1. Supporting your child with Phonics
Thameside Primary School Foundation Stage

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.

6. Correct pronunciation
It’s very important to teach the ‘pure’ sounds to ensure children can use them to blend properly!

7. 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:

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. Reading a Bedtime story

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. Any questions?