Phonics

Nothing in school is more important than teaching a child how to read and we are relentless within this. Reading is the backbone of our society and the gateway to all types of other learning. When learning to read, PHONICS is crucial for children .

Phonics is a method for teaching children how to read and write in an alphabetic language, such as English. It helps children to hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language. The Department for Education establishes the core criteria for effective systematic synthetic phonics teaching programmes. At St Gregory's we use one of these approved programmes: Read Write Inc.

Children studying phonics learn to read and write using phonics, which is by directly linking  phonemes (sounds in words) and graphemes (the symbols used to represent them). Through reading in phonics, children will begin to understand which sounds correspond to which symbols. Once they’ve mastered this skill, they will be able to decode books and other texts.

At St Gregory's we use the Read, Write Inc phonics programme to teach phonics. Read Write Inc (RWI) is a consistent, rigorous and dynamic literacy programme to teach EVERY child to read by the age of six. Using synthetic phonics, children quickly learn to blend letter sounds together following a fun and effective programme.

“Teach a child to read and keep that child reading and we will change everything. And I mean everything”. This quote epitomises the intent of the Read Write Inc. programme at St Gregory’s. We want children to learn to read quickly and accurately and to then keep on reading. We want children to see reading not only as a task set by teachers in school but as an activity which provides pleasure and escape from the modern world.

We passionately believe that with the right support that all children can and will learn to read. In order for all children to be successful we assess them in phonics each half term and place them in a group that is matched to their ability. We are constantly informally assessing the children to make sure that they are at the “Goldilocks spot” where the books they read are neither to easy nor too hard. If needed children receive additional support to help them on their journey to becoming a confident reader. Within the daily RWI sessions children will be encouraged and supported to not only develop their decoding skills but also their comprehension and fluency skills. The writing aspect of the programme will teach the children how to use key skills to record their ideas and they will be encourage to formulate their sentences orally before writing these on paper.

Please click HERE for a 2 minute video that explains how this works.

Reading does not stop at the end of the Read Write Inc. session. A love of literature will be at the heart of all learning at St Gregory’s, whether it is escaping into Narnia through a wardrobe or going on a walk through a deep dark wood in search of the Gruffalo. Books open up a whole host of learning opportunities and are the basis of wider curriculum opportunities.

At St Gregory's we use the Read, Write Inc phonics programme to teach phonics.

Read Write Inc (RWI) is a consistent, rigorous and dynamic literacy programme to teach EVERY child to read by the age of six. Using synthetic phonics, children quickly learn to blend letter sounds together following a fun and effective programme.

The RWI programme has been proven to be a very successful method of teaching every child to read and write using phonics. All children in Years R to 2 will be following the programme. They will have already been assessed so will be put into groups and given the appropriate RW1 reading and workbooks to follow. The programme can also be followed by older children to catch up. These classes will be using RWI as their reading scheme.

Children will read their RWI books every morning with a trained member of staff. These books will be kept in school. Your child will still bring home a reading book and it is still important that you listen to your child read every day.

Please click this link for an explanatory video

Learning Sounds through Read Write Inc.

Children from Reception to Year 2 learn sounds through Read Write Inc. Speed sounds sessions take place daily within the RWI session. Children will learn to read and write a new sound as well as reviewing known sounds in new words.

The sounds that children learn are split into three sets. These become progressively more complex as the children move through the programme.

Speed Sounds – Set 1

In Reception, children begin their learning of Phonics with Speed Sounds – Set 1.

See the sound mat below to learn more about these letter sounds.

Click on the link below to see a demonstration, which will support your child’s pronunciation of each sound.

Set 1 - https://youtu.be/TkXcabDUg7Q

Reading digraphs -  https://youtu.be/0pGuwcr08LE

Nonsense Words (Alien Words)

As well as learning to read and blend real words, children will have plenty of opportunities to apply their sound recognition skills on reading ‘Nonsense Words’ like those shown in the example below.

^{Red Words}

^{Red words are words that cannot be sounded out as they do not follow the phonics language patterns. Their letters make uncommon sounds. The only way to learn these words is from memory. Red words are taught alongside new sounds, once some simple 3 sound words can be re}

^{ad e.g. c-a-t.}

^{See below for Red Words for Set 1 and Set 2.}

Phonics Screening Check

Children undertake the National Phonics Screening Check in Year 1. Any child not reaching the required standard in this check will be given targeted support throughout Year 2 and will re-sit the Screening Check at the end of Year 2.

For more information on this check, please click the link below.
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/year-1-phonics-screening-check/