Phonics Teaching in Foundation Small group class based Phonics sessions Monday- Thursday Tricky words / Sight words sessions on Fridays 1 to1practise time with a member of staff within the week Phonics activities taking place during the week including sound games

Phonics sessions in class Learning the sounds that the letters make Learning the name of the letters Hearing the sounds within words Recognising the sounds within words Blending sounds together to read words Writing simple words by Segmenting/ separating the sounds Handwriting practise for each sound

We follow letters and sounds – sound patterns s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d g, o, c, k ck, e, u, r h, b, f,ff,l,ll,ss j, v, w, x y, z, zz, qu

We follow letters and sounds – sound patterns ch, sh, th, ng ai, ee, igh,oa, oo(long), oo(short) ar, or, ur, ow, oi ear, air, ure, er

Phonics groups are taught based on children’s readiness for reading. Children are regularly assessed and can change groups if they need more consolidation or challenge. Differentiated groupings continue into year 1 so your child’s learning will consistently continue as they leave Foundation.

Each session starts with singing the ABC song and children are asked to identify letter names.

Revision is important We will revisit and revise sounds that have been previously taught We will practise reading words that contain the previous sounds We will practise forming letters that we have previously looked at

We introduce a new sound and say it.

We look at different words that contain the sound and say if we hear it at the start, middle or end of the word.

We find the focus sound within words.

We blend the sounds together to read short words.

We write words by segmenting/separating the sounds we can hear and then write them on whiteboards.

We practise the formation of the letters by air-writing, writing on each other’s backs and writing on the floor with a finger. We also write the letters with magic wands and using pens and whiteboards. We look at small and capital letters.

Reading and writing sentences As the sessions move on there will sometimes be opportunities to read and write short sentences.

Jolly phonics actions For many children accompanying the sounds with actions makes them easier to learn. For example ‘a’ is ants running up an arm and ‘u’ is an umbrella being opened up. All jolly phonics actions are provided on a separate sheet. These can be used for 1 to 1 sounds practise and in group times.

Tricky Words We teach children that some words can’t be sounded out such as ‘to’ and ‘we. Also some children learn better through visual recognition. We will play games and use flash cards to practise and learn these words. These words will be looked at in reading books.

How you can help at home. Use sound cards to practise at home. Blend sounds together to read word cards that are sent home and read reading books. Practise tricky word cards. Read signs and labels when out and about. Write sounds in shaving foam/ in sand using paint etc.

How you can help at home. Play games with sound cards – such as snap. Use magnetic letters to make simple phonetic words. Play Eye Spy and other games where children can hear sounds at the start and within words. Encourage writing for a purpose e.g. helping to write a shopping list.

How you can help at home. Please use reading record books to write about how phonics practise is going at home.