Phonics
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PHONICS
At IQRA Academy, we strive to teach pupils to read confidently and fluently. Pupils in Reception and Key Stage One are taught to read using the Read Write Inc. Phonics Programme.
Using Read Write Inc. pupils will:
- Respond speedily with the correct sound to grapheme for all 40+ phonemes.
- Learn how to blend sounds.
- Learn how to decode phoneme-grapheme correspondences (GPCs) quickly and effortlessly.
- Apply their Phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words.
- Read words of more than one syllable that contain taught GPCs.
- Read common exception words by sight.
- Read aloud with fluency and expression.
- Show that they comprehend the stories by answering questions.
- Learn to write the letters/letter groups which represent 44 sounds.
- Learn to write words by saying the sounds in Fred Talk.
- Write simple sentences.
Teaching and Learning
The five key principles that underpin all the teaching in all Read Write Inc. Programmes are:
- Participation – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning. Our teaching strategies ensure that all children participate fully in the whole lesson – there is no chance for children to lose concentration and miss key elements of the teaching.
- Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability. Children work together, as partners, taking turns to teach and praise one another and they are motivated by the focused praise they receive from teachers and teaching assistants.
- Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning. A lively pace keeps all the children fully engaged.
- Purpose – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about. Teachers know the purpose of every activity and how it leads into the next.
- Passion – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally. It is easy for teachers to be passionate about their teaching because they see their children make such rapid progress.
As part of the programme the children have a daily phonic lesson and during this lesson they will have:
- Speed sound lesson – introduced to new sound and recap all sounds (Set 1, Set 2, Set 3 and Extra Sounds).
- Read Green Words (words that contain a new sound or a previously taught sound).
- Read Nonsense words (Alien Words - made up from all sounds) For example:
- Fred Finger Spelling
- Read phonetically decodable texts
Fred Talk
We use pure sounds (‘m’ not’ muh’, ’s’ not ‘suh’, etc.) so that children 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.
Nursery
When appropriate, children will be introduced to the initial sounds in short sessions.
Reception
In Reception all children will learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. In the Autumn Term Reception pupils are taught separately to the rest of Key Stage 1.
Year One & Year Two
Children follow the same format as Reception but will work on complex sounds and read books appropriate to their reading level.
In Year One and Year Two, pupils are grouped according to attainment. Pupils work in targeted progress groups so they can all participate. No child is ever left behind. Each group has a trained teacher or teaching assistant delivering the lesson.
In Reception, children begin the year participating in whole class Phonics lessons with their class teacher. In the second half term they then move to focus groups.
The children are taught the sounds in 3 Sets:
Set One
Set 1 Sounds are taught in the following order together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending.
These are the Set 1 Speed Sounds written with one letter:
m, a, s, d, t, i, n, p, g, o, c, k, u, b, f, e, l, h, r, j, v, y, w, z, x
These are the sounds written with two letters (your child will call these ‘special friends’):
sh, th, ch, qu, ng, nk
Set Two
Set 2
The children are then taught Set 2 Sounds - the long vowels.
These are the Set 2 Speed Sounds:
ay, ee, igh, ow, oo, oo, ar, or, air, ir, ou, oy
Set Three
Set 3
When pupils are confident with all of set 1 and 2 they are taught Set 3 Sounds.
ea, oi, a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e, aw, are, ur, er, ow, ai, oa, ew, ire, ear, ure
Additional Speed Sounds:
ue, ie, au, e-e, e, kn, ck, wh, ph
Expectations
Expectations
Assessment and Intervention
Assessment
Pupils are assessed each half term to ensure the speediest progress. Assessments ensure pupils are grouped appropriately to make sure teaching and learning is at the correct level for their current attainment. Staff are provided with a gap analysis, so they are aware of any gaps that need to be filled. Pupils who make accelerated progress will move groups to ensure the appropriate level of challenge is provided. Pupils who need additional support to consolidate their Phonic knowledge will be taught in a smaller group and will access targeted interventions.
Interventions
Pupils working below expectations receive an intervention in addition to the regular discrete Phonics lesson. These interventions are delivered on a 1:1 basis by a trained teaching assistant. The interventions mirror what is taught in the discrete Phonics lesson, and they are designed to help pupils to keep up with their peers.
Phonics Screening Check Year One
The Year 1 phonics screening check is a short, light-touch assessment to confirm whether individual pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard.
It will identify the children who need extra help so they are given support by their school to improve their reading skills. They will then be able to retake the check so that schools can track pupils until they are able to decode. Pupils who do not pass the phonics screening check in Year 1 will have the opportunity to retake it in Year 2. The phonics screening check is always completed in June.
Further information about the phonics screening check, which takes place in June. can be found here.
Useful websites/links 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.
Websites:
- Oxford Owl - RWI Phonics: A guide for parents:
- Ruth Miskin - Information and resources to support phonics learning at home
- Phonics Play
