Phonics

Phonics plays a key role in teaching children to read and spell. The teaching of phonics is fast paced, enabling children to recognise letter sounds and blend them into simple words from a very early stage.  The process starts in Pre-Reception and continues through until the end of Transition (and beyond if appropriate). In Pre-Reception and Reception the main emphasis is on developing listening and differentiation of sounds - these are the key skills required to progress in learning to read using phonics. Initially children learn actions to match the single letter sounds and as soon as they are confident with the first group of letter sounds they are encouraged to begin orally blending these sounds into short words (both real and made up). As well as dedicated phonics teaching time, resources and learning is cross-curricular with many opportunities taken to model 'sound talk' (where words are broken down into individual sounds then blended back into words). Children in Kindergarten and Intermediate continue to consolidate the single letter sounds and are also taught digraphs and trigraphs (where two or three letters make one sound).

From September 2014 a brand new phonics scheme called Song of Sounds is being introduced in Kindergarten and Intermediate. The lessons are designed to be lively and fun, with plenty of opportunity for consolidation and progression. Children are encouraged to apply their knowledge of phonics in both reading and spelling in a wide variety of contexts. They are also taught strategies for reading and spelling words which are not phonetically correct (known as tricky words). In Intermediate and Transition children are taught alternative spellings (where there are several spelling patterns for the same sound), progressing through to basic rules for punctuation and grammar.

The following link provides some valuable guidance including some short videos http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/pages/phonics-made-easy

Phonics Reading Presentation 2018