Developing an Understanding of Phonics and Reading in the Foundation Stage Parent Workshop October 8th, 2014

Aims of today’s session To give you a clear understanding of what phonics means in the Foundation Stage Understand how and why we teach phonics in the Foundation Stage Understand how children learn to read Understand the purpose of a reading scheme Ideas for how you can be active in your child’s learning journey

What is Phonics and what terminology do we need to understand? It is an approach to teaching reading and writing It is the linking of sounds and letters The sound is called a phoneme – s, a, t The written letter symbol is a grapheme – s, a, t A diagraph is 2 graphemes that make one phoneme ‘sh’ in ship, ‘ea’ in seat

Letters and Sounds at BIS Letters and Sounds is a published Phonic resource (DfES, 2007) It sets out a detailed and systematic programme for teaching phonic skills to young children, with the aim of them becoming fluent readers by age seven 6 phases - each phase must be completed before moving on to the next one Regular assessments to ensure clear tracking and progression Used by all UK schools in some form and in many other English speaking schools worldwide

Phase 1- Foundation Stage 1 Develops speaking and listening skills through songs, stories and rhyme based activities Teaches children to distinguish between spoken sounds and to blend and segment words orally for example z i p / h a t / t a p / Teaches children to recognise spoken words that rhyme The inability to do any of this does not prevent moving on to Phase 2 as these speaking and listening activities should continue

Phase 2-Foundation Stage 2 Begins the introduction of grapheme – phoneme correspondences blend and segment CVC words orally blend and segment in order to read and spell (using magnetic letter VC words such as: if, am, on, up and ‘silly words’ such as ip, ug and ock.

Phase 3- Foundation Stage 2 Learn the rest of the alphabet and progress to sounds represented by more than 1 grapheme e.g. ai, oo Learn the rest of the alphabet and progress to sounds represented by more than 1 grapheme e.g. ai, oo Can say the sound when shown all or most Phase 2/3 graphemes Can say the sound when shown all or most Phase 2/3 graphemes Can find all or most Phase 2/3 letters, from a display, when given the sound Can find all or most Phase 2/3 letters, from a display, when given the sound Can blend and read CVC words Can blend and read CVC words Can segment and make phonetically plausible attempts at spelling CVC words Can segment and make phonetically plausible attempts at spelling CVC words

Tricky Words Tricky words in Foundation Stage 2 include the, to, go, no, I, be, she, he, we, was, my, you, her, they, all, are

The child as ‘Reader’

So how do children become good readers? Develop a love of books from an early age, read text anywhere, be a good role model, buy books, visit the library Talkers often become good readers Look at the pictures, share books, make up your own stories to share By understanding the text to find the context Concentration and memory skills Using phonics Learning tricky words by sight

Reading is not just about books Play at reading and use memory games A text rich environment Relating stories to experiences Role modelling

Why do we use schemed reading books? Interesting and fun Range of genre Carefully structured to introduce and reinforce key words Challenge increases Familiarity and continuity Encourage talk

When do we introduce schemed readers for children? They know some letters and sounds They are interested in books They love stories They understand how books work They respect books They notice environmental text They are confident, happy and settled at school

How do I help my child when reading at home? Make it an enjoyable experience and sit somewhere comfortable Talk about the whole book Predict what the book might be about Read the book together or read part of it Relate it to own real life experiences Use funny voices, toys and actions to make the characters come alive

Questions to ask your child What do you think the book is about? Can you find any letters or words you know? What do you think will happen next? What is happening in the picture? Did you like the book? What happened in the end? Have you ever…?

Home/School Communication Short comment It is important you sign the book Please read with your child every day