Phonics
At St Sebastian’s we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their Literacy development. We aim for all our children to become fluent, confident readers who are passionate about reading.
Children who read regularly 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.
Parent video: Understanding Phonics - YouTube
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, at St Sebastian’s we begin to expose children in Nursery to skills that will help them access the taught programme in Reception. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last 45 minutes.
RWI continues into KS2 for any children who need it. This occurs daily as an intervention to support children to quickly learn to read. Fresh Start is taught in Y4 – 6. This follows the same format as RWI with a more mature reading content.
Parent video: What is Read Write Inc Phonics - YouTube
Read Write Inc guide for parents
The following links provides lots of free Read Write Inc. Phonics resources to help your child, including eBooks, practice sheets and parent films.
Parent guide to Read Write Inc. Phonics - Oxford Owl
How will my child be taught to read?
We start by teaching phonics to the children in the Reception class. This means that they learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell well. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters.
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
Progression of Skills within Read Write Inc.(RWI)
Progression of skills document
Fred Talk
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.
At school we use a puppet called Fred who is an expert on sounding out words! We call it, ‘Fred Talk’. E.g. m-o-p, c-a-t, m-a-n, sh-o-p, b-l-a-ck
Nonsense words (Alien words) - What 'a load' or nonsense!
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’. These words will also feature heavily in the Year One Phonics Screening check in the summer term. These words provide endless opportunities for children to apply and practice their thinking in a range of different contexts.
To help at home:
Your child will start to bring books home when they are confident readers, relating to their reading stage. You will find they will bring home a phonics based book, this will aid application, speed and fluency- developing speedy reading!
Your child's reading book is part of their school uniform and should come to school every day.
Here are 10 Top tips to reading with your child at home!
Useful websites for Parents
Please find a list of websites that you may find useful in helping you and your child learn about phonics.
Games and fun activity websites are also included.
https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/ - Information and resources to support phonics learning at home
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/ - fun games for the children to play http://www.ictgames.com/literacy.html - fun games for the children to play
http://www.firstschoolyears.com/ - fun games for the children to play BBC Bitesize - many games to play covering all areas of the curriculum
