Supporting Your Child with Phonics at Home

Hello Parents/Carers and welcome to our support page!

 Here we will try to ensure that we provide you with advice and information that will help you throughout the Reception Year to support your child at home to ensure your child has the best start developing the foundations for reading and writing.

Here at Swansfield Park, we use the Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme to get children off to a flying start with their literacy. It is a widely used and highly successful phonics programme providing a lively and systematic approach to teaching synthetic phonics. Read Write Inc. Phonics is a method of teaching reading and writing, which is centred around learning the sounds of the letters (phonics) and then blending them together to read words. The children also learn to break down words into individual sounds in order to write them

 When using RWI to read the children will:
 Learn to read effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into understanding what they read.
 Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple picture prompts.
 Learn to read words using Fred Talk.
 Learn to read words by blending the sounds together.
 Read lively stories featuring words they have learnt to sound out.
 
  When using RWI to write children will:

Learn to write the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds (graphemes).
 Learn to write words by saying the sounds in Fred Talk.
Learn to write simple and then increasingly complex sentences.
Learn to form letters using correct orientation and formation.
 
Blending: Children learn to read words by blending the letter sounds that are in the Speed Sound sets. Help your child learn to read words by sound-blending e.g. c-a-t = cat. Help children to say the pure sounds, as quickly as they can and then to blend the sounds together to say the whole word.
 
Segmenting: Children are also taught to segment. This is the opposite of blending. Children are able to say a word and then break it up into the phonemes that make it up. This skill is vital in being able to spell words.
 
In RWI lessons your child may go to a different Read, Write Inc teacher. This is because each child works in a group of same ability children to themselves, led by a trained reading teacher. Children are regularly assessed and re -grouped so that they move on to the next part of the programme as soon as they are able to. Lessons are targeted to your child’s ability and 1 - 2 -1 sessions are arranged for any children who need extra support.
 
RWI sounds are 'pure' sounds without the 'uh' at the end. Watch this video to learn how to say Set 1 sounds.
 
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/reading-owl/find-a-book/read-write-inc-phonics--1/phonics-pure-sounds-video
 
 But most importantly, have fun as you enjoy the magic of watching your child learn to read and write!
 
 
 
 
 

How Can I Support My Child At Home?

Read phonics books with your child at home every day.

 Encourage them to use their sounds (Fred Talk) to read unfamiliar words.

Revise the sounds taught at school. You can find copies of sound mats on our school website.

Ensure that you pronounce ‘pure’ sounds when you practice the sounds with your child at home. We have videos and links on our school website.

Help your child to rote learn their red words.

Practise green words and/or sentence reading and writing from the Ditty sent home weekly.

Encourage correct letter formation, finger spaces, capital letters and full stops when your child starts to write.

Praise success and support effort – Learning to read and write is hardwork!

Help your child to learn to blend fluently by sound blending at home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNyFikwNQTg

 

 Useful websites:

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/reading-owl/find-a-book/readwrite-inc-phonics--1/phonics-pure-sounds-video

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/resources

 http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/

https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/literacy.html

 http://www.bigbrownbear.co.uk/letters/

 

Please see a list of helpful resources below. If you do not have access to a printer at home we will try to help where possible and print these items so that you are able to regularly practise with your child.