Phonics in Nursery at Asquith Primary School January 2014

What is phonics? Phonics is a way of teaching children to read quickly and skilfully. In Nursery they are taught how to recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes such as a for ant and b for bat. In Reception class they are taught to identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make such as ‘sh’ or ‘ai’ and blend these sounds together from left to right to read and write words. Children can then use this knowledge to ‘de-code’ new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read.

What are PHONEMES? In spoken English there are approximately 44 different sounds. These are called phonemes (pronounced foe-neems). If the children know all these sounds and can say them, they will be able to read/spell most words. What are GRAPHEMES? All of the 44 sounds will be written down in words. The same sound can sometimes be written in different ways. The way a sound is shown when it is written is called a GRAPHEME (pronounced graf-eem).

Why are we teaching letter sounds in Nursery? In 2012 The Early Years Curriculum was revised by the Department for Education. In order for children to achieve an expected level in reading and writing at the end of Reception class they need to begin to learn to recognise letter sounds, read a few two and three letter words (it, at, cat, dog), write letters correctly and write their name in Nursery. The government have also introduced a Phonics test at the end of Year 1 that asks children to read 20 real words and 20 nonsense words. By teaching phonics in Nursery we are giving children a head start and equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to pass the Year 1 Phonics test.

How will we teach phonics in Nursery? Sam the Superhero is coming to Nursery!! Every Wednesday he will teach the children a new letter sound (phoneme). They will learn one letter sound (phoneme) a week. Sam the Superhero will also show children how to write letters correctly (the grapheme). They will write letters in gloop, shaving foam, sand trays, with paint brushes, felt tip pens etc. Sam will use the Jolly Phonics actions and songs for each letter sound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djz82FBYiug We will read a story and sing songs linked to the sound of the week and if possible our topic e.g. When learning s we will read books about snowmen and sing six silly snowmen.

How will we teach phonics in Nursery? Children will look at and learn to sort objects beginning with the sound of the week. We will play games inside and outside and make links to the sound of the week in the different areas of the classroom e.g. painting snowmen and writing s in gloop! Play games that teach children to hear and say rhyming words e.g. cat, bat, hat, sat…

Reading h e n h en hen c a t c at cat Children have to be able to split the words up into their phonemes. This is called segmenting or we often say ‘sound it out’. In writing this will encourage them to have a go at spelling words. The children also have to be able to put the sounds in a word together. This is called blending. This will help children to have a go at reading words. For example; h e n h en hen c a t c at cat

How can parents help? To give children the best chance of learning to read and spell most of their words we must say the sounds properly. It is important that we do not add ‘uh’ to letter sounds, for example; ‘Fuh’ for f and ‘Luh’ for l A fantastic website to listen to the sounds is www.getreadingright.co.uk (click on the You Tube link at the side of the screen)

How can parents help? Look at your child’s Jolly Phonics book, say the sound together, learn the action/song, sing nursery rhymes and read stories linked to the sound of the week. Encourage your child to draw or glue pictures in their Jolly Phonics book. Magazines are a good source for pictures. Talk to your child about what they’ve been learning that week, read with your child regularly and enjoy finding phonemes in the environment or in books at home. Play detectives and find objects around your home and when you are out and about. Point to letters in the environment e.g. m for Morrisons and McDonalds. Use alphabet jigsaws, games and foam letters in the bath.

How can parents help? If you have access to the internet these websites are very good; http://www.educationcity.com (£29.95 for the year) http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk (some of the games and resources are free and the yearly subscription starts from £12) http://www.getreadingright.co.uk/synthetic-phonics (further information for parents) http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/alphablocks/games/alphablocks-games/ Watch Alphablocks on Cbeebies. You tube have video clips of Jolly Phonics songs and actions