1. PHONICS INFORMATION SESSION FOR PARENTS Thursday 25 th September 2014 3:15pm – 3:40pm

2. WHAT IS PHONICS? Phonics:  is a method of teaching children to connect the letters of the alphabet to the sounds that they make and blend them for reading;  is a method of teaching children to identify the individual sounds (phonemes) within words and segment them for spelling. Why phonics first? The independent review of early reading conducted by Jim Rose confirmed that ‘high quality phonic work’ should be the prime means for teaching children how to read and spell words.

3. LETTERS AND SOUNDS ( INTRODUCED 2007) We teach phonics using the 6 phases within the ‘Letters and Sounds’ programme. Phase 1 – pre-school and recapped in Reception. Phases 2 to 4 – Reception Phases 4 to 5 – Year 1 Phase 6 – Year 2

4. PHASE 2 During Phase 2 the children are taught 19 letter/sound correspondences. We teach the sounds using ‘Jolly Phonics’ materials with each letter having a corresponding sound and action.  First set: s a t p i n

5. HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS During Phase 2, the children will also learn to read 32 high frequency words. They will be reinforced on a daily basis to allow the children to recognise them quickly. The words will fall into 2 groups, decodable and tricky.  Decodable words will contain recognisable letters and sounds and can be read using their blending skills.  Tricky words will contain unfamiliar pronunciations for example the, no, go, to and I.