1. . Phonics at Reignhead

2. What is Phonics? A method of teaching children to read and write. It is the link between letters and the sounds they make. It shows children that sounds are represented by letters or groups of letters.

3. What is Phonics? We follow a programme called ‘Letters and Sounds’ which is organised into six phases. Children will work through Phases one to four during their time in Nursery and Reception.

4. Phase One 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 During Nursery

5. Oral Blending Hearing a series of spoken sounds and merging (blending) them together to make a spoken word –no text is used. For example, when children hear /b/u/s, they will say bus.

6. Phase Two This is begun in the Reception year Children begin to formally learn the sounds in the English language. They make the link between written letters (graphemes) and the sounds they represent (phonemes). Letters are not taught in order of the alphabet, but in sets that work well together. They will also learn that some phonemes are made up of more than one letter, eg: /ll/ as in b-e-ll and /ck/ as in b-a-ck

7. Phase Two Y our child will be taught how to pronounce the sounds (phonemes) as clearly and purely as possible to make blending easier. Sounds should be sustained where possible (eg, sss, mmm, fff) Making an ‘uh’ sound after consonants should be reduced where possible (eg, try to avoid saying ‘b-uh’, ‘c- uh’)

8. Phase Two We use stories, actions and songs to help children remember the phonemes.

9. Blending Recognising the letter sounds in a written word, for example s-i-t, and merging them in the order which they are written, to read the word ‘sit’ The merging is called blending, and is a vital skill for reading.

10. Pushing magnetic letters together to form little words Putting sound buttons under words to blend Matching words to pictures Listening to Metal Mike read words

11. Segmenting Children will also learn to do this the other way round. The whole word is spoken aloud. Children stretch the word and break it up into it’s individual sounds. E.g. cat = c-a-t. This is called segmenting, and is a vital skill for spelling.

12. Writing words in phoneme frames Segmenting a word from a picture to cross the river Trying to talk like Metal Mike

13. Key Words Your child will also learn several tricky words; those that cannot be sounded out. Eg: the, to, I, go, no, into

14. A Typical Phonics Session Review – Children recall previously learned sounds and tricky words, usually with flashcards. Teach – A new letter is introduced. Children learn the letter name, the sound it represents, listen to the story/song and learn the action. They also see how the letter is formed. Children learn a new tricky word. Practise – Children practise reading and/or spelling words that include the new letter. Apply – Children read or write a caption (initially with the teacher) using common (high frequency) words and the new letter.

15. Phase Three Children will complete the learning of the rest of the sounds in the alphabet and will start to look at sounds that are represented by more than one letter. e.g. /sh/s and h together as in shell /air/ a, i and r together as in hair They will also learn more tricky words.

16. Phase Four The purpose of this phase is to consolidate children’s knowledge. There will be lots of practise in reading and spelling high frequency words, and in reading and writing complete sentences.

17. How Can You Help? Sing an alphabet song together. Play ‘I spy.’ Ask your child which sound they learned today. Spot the sounds they know in books. Praise your child for trying out words. Practise reading the reading books they bring home. Ask one of the Foundation Team if you are unsure of anything.

18. How Can You Help? REMEMBER REMEMBER: Phonics is not the only way you become a good reader. Continue to read with your child each night and encourage them to: Sound out, re-read to check it makes sense, and use pictures for clues. Ask questions about the book; ENJOY READING And most importantly ENJOY READING!