Phonics Provision- Read, Write, Inc
Phonics at St Edward's Catholic Primary School
At St Edward's we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their Literacy development. Mrs Potts is our Read Write Inc lead teacher, so if you have questions about RWI, contact school who can refer you to her.
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. We continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7, as we use a stage not age approach.
The stages of reading are grouped in colour groups. Your child will be assessed every half-term and grouped according to their ability. The colour groups are:
RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/.
Reading
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.
We can achieve this together through:
- Read Write Inc, a program to help to your child read at school
- Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily, at home and at school
- Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home
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 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
Children will be taught how to read as follows:
Before you start to teach your child, practice saying the sounds below. These are the sounds we use to speak in English. Children initially begin using pictures for each sound, this will help children recognise the sound and then form the shape of the sound.
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. The following video shows how to say the sounds.
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.
The following video is an example of blending sounds with Fred. You can play Fred Games at home such as
Fred’s adventures
Farm Sh-ee-p, h-e-n, g-oa-t, c-ow
Woods Tr--ee, d-e-n, a-n-t, l-ea-f
Seaside Sh-e-ll, s-ea, c-r-a-b, s-a-n-d
Fred’s house
Fridge s-ou-p, e-gg, p-ea-ch
Food Cupboard b-ea-n-s, h-a-m
Toy Box d-o-ll, c-ar, p-e-n
The children are taught the sounds in 3 sets.
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.
The children are then taught Set 2 Sounds - the long vowels. When they are very confident with all of set 1 and 2 they are taught Set 3 Sounds.
Set 2 Speed Sounds |
||
Sound
|
Phrase |
Words to practice reading and spelling |
ay |
ay: may I play |
play, day, may, way, say, spray |
ee |
ee: what can you see |
see, three, been, green, seen, sleep |
igh |
igh: fly high |
high, night, light, fright, bright, might |
ow |
ow: blow the snow |
blow, snow, low, show, know, slow |
oo |
oo: poo at the zoo |
too, zoo, food, pool, moon, spoon |
oo |
oo: look at a book |
took, look, book, shook, cook, foot |
ar |
ar: start the car |
car, start, part, star, hard, sharp |
or |
or: shut the door |
sort, short, horse, sport, fork, snort |
air |
air: that’s not fair |
fair, stair, hair, air, chair, lair |
ir |
ir: whirl and twirl |
girl, bird, third, whirl, twirl, dirt |
ou |
ou: shout it out |
out, shout, loud, mouth, round, found |
oy |
oy: toy for a boy |
toy, boy, enjoy |
Set 3 Speed Sounds |
||
Sound
|
Phrase |
Words to practice reading and spelling |
ea |
Cup of tea |
clean, dream, seat, scream, real |
oi |
Spoil the boy |
join, voice, coin |
a-e |
Make a cake |
make, cake, name, same, late, date |
i-e |
Nice smile |
smile, white, nice, like, time, hide |
o-e |
Phone home |
home, hope, spoke, note, broke, phone |
u-e |
Huge brute |
tune, rude, huge, brute, use, June |
aw |
Yawn at dawn |
saw, las, dawn, crawl, paw, yawn |
are |
Care and share |
share, dare, scare, square, bare |
ur |
Nurse with a purse |
burn, turn, spurt, nurse, purse, hurt |
er |
A better letter |
never, better, weather, after, proper, corner |
ow |
Brown cow |
how, down, brown, cow, town, now |
ai |
Snail in the rain |
snail, paid, tail, train, paint, rain |
oa |
Goat in a boat |
goat, boat, road, throat, toast, coat |
ew |
Chew the stew |
chew, new, blew, flew, drew, grew |
ire |
Fire! Fire! |
Fire, hire, wire, bon/fire, in/spire, con/spire |
ear |
Hear with your ear |
hear, dear, fear, near, year, ear |
ure |
Sure it’s pure |
pure, sure, cure, pic/ture, mix/ture, ad/ven/ture |
Nonsense words (Alien words)- What 'a load' of 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.
RWI Sessions
Within all the RWI sessions/books children will be exposed to red and green words to learn to help them to become speedy readers. Red words are words that are not easily decodable and challenge words to extend children’s vocabulary. Green words are linked to the sounds they have been learning and are easily decodable.
