1. Welcome to our phonics awareness session Speaking and listening skills form the foundation on which reading and writing is built., Welcome, Witaj, Bem-vindo, Sushri akal, Fàilte, Bienvenidos, Yin dee, Yo koso, Benvenuto, Swaagat, স্বাগতম

2. As a parent you have a special role to play. The good news is you don’t have to be an expert to help your child reach their potential. You can do so much through everyday activities that really make a difference and help your child’s skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

3. Chatting and singing together develops listening and speaking skills Sharing books inspires children to love books and want to learn to read Scribbling and drawing develops early writing skills and helps children express themselves Noticing signs and words when you are out and about helps children understand the world around them

4. Sharing your enjoyment of reading and talking about stories is the most important way you can support your child in their learning to read. Spend time snuggling up with your child and sharing books and stories. Make sure a selection of books is always available for your child to look at independently if they choose. How can I help my child learn to read?

5. Changes in voice and exaggerated facial expressions help to support listening and attention by building interest and anticipation. For some children, these clues are also vital to supporting their understanding of the story. Explain the meaning of new words. Most importantly though, show the fun that can be gained by listening to stories. Top tips for reading stories aloud http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/top-tips- reading-stories-aloud http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/top-tips- reading-stories-aloud

6. Rhythm and Rhyme Children need to be able to ‘tune-in’ to the rhythm of our language and the magic of rhyming words. Share rhyming books with your child. Make it fun and use plenty of expression. Singing lots of songs, in the car, in the bath, walking etc. Make up silly words to rhyme with names and other words (e.g. Mandy- pandy-dandy-landy). Collect objects/pictures of things that rhyme. Play matching pairs. Learn nursery rhymes and then change the words that rhyme. (E.g. Humpty Dumpty sat on a box, Humpty Dumpty saw a big fox.) Sing action rhymes and songs with a beat that they can move to. Wheels on the bus with actions http://more2.starfall.com/m/level-k/nursery- rhymes-content/load.htm?f&d=demo&n=wheels&y=1http://more2.starfall.com/m/level-k/nursery- rhymes-content/load.htm?f&d=demo&n=wheels&y=1

7. Rhyming books Regularly include rhyming books and read with plenty of intonation and expression so that the children tune into the rhythm of the language and the rhyming words. Encourage the children to join in with repetitive phrases such as Run, run, as fast as you can, You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man. Songs you can sing http://more2.starfall.com/m/math-k/song7/load.htm?f&d=demohttp://more2.starfall.com/m/math-k/song7/load.htm?f&d=demo 5 little speckled

8. Rhyming games I know a word..... that rhymes with cat, you need to put one on your head and the word is...hat. that rhymes with toes you use it to smell and the word is...nose. Keep the rhymes slow so you can emphasise the rhyming words. As children become familiar with rhyme, they will supply the missing word themselves.

9. Alliteration Children need practice to identify initial sounds in words. We need to tune their ears to HEAR the sounds. Alliteration refers to words that all begin with the same sounds. Encourage your child to listen to and recite tongue twisters (e.g. She sells sea shells by the sea shore) Make up silly words that begin with the same sound as your name. (mischievous Mandy made a muddy mess)

10. Developing phonological awareness Playing with sounds and tuning your child’s ears into sounds will develop phonological awareness that is the ability to discriminate different sounds. Games to develop listening and discriminating skills http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/SoundStimuli.html http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/AnimalBingo.html

11. Letters and Sounds Letters and Sounds is a phonics teaching programme. It aims to build children's speaking and listening skills as well as to prepare children for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Lett ers%20and%20Sounds-1.pdf

12. Letters and Sounds - Phase 1 Through fun activities and games your children will be learning to: – Have fun with sounds – Listen carefully – Develop their vocabulary – Speak confidently to you, other adults and children – Tune into sounds – Listen and remember sounds – Talk about sounds – Understand that spoken words are made up of different sounds

13. When children have experienced a wealth of listening activities and they are able to distinguish between the sounds in words, they will be ready to learn to identify letters and their sounds. Sounds (phonemes) are represented by letters (graphemes)

14. Articulation of letter sounds It is very important that children are taught to pronounce letter sounds (phonemes) correctly from the start, since it is very difficult for them to unlearn something once they go to school. Saying sounds correctly This is really important when you are helping your child to learn the sounds. Just remember not to add an uh to the end of the consonant sounds – so say mmm (as in Mummy) not muh, lll (as in lollipop) not luh, etc. Link for letter sounds http://www.focusonphonics.co.uk/sound.htm http://www.focusonphonics.co.uk/sound.htm Games for children http://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/letter-b/play.htm?fhttp://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/letter-b/play.htm?f Linking sounds to letters Encourage your child to make a link between the sound and the written letter shape. Start with the sounds in your child’s name and then look out for them in signs. The sound m in McDonalds is always a good starting point too!

15. Sound talk The separate sounds (phonemes) are spoken aloud, in order, all through the word, and are then merged together into the whole word. The merging is called blending, and is a vital skill for reading. Eg: c-a-t = cat Click for sound chart and making sounds into words http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/Phonics/ phonics.htmlhttp://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/Phonics/ phonics.html

16. Ways you can support your children at home: sound talk Try breaking down simple words when you are giving instructions or asking questions, such as ‘Can you find your h-a-t hat?’ ‘Where is the c-a-t cat?’ ‘Sit on the s-ea-t seat’ ‘Eat your f-oo-d food’.

17. We incorporate some of the aspects of Read Write Inc in Nursery alongside letters and sounds. Use your magnetic eyes My turn, your turn Fred talk

18. Top tips for reading stories aloud http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/top-tips- reading-stories-aloudhttp://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/top-tips- reading-stories-aloud Free activity booklet for families This downloadable "I spy a picture book!" booklet is packed full of useful ideas that you can use at home every day. It contains fun, simple activities to help your child develop speaking, listening, reading and writing skills ready for school http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/I-spy-a- picture-book.pdf Free online e-books http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/families-getting- ready-for-schoolhttp://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/families-getting- ready-for-school Milestones - These milestones give you an idea of how your child’s communication skills might develop from birth to age 11. http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/ http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/

19. Phase 1 activities http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/Phase1Menu.htmhttp://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/Phase1Menu.htm Hickory Dickory Dock Phonics learning opportunities To know and join in with familiar songs and rhymes. To experience and appreciate rhythm and rhyme. Sound Starters Phonics learning opportunities To develop listening skills. To describe sounds and talk about the differences between them. To know a range of words that can be used to describe sounds. Who is at the zoo? (Animal Bingo) Phonics learning opportunities To develop listening skills. To develop the ability to imitate sounds with the voice.

20. Phonics learning opportunities - To practise blending for reading. NB. Using fake words ensures that children have to learn to blend and not just recognise words by sight. As children get older and need to be able to read more and more words they will find it increasingly tricky to learn them all by sight. Buried Treasure http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/BuriedTreasure2.htmlhttp://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/BuriedTreasure2.html Dragons Den http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/DragonsDen.htmlhttp://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/DragonsDen.html Picnic on Pluto - http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/PicnicOnPluto.htmlhttp://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/PicnicOnPluto.html Sound Buttons Blending - Click on the letters and drop them into the phoneme frame. As you click each letter you will hear its sound. http://www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/kentict/content/games/phaseTwoAs1_v2.html Match picture - Phase 2. Sound out the word then click the matching picture http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/PictureMatch.html http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/PictureMatch.html

21. Getting Ready for School Pencil grip – “frog on the log” Writing name in lower case letters with a capital letter to start Letter sounds and names Putting on coats and shoes Using the toilet independently and washing hands