Phonics
With regards to reading we place a high emphasis on starting with an oral approach and developing listening skills in Lower Foundation Stage. The emphasis is to get children attuned to the sounds around them and this lays the foundations for future phonic work. A systematic and synthetic approach to the early teaching of reading supports the children in school.
What does phonics look like in nursery?
Our phonics lessons in nursery lays the foundations needed to support children’s reading later in their school journey. Before children can learn to read and write they need to develop their phonological and phonemic awareness, they need to be able to listen and identify sounds and understand how they fit together in words. In small groups we complete different activities that develop speech, pronunciation, communication and language.
Our nursery children are exposed to new language through stories and have lots of opportunities to engage with books chosen to fire their imagination and interest. They also have lots of opportunities to choose books themselves in our home school library.
Later in the summer term when children are ready to access Read, Write, Inc phonics, we begin looking at the pictures and using the vocabulary they will need to succeed in reception. We complete oral blending activities and play lots of ‘Fred games’ where the children listen carefully to Fred the frog as he sounds out words for them to blend together.
What does phonics look like in reception?
Our phonics lessons in reception follow Read, Write, Inc. We continue to practice oral blending the children have started in nursery and begin to introduce Set 1 Speed Sounds, along with the corresponding mnemonic. All children in reception will come home with a phonics sound book to practice the sounds they have been learning in their phonics lessons, with parents at home. When children have become confident in oral blending and Set 1 Speed Sound recognition they will begin to read words on flashcards containing these taught sounds.
When they are ready they will bring home their first reading book, this will contain words with familiar sounds that they will be able to read to you at home. As their confidence in sound blending grows, they will continue to move through the different levels of Read, Write, Inc; learning new sounds and reading longer words and sentences. As this develops, the level of books they bring home will change and the amount of reading they are expected to do will increase.
It is incredibly important that as role models for the children in Foundation Stage, we read lots of different story books and share a love of reading with them. Please can you ensure your child brings their book bag to school everyday and practices their reading regularly.
This is the link for Oxford Owl, your class teacher will provide the login details: OxfordOwl
