Supporting your child with Phonics Thameside Primary School Foundation Stage

We encourage children to develop a love of books through: Sharing stories, rhymes and non-fiction texts which will engage the children Using different voices, visual props, eg puppets Encouraging children to join in with actions, sounds, repeated phrases

Pre-reading skills Using books with pictures and no text Oral story-telling Joining in with repeated phrases, particularly from familiar stories Acting out stories Joining in with rhyming words Importance of developing speaking skills – fluency, vocabulary, expression, clarity,audibility. If you can’t speak it, you can’t read or write it Focus on story structure – beg, middle, end; characters and feelings;story language – one sunny day, suddenly, in the end Children will often want the same story repeatedly – familiarity builds confidence

Developing listening skills In the Nursery and Reception classes, we focus on developing children’s listening skills. Children need to be able to distinguish everyday sounds, and remember a series of sounds before they are ready to learn letter sounds. We develop children’s listening skills by focusing on: Environmental sounds Instrumental Sounds Body Percussion Rhythm and Rhyme Alliteration Voice Sounds Oral Blending and Segmenting Use ‘Letters and Sounds’ programme, which runs throughout the school

Moving on with phonics s a t p sat, pat,tap etc. As children are ready, we will begin to introduce the letter sounds. We will introduce one or two letters each week, and will encourage children to put them together to make words right from the start s a t p sat, pat,tap etc. We teach the children letter sounds not names to help them blend sounds to read words Emphasise use of lower case not capitals.

Correct pronunciation It’s very important to teach the ‘pure’ sounds to ensure children can use them to blend properly! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqhXUW_v-1s

Jolly Phonics! We follow the Letters and Sounds progression but we support it by using Jolly Phonics’ actions and songs. These are available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djz82FBYiug

Tricky words I no go to the was were We teach the children that there are some tricky words that can’t be sounded out, like I no go to the was were Tricky words are introduced gradually. These tricky words will be available in the classroom for children to practise using them in reading and writing Tricky words are introduced a few at a time, in a particular order

Group reading in Reception Each week, we will read with children in small groups, and will start by sharing a big book. As children become more confident readers they will all have a copy of the same book, and will be encouraged to read it more independently We will write comments in a reading diary, to be shared between home and school We will give children a reading book which we will change once a week when I read with them. Children may also take home a book of their choice, to be changed when they want to. We would welcome parents volunteers to read individually with children

Supporting your child at home Have fun with nursery rhymes and songs especially those with actions Encourage your child to listen to different sounds. e.g. aeroplanes, animals, the postman Essential to read at home – daily Talk about things as they happen e.g. unpacking the shopping, having a bath

Supporting your child at home Try and have a special time with your child each day to share books or tell stories – Read in a den, outside, on the stairs, anywhere! Point out letters and words when you are out and about, e.g letters in your child’s name or recognisable logos Encourage your child to recognise and write their name, by using a name card Don’t use dots – children have no concept of where to start the letter, and it discourages fluent handwriting movement

Reading a Bedtime story http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/michael-rosen-tips-reading-bedtime-stories

Writing For children to become writers they need to: Have a wide variety of experiences to give them ideas Have experimented with making marks in different substances and materials Know how to spell words by sounding them out (phonics) and know the tricky words Have good fine motor control to hold a pencil and form letters correctly.

Supporting your child at home Share lots of stories – read them or make them up! Let your child see you writing Encourage your child to have a go at writing whenever possible, e.g. shopping lists, birthday cards, signs for bedroom door, labels for toys, captions for photos ‘Building’ their name or other words

Supporting your child at home Help your child to develop strong muscles in his hands and fingers by: Making marks – e.g.in sand, paint, shaving foam or mud! Stirring – cake mixture, mud pies Using a pincer grip – sprinkling glitter, picking up very small objects, manipulating play dough Cutting – paper, wool, playdough, fabric, card, foam. Threading – beads, buttons, leaves, pasta pieces

Some useful resources to have at home sparkly/gel pens highlighters chalks ‘office’ stationery, e.g.hole punch, stapler, paper clips post-its variety of paper/card blank forms notebooks old diaries and calendars clipboard old envelopes and stamps pencil case

Any questions?