Learning to read through phonics W Education Quality

Learning to read through phonics W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

What is phonics? Phonics is a way of teaching children to read quickly and skilfully through…. Recognising the sounds that each individual letter makes. Identifying the sounds that different combinations of letters make - /sh/ /oo/ Blending these sounds together from left to right to make a word. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

Phoneme The smallest unit of a sound. Grapheme The letter or letters representing a sound. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

Blending and Segmenting sh ar p sharp Blending for reading and Segmenting for spelling W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

Why are these skills important? Children can then use this knowledge to ‘de -code’ new words they see or hear. This is the first important step in learning to read. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

Why phonics? Research shows that when phonics is taught in a structured way – starting with the easiest sounds and progressing through to the most complex sounds – it is the most effective way of teaching young children to read. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

Why phonics? Almost all children who receive good teaching of phonics will learn the skills they need to tackle new words. They can then go on to read any kind of text fluently and confidently, and to read for enjoyment. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

What is the phonics screening check? • The phonics screening check is a quick and easy check of your child’s phonics knowledge. • It helps your school confirm whether your child has made the expected progress. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

How does the check work? • Your child will sit with a teacher he or she knows and be asked to read 40 words aloud. • Your child may have read some of the words before, while others may be completely new. • The check normally takes a few minutes and there is no time limit. • If your child is struggling the teacher will stop the check. • The check is carefully designed not to be stressful for your child. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

What does the phonics check look like? The phonics screening check will contain a mixture of real words and ‘non-words’. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

Why use ‘non-words’? • Your child will already be familiar with the use of ‘non-words’ because your school already uses these when they teach phonics. • These ‘non-words’ are important to include as your child can not read the nonword by using their memory or vocabulary…they have to use their decoding skills. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

What happens next? Your school will tell you about your child’s progress in phonics and how he/she has done in the screening check in the last half term of Year 1. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

PHONICS n Correct pronunciation n Correct vocabulary n We all need to use the same language at home and at school. n Little and often is the key. Does not have to be formal. n Link W it to your child’s interests. Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ

Let’s see what a phonics session looks like. W Education Quality School Improvement Services EQ