Phonics & Early Reading
At Ambleside CE Primary School, we aim for all our pupils to become fluent, confident readers who are passionate about reading.
Children who read (or are read to regularly) have the opportunity to open the doors to so many different worlds! More importantly, reading will give your child the tools to become independent, life-long learners.
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We can achieve this together through:
· Read Write Inc, a program to help to your child read at school.
· Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily, at home and at school.
· Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home.
At Ambleside, we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their literacy. We have put together a guide to how the RWI programme works together with some useful links.
Please take the time to read the following as it will provide invaluable information as to how you can help and support your child in reading.
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics complete literacy programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. However, we will continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7 if they still need support in their reading.
A short introductory video for parents about the Read Write Inc approach can be found using the following link: https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
How will RWI be taught?
All children are assessed regularly by their teacher so they work with other children at the same level. This allows complete participation in lessons.
Reception (Early Years)
In Reception all children will learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down.
Reading
The children:
· learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts – see below
· learn to read words using Fred talk and sound blending
· read from a range of storybooks and non-fictions books matched to their phonic knowledge
· work well with partners
· develop comprehension skills in stories by answering 'Find It' and 'Prove It' discussion questions
Writing
The children:
· learn to write and form the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds with the help of fun phrases
· learn to write words by using Fred Talk
· learn to build sentences by practising sentences out loud before they write
Talking
The children work in pairs so that they:
· answer every question
· practise every activity with their partner
· take turns in talking and reading to each other
· develop ambitious vocabulary
Year One & Year Two
Children follow the same format as Reception but will work on complex sounds and read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last for one hour with
five key principles underpinning the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:
1. Purpose – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about.
2. Participation – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning.
3. Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability.
4. Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning.
5. Passion – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally.
Fred Talk
When children first learn to read they will say the sound made by each letter and then blend those sounds together before saying the word. In Read Write Inc lessons we call this ‘Fred Talk’.
When we say the sounds out loud, we use pure sounds (‘m’ not’ muh’,’s’ not ‘suh’, etc.) so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily. The following video is an example of blending sounds with Fred: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEzfpod5w_Q
The children are taught the sounds in 3 sets - Set 1, Set 2 and Set 3
Set 1 sounds:
Set 1 Sounds are taught in the following order together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending.
m - Down Maisie then over the two mountains. Maisie, mountain, mountain.
a - Round the apple, down the leaf.
s - Slide around the snake
d - Round the dinosaur's back, up his neck and down to his feet.
t - Down the tower, across the tower,
i - Down the insect’s body, dot for the head.
n - Down Nobby and over the net.
p - Down the plait, up and over the pirate’s face.
g - Round the girl’s face, down her hair and give her a curl
o - All around the orange
c - Curl around the caterpillar
k - Down the kangaroo’s body, tail and leg
u - Down and under the umbrella, up to the top and down to the puddle
b - Down the laces, over the toe and touch the heel
f - Down the stem and draw the leaves
e - Slice into the egg, go over the top, then under the egg
l - Down the long leg
h - Down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back
sh - Slither down the snake, then down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back
r - Down the robot's back, then up and curl
j - Down his body, curl and dot
v - Down a wing, up a wing
y - Down a horn, up a horn and under the yak's head.
w - Down, up, down, up the worm.
th - Down the tower, across the tower, then down the horse’s head to the hooves and over his back
z - Zig-zag-zig, down the zip.
ch - Curl around the caterpillar, then down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back
qu - Round the queen’s head, up to her crown, down her hair and curl
x - Cross down the arm and leg and cross the other way
ng - A thing on a string
nk - I think I stink
Please do not use letter names at this early stage.
Children will also use pictures for each sound to help recognise the sound and then form the shape of the sound.
The children are then taught Set 2 Sounds - the long vowels.
ay: may I play
ee: what can you see
igh: fly high
ow: blow the snow
oo: poo at the zoo
oo: look at a book
ar: start the car
or: shut the door
air: that's not fair
ir: whirl and twirl
ou: shout it out
oy: toy for a boy
When they are very confident with all of set 1 and 2, they are taught Set 3 Sounds:
a-e: make a cake
ea: cup of tea
i-e: nice smile
o-e: phone home
u-e: huge brute
aw: yawn at dawn
oi: spoil the boy
are: share and care
ur: nurse for a purse
ow: brown cow
ire: fire fire!
ear: hear with your ear
ure: sure it's pure
er: a better letter
ai: snail in the rain
e: he me we she be
oa: goat in a boat
ew: chew the stew
Letter formation mneumonics