Dots and dashes represent the sound each letter makes.
During the RWI session children will read the book three times and at each new reading they will have plenty of opportunities to practise using their developing comprehension skills. You may have heard your child talking about ‘hold, edit or build a sentence’.
Hold a sentence is an activity that encourages children to remember a whole sentence while focusing on spelling and punctuation.
Build a sentence is to give children the opportunity to create their own sentence to that shows the meaning of a word and edit a sentence allows the children to critique a sentence using their knowledge of spelling punctuation and grammar. Children complete a longer piece of independent writing, which gives them the opportunity to show off their creativity and to practice their spelling, grammar and punctuation.
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.
To help children decode words we will say:
"Special Friends"- look for letters which go together to form a sound (eg: "sh", "ee")
"Fred Talk"- sound out the word using the sounds (eg: "sh-ee-p")
"Read the word"- blend your sounds together to read the word in full (eg:"sheep")
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
Read Write Inc guide for parents
The following link provides lots of free Read Write Inc. Phonics resources to help your child, including eBooks, practice sheets and parent films.
Read, Write, Inc guide for parents
Year One: Phonics Screening Check Information for Parents
"The Year 1 phonics screening check is not a formal test, but a way for teachers to ensure that children are making sufficient progress with their phonics skills to read words and that they are on track to become fluent readers who can enjoy reading for pleasure and for learning."
1. What is the Year 1 phonics screening check?
The phonics screening check is taken individually by all children in Year 1 in England. It is designed to give teachers and parents information on how your child is progressing in phonics. It will help to identify whether your child needs additional support at this stage so that they do not fall behind in this vital early reading skill.
2 .What is in the phonics screening check?
There are two sections in this 40-word check and it assesses phonics skills and knowledge learned through Reception and Year 1. Your child will read up to four words per page for their teacher and they will probably do the check in one sitting of about 5-10 minutes.
3. What sort of check is it and is it compulsory?
It is a school-based check to make sure that your child receives any additional support promptly, should they need it. It is not a stressful situation as the teacher will be well-equipped to listen and understand your child’s level of skills.
There will be a few practice words first to make sure your child understands the activity.
4. What does it check?
It checks that your child can:
- Sound out and blend graphemes in order to read simple words.
- Read phonically decodable one-syllable and two-syllable words, e.g. cat, sand, windmill.
- Read a selection of nonsense words which are referred to as pseudo words.
5. What are nonsense or pseudo words and why are they included?
These are words that are phonically decodable but are not actual words with an associated meaning e.g. brip, snorb. Pseudo words are included in the check specifically to assess whether your child can decode a word using phonics skills and not their memory.
The pseudo words will be shown to your child with a picture of a monster and they will be asked to tell their teacher what sort of monster it is by reading the word. This not only makes the check a bit more fun, but provides the children with a context for the nonsense word which is independent from any existing vocabulary they may have. Crucially, it does not provide any clues, so your child just has to be able to decode it. Children generally find nonsense amusing so they will probably enjoy reading these words.
6. Is there a pass mark?
The check is not about passing or failing but checking appropriate progress is being made. If children do not reach the required standard, then the teacher will be in touch to discuss plans and offer additional, tailored support to ensure that your child can catch up. Children progress at different speeds so not reaching the threshold score does not necessarily mean there is a serious problem. Your child will re-sit the check the following summer term.
7. What happens to the results?
The school will report your child’s results to you by the end of the summer term as well as to the local authority, but the results won’t be published in a league table as with SATs. If you have any concerns, do talk to your teacher about this in a parents’ meeting or after school.
8. Do all schools and children have to participate?
All schools and academies in England must take part in the phonics screening check unless they are an independent school. There is a process in place for reviewing children with special educational needs, so if your child’s teacher thinks there are very special reasons related to your child and their needs that make them think the phonics screening check may not be appropriate, they will decide on appropriate action and discuss this with you.
9. What should I do if my child is struggling to decode a word?
- Say each sound in the word from left to right.
- Blend the sounds by pointing to each letter, i.e. /b/ in bat, or letter group, i.e. /igh/ in sigh, as you say the sound, then run your finger under the whole word as you say it.
- Talk about the meaning if your child does not understand the word they have read.
- Work at your child’s pace.
- Always be positive and give lots of praise and encouragement.