1. St Mary’s Catholic Primary School
Reading and Phonics meeting
Friday 5th October 2018
Please help yourself to tea, coffee and biscuits.

2. Reading and phonics are one of the top priorities at St Mary’s
Together we can help children to engage confidently with text
Adult role models are important, particularly for boys
Any reading material counts
Children learn best when they are enjoying what they are learning.
All children all need to learn to read and all parents want their children to be able to read and write.
You as a parent are the biggest influence on how your child develops.
Young children watch what adults do and learn by copying them. Reading is no different and boys in particular need to know that reading is important.
Adults can provide good role models if they are seen by children to enjoy texts.
Think about what you have read this week– turn to the person next to you. How many of us have read a novel? What other kinds of texts? This can include books, newspapers, recipes and menus – these all count as reading
This session outlines what we do in school to support your child but also provides an opportunity to offer advice on how best you can support your child.

3. How is phonics taught at St Mary’s?
Letters and Sounds scheme
Quick pace of introduction but with opportunities to revisit
Daily 30 minute focused phonic session plus incidental phonic work that takes place in all areas of the curriculum.
Active and kinaesthetic approaches
The phonic programme is taught in an active and kinaesthetic way.
This involves songs, movements, IWB, games, writing on backs
Some children will need lots of experience of the phonic sounds in practical situations before they are remembered consistently.

4. Phonics - what is it? Letter/sound relationships
Phonemes – the smallest unit of sound in a word
There are about 44 phonemes in spoken English
These phonemes are represented by a letter or group of letters (graphemes)
Phonics involves blending phonemes for reading and segmenting phonemes for spelling

5. Phase 1
Discriminating, listening, remembering, exploring, manipulating and talking about:
1- environmental sounds
2- musical instruments
3- body percussion
4- rhythm and rhyme
5- alliteration
6- voice sounds
Orally blending and segmenting phonemes
1. Sound bingo - Vehicles IWB
2. Copy a tune Guess what’s hidden
3. Pass a sound around the circle / along the line
4. Odd one out IWB
5. John’s juicy jellies – names in class Tongue twister game
6. My car made a funny noise.. it went…..

6. Look at the first set – how many words can you build?
Phase 2
s, a, t, p,
i, n, m, d
g, o, c, k,
ck, e, u, r
h, b, f/ff, l/ll, ss
Look at the first set – how many words can you build?
Allows children to begin word building quickly.
Look at the first set – how many words can you build?
Articulation – bouncy and stretchy. Which ones are bouncy/stretchy?

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

8. Sound buttons
cat
pig
fish
bee

9. How many phonemes? p i g p i g s h i p f i l l sheep car church sh i p

10. How can parents support phonics learning ?
Practise the sound sheets we send home each day as we learn a new sound.
Reinforce the pure sounds.
Look for letters in the environment – magnetic letters, signs etc
Websites- see handout

11. Reading Books
Every child will start with picture books. Looking at pictures and telling stories is the first step of reading.
We will change the reading books once they have been read and signed at least twice.
Please keep your child’s book in their book bag and bring it to school everyday so that we can read with your child during the school day.

12. How to help your child at home
Make it fun and share as many books as possible.
Encourage independence by giving them time to solve new words using meaning, syntax and visual information.
Revisit books. There is nothing wrong with reading a familiar book or a familiar text.
Focus on how the reading sounds, as this will add more meaning to a story.
Praise them in their efforts and make them feel as though they are achieving.
Do not worry or be concerned about what your child’s peers are reading.
READING SHOULD BE AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE. It is not a competitive sport!