Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language. The teaching of phonics is an important component of the teaching of reading and, as a result, at Hill Farm we plan, teach and regularly assess our children through our systematic phonics programme, Read Write Inc. In Nursery, we introduce Set 1 sounds and Fred Talk, where teachers begin sounding-out targeted words. This supports children in recognising phonemes and beginning to blend. In Reception, children continue to learn their Set 2 and Set 3 sounds and learn to blend the sounds and read short sentences.
Children in Year 1 take part in a 30-minute Speed Sounds lesson and a 30-minute reading lesson. In Year 2 children move onto the Literacy and Language scheme.
There are a range of strategies you can use at home to support your child’s reading skills:
| Skimming: What do you think the story is about? What do you think this character will do at the end of the story? Would you like to read this book? Why? | Scanning: When/where is the story set? Who is the main character? Can you find the part where…? Can you find the word….? |
| Summarising: What did we find out at the beginning / middle / end of the story? What did the title have to do with the book? Can you draw/write on a piece of paper what you have been reading? What moment do you remember most from? | Sequencing: What happens at the beginning / middle / end of the story? How/where does the story start? What do you think might happen next? What is the dilemma (problem) and how is it resolved? |
| Comparing: What is similar/different about these two characters? Can you compare this book to another book you read? Is this as good as…? Can I make a text to world connection? | Understanding Vocabulary: What does this word mean? Can you use it in a sentence? Can you find a word that means…? What other words/phrases could the author have used here? How/where can we find out the meaning of this word? |
| Inference: What do you think… means? Why do you think that? Why / how / when / where do you think…? How do you know? | Predicting: What do you think this text will be about? Why? Why did the author choose this setting? What do you think… will do/say next? How do you think the story will end? Why? Can you draw what is going to happen next? |
Read Write Inc EYFS Phonics Home Learning
Please support your child to practise and reinforce the phonemes and graphemes we are learning in school. Scan the QR codes below to see videos of them being taught.
RWI-QR-Codes