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St John Fisher Catholic Primary

St John Fisher Catholic Primary

Phonics

At St John Fisher school, we believe that our children will thrive to become fluent readers and writers.  We teach reading, writing and spelling through Read Write Inc.

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 Intent

At St John Fisher, we start to teach Phonics in Reception, following the Read Write Inc programme.  

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. Our aim is for all children to become fluent, confident readers who are passionate about reading.

 Implementation

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, supporting them to sound out and blend correctly.  

Reading

The children:

  • Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts 
  • 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking

The children work in pairs so that they:

  • Answer questions together
  • Practise activities with their partner
  • Take turns in talking and reading to each other
  • Recycle new vocabulary

 

Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:  

Purpose – share the one thing they should be thinking about

Participation – children participate throughout the lesson. 

Praise – children are praised for effort and learning.

Pace – we teach at an effective and engaging pace.

Passion – we show passion for teaching so children can be engaged emotionally.

 

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.

At school we use a puppet called Fred who is an expert on sounding out words! We call this, ‘Fred Talk’. E.g. d-o-g, c-a-t, f-a-n, sh-o-p, bl-a-ck.  Children are encouraged to sound out the words, before blending them.

 

Three sets of sounds are taught:

Step 1:

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.

Step 2:

The children are then taught Set 2 Sounds - the long vowels. 

 Set 2 Sound Chart

When they are very confident with all of set 1 and 2 they are taught Set 3 Sounds.

 Set 3 Sound Chart Complex Speed Sound Chart

Step 3:

Within all the  RWI resources, children will be exposed to red and green words to help them to become speedy readers. Red words are not easily decodable and 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.

Home Reading

Children will be sent home with reading books matched to their phonics level.  The children will have a reading book as well as the book they have been reading in their Phonics session.

Videos to Support Sound Recognition at Home

Set 1 Sounds Videos Set 2 Sounds Videos Set 3 Sounds Videos

Links to the videos will expire in August.

Videos to Support Reading at Home

Listening to Your Child Read at Home Why Read to Your Child Ten Things to Think About When You Read to Your Child

Useful Documents For Parents

Frequently Asked Questions Phrases to Support Handwriting Fred games to play at home List of Reading Books

Useful websites

 Phonics PlayPhonics BloomParents Guide to Read Write IncOxford Owl Free E-book Library

Oxford Owl Free E-book Library: To access the books, register for free.  Here there are a wide selection of books for the children to choose from.  All books are tablet friendly.

Impact

Children in Year 1 will be using their knowledge of sounds and decoding to complete the Phonics Screening Check.

Learning to read and write in this way will enable children to utilise these skills as they move through the school. This will enable children to enjoy reading and they will begin to choose books from our new library to explore their areas of interest.

Children will develop confidence in reading and understanding what they have read, sharing their knowledge and understanding. Our new Accelerated Reader program will help to continue this progress into KS2.

 Phonics Screening Check

Phonics Screening Check Information VideoPhonics Screening Check 20222023 Phonics Screening Check

How Phonics Can Support Spelling and Handwriting

Using Fred Fingers to Support Spelling Handwriting Using Letter Formation Rhymes