Phonics and Reading

Important information about reading at home

Reading in Reception and KS1

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 

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.  

RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at 

https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents-copy-2/

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

Purpose – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about

Participation – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning

Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not the ability

Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning

Passion – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally

How will RWI be taught?

Children are taught phonics, reading and writing daily. All children are assessed regularly by teachers and this monitored by our Phonic lead Mrs Spencer to ensure children make rapid progress.

Reception
Powerpoint Meeting for Parents Autumn 1 2022

Children start to learn phonemes in the first 3 weeks of starting school. This is engaging, multi-sensory and fun! All children will learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down.

Reading

The children:

• learn 38 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts – see below Set 1 and 2
• 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 ‘Find It’ and ‘Prove It’ discussion 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 

As well as daily Read Write Inc lessons children in Reception also complete Talk 4 Writing lessons three times a week to enrich their vocabulary and oracy and emerse them further into storytelling and the world of reading.

Year One

Children follow the same format as Reception but will work on complex sounds (set 3) and read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last for one hour (phonic speed sound lesson and reading/writing activities).  As well as daily Read Write Inc lessons children in Year One also complete Talk 4 Writing lessons three times a week to enrich their vocabulary and oracy and emerse them further into storytelling and the world of reading.

Children will be taught how to read as follows:

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. Please watch this video to see how this is done!

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. Ask your child to Fred Talk to you.

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.

Year Two

Children in Year 2 continue Guided Reading through Read Write Inc story books 3 times a week. They follow the programme to ensure the children continue developing accuracy and fluency in their reading within longer and more challenging texts while also gaining a good understanding of what they have read.  The children also follow Talk4Writing through their book spine.

Talk through Stories

Talk Through Stories is designed to extend and deepen children’s vocabulary so that they can understand the books they will soon be able to read for themselves. It introduces them to a language rich environment. We use this in Reception and Year 1 to develop a love of reading from the earliest point we can.

In Story week, we help children to get to know the story well: the plot, the characters, and their actions and motives.

In Vocabulary week, we focus on eight words from the story. These are words that children are unlikely to hear in everyday conversation but are likely to come across in stories. Children’s understanding of each word is then developed in the context of their everyday lives. Stories used range from old favourites to more recent literature. 

Reading in KS2