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Gunness and Burringham CofE Primary School
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Phonics
Phonics at Gunness and Burringham CEP
At Gunness and Burringham Primary school we use Read/Write INC to teach the foundations of Reading.
Reading
Children learn the English alphabetic code: first they learn one way to read the 40+ sounds and blend these sounds into words, then learn to read the same sounds with alternative graphemes.
They experience success from the very beginning. Lively phonic books are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and ‘red’ words and, as children re-read the stories, their fluency increases.
Along with a thought-provoking introduction, prompts for thinking out loud and discussion, children are helped to read with a storyteller’s voice. From Reception, children take home reading books which match the level they are reading in school.
Writing
The children write every day, rehearsing out loud what they want to say, before spelling the words using the graphemes and ‘red’ words they know.
They practise handwriting every day: sitting at a table comfortably, they learn correct letter formation and how to join letters speedily and legibly.
Children’s composition (ideas, vocabulary and grammar) is developed by drawing on their own experiences and talking about the stories they read.
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics based programme which helps children learn to read whilst also developing a wide range of vocabulary and encouraging a love of stories.
Who is Read Write Inc for?
The Read Write Inc programme is for primary school children learning to read and write. Children will begin the programme in the foundation stage and will remain on the programme throughout year 1. Children will continue on the programme until they are at the expected reading level for year 2.
How does it work?
In foundation stage the children are initially taught sound set 1 in their own class. They will be assessed regularly. When they have reached an appropriate level they are then grouped according to their reading level. Year 1 onwards All children are assessed regularly and are grouped according to their stage, not their age, so that teaching is closely matched to the children’s next steps in learning. Phonics groups are mixed and are taught by teachers and teaching assistants. A few children, who need extra support to maintain progress, work with a teacher or teaching assistant for extra sessions each week.
What does the RWI teaching process look like?
Children are taught the pure ‘Set 1’ sounds so that they will be able to blend the sounds in words more easily. In school we use ‘Fred Talk’. We do not use letter names at this stage; we simply focus on the sounds that are used to sound out words. To view the correct pronunciation of the sounds you can click on the link below.
At this stage, the children are not only taught the sound the letter makes but also how to form the letter, using a rhyme and a picture prompt.
Children use these sounds to sound out words in ‘Fred Talk’. A character called Fred is introduced. He talks only in sounds. Children are asked to interpret what Fred is saying like this: Fred says ‘m-a-t’, we would say ‘mat’ , Fred says ‘f-r-o-g’, we would say ‘frog’
Speed sounds Set 1
Once your child knows all their ‘Set 1’ sounds and is able to read real words using ‘Fred Talk’ they will then move into a group where they will begin reading storybooks and completing writing activities to challenge them further. It is important that children learn to decode new, unfamiliar words in this way. When your child is secure with set 1 sounds they will then begin to learn ‘Set 2’ sounds.
Set one sounds
Set Two sounds
Each Set 2 sound has a rhyme to accompany it when the sound is taught. For example the word ‘play’ cannot be sounded out as single letter sounds. The word contains the ‘ay’ sounds where one sound is created by the two letters. This is know as ‘special friends’ which is two letters- one sound. The word containing the ‘ay’ sound so will be sounded out as p-l-ay. Other examples for this sounds include: tray= t-r-ay Sunday= S-u-n-d-ay
Set three Sounds:
Your child will then move onto set 3 sounds. The set three sounds are shown in pink.
The sound that you hear in these words is the same, but it is written using a different letter pattern.
From this table you can see that for one spoken sound (phoneme) such as ‘ay’ there can be a number of ways of writing this sound (grapheme). For example: Play= p-l-ay Snail= s-n-ai-l cake= c-a k e. The sound that you hear in these words is the same, but it is written using a different letter pattern
What are Red Words?
These are words that are unable to be sounded out as they are irregular. Children simply have to learn to recognise, read and spell these words as they cannot be sounded using any sort of phonics strategy.
Examples of red words
In summary how and what do children learn?
Reading
Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using picture prompts
Learn to read words by blending letter sounds
Read lively stories featuring words they have learnt to sound out
After discussion about the story they demonstrate their understanding by answering questions
Writing
Learn the write the letter/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds
Learn to write words by saying the sound and the graphemes
Learn to build sentences orally using adventurous vocabulary
Start with simple sentences and develop towards more complex ones by the end of the programme
Compose a range of texts using discussion prompts
Talking
During the programme there is lots of opportunity for children to work collaboratively where they take turns in practising activities and rehearsing responses
Our phonic lessons take around 25 minutes daily
