, c-a-t, m-a-n

Phase 3 phonemes j v w y z zz qu ch sh th ai ee igh oa oo ar or ur ow ng ai ee igh oa oo ar or ur ow oi ear air ure er

Phase 3- Segmenting Activity How many phonemes in each word? shelf sh- e- l- f 4 phonemes dress d- r- e- ss 4 phonemes sprint s- p- r- i- n- t 6 phonemes string s- t- r- i- ng 5 phonemes

Phase 4 In Phase 4, no new graphemes are introduced. The main aim of this phase is to consolidate the children's knowledge and to help them learn to read and spell words which have adjacent consonants, such as trap, string and milk. Phase 4 is generally started at the beginning of Year 1, but may sometimes be covered at the end of YR then recapped at the start of Y1.

Phase 5 Phase 5 is a long unit, taught throughout Year 1 and revised in Year 2 if necessary. Children need to know most of the phase 5 graphemes to be able to pass the Year 1 phonics screening test.

Phase 5 – alternative graphemes for the same phoneme. For each spoken sound in English, there are usually two or three common ways it is found written in different words. In Phase Five, children will learn more graphemes and phonemes. e. g. Start with ai as in rain, ay as in day a-e as in make. So to read English, to turn written words back into spoken words, it helps to be aware of all the sounds or ‘phonics’ of spoken English and the several ways each sound may be written.

Alternative phonemes for the same grapheme Alternative pronunciations for graphemes will also be introduced, e.g. The ‘ea’ grapheme can be pronounced differently in different words. tea, head break

Year 1 Phonics Screening

Phonic Screening…. Takes place in June. All year 1’s and and year 2’s who did not pass in year. One to one test with the teacher. Children have to read around 32 out of 40 words to pass. Passing the test is a good indication that they are reading well for their age.

Teaching phonics at Oakridge Children are grouped by ability in phases. A phonics lesson is taught daily. The letters are not introduced in alphabetical order but in the order of the phases. e.g. The first group (s, a, t, i, p, n) has been chosen because they make more simple three-letter words. (Sat pan tap) The letters b and d are introduced in different groups to avoid confusion. Sounds that have more than one way of being written are initially taught in one form only. E.g. ai (rain) is taught first, and then alternatives a-e (gate)and ay (day) follow later.

Phonics in writing… Talk for writing: Getting children to verbalise and discuss what they want to write before they write, makes a huge difference. If they can’t say it, they can’t write it! To be able to use phonics to write independently gives young children the confidence to write without having to remember spellings.

Phonics in independent writing

S-oa-p, b-oa-t, l-ow, gr-ow Spelling The process of reading involves decoding or ‘breaking’ words into separate phonemes, so that meaning can be gained. On the other hand, the process of spelling requires the writer to identify all the phonemes in a word and then use their knowledge of the phonemic code to write or ‘make’ the word. Children get to know which are the most common spelling patterns. S-oa-p, b-oa-t, l-ow, gr-ow

Phonics doesn’t always apply Some words cant be read phonetically - said, was and one. Many of these are common words. The irregular parts have to be remembered. These are called the ‘tricky words’ and are within the phonics phases. (See handouts for tricky words to learn in year 1)

Tricky Words to the no go I we me be was no go my you they her all are said so she he have like some come were there little one they all are do when out what my her  

Other reading expectations: To use pictures to help them work out words they don’t know. To use phonics to read unknown words. To learn to read words by sight and improve speed and fluency. To pause at full stops. To use expression when reading. To be able to answer questions about what they’ve read. To express an opinion about what they’ve read.

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