Reading & Phonics
We love reading at Windmill Primary School because not only is it the key to education but also because we have a culture that promotes reading for pleasure that lasts for a whole life time.
Children who read regularly or are read to regularly have the opportunity to open doors to so many different worlds! More importantly, reading will give your child the tools to become an independent life-long learner. We can achieve this together through:
- Read Write Inc, a programme to help 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
At Windmill Primary we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their literacy. We have put together a guide to how the RWI programme works together with some useful links.
Mrs Speed is our English lead teacher, so if you have questions about RWI, contact school who can refer you to her. Please take the time to read the information as it will provide you with strategies that you can use to help and support your child in reading at home.
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a complete phonics 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. However, we will continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7 if they still need support in their reading and spelling. RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information can be found at https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/
How will RWI be taught?
All children are assessed regularly so they work in a group with children at the same level as them. This allows complete participation in lessons.
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-fiction 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 them
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
Reception
In Reception, all children will learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. To start with they will work together with their whole class.
Year One & Year Two
Children follow the same format as Reception but will work on complex sounds and will also read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last for half an hour and the children will work in their ability groups.
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. At school we use a puppet called Fred who is an expert at 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.
Before you start to support your child, practise saying the sounds below. These are the sounds we use to speak in English. To hear how to pronounce sounds correctly click here: https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents-copy-2/ or https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1279116425534130 The following video is an example of blending sounds with Fred. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEzfpod5w_Q
The children are taught the sounds in 3 steps.
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.
|
Set 1 |
|
|
Sound |
Rhyme |
|
m |
Down Maisie then over the two mountains. Maisie, mountain, mountain. |
|
a |
Round the apple, down the leaf. |
|
s |
Slide around the snake |
|
d |
Round the dinosaur's back, up his neck and down to his feet. |
|
t |
Down the tower, across the tower, |
|
i |
Down the insects body, dot for the head. |
|
n |
Down Nobby and over the net. |
|
p |
Down the plait, up and over the pirates face. |
|
g |
Round the girls face, down her hair and give her a curl |
|
o |
All around the orange |
|
c |
Curl around the caterpillar |
|
k |
Down the kangaroos body, tail and leg |
|
u |
Down and under the umbrella, up to the top and down to the puddle |
|
b |
Down the laces, over the toe and touch the heel |
|
f |
Down the stem and draw the leaves |
|
e |
Slice into the egg, go over the top, then under the egg |
|
l |
Down the long leg |
|
h |
Down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back |
|
sh |
Slither down the snake, then down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back |
|
r |
Down the robot's back, then up and curl |
|
j |
Down his body, curl and dot |
|
v |
Down a wing, up a wing |
|
y |
Down a horn, up a horn and under the yak's head. |
|
w |
Down, up, down, up the worm. |
|
th |
Down the tower, across the tower, then down the horse’s head to the hooves and over his back |
|
z |
Zig-zag-zig, down the zip. |
|
ch |
Curl around the caterpillar, , then down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back |
|
qu |
Round the queen’s head, up to her crown, down her hair and curl |
|
x |
Cross down the arm and leg and cross the other way |
|
ng |
A thing on a string |
|
nk |
I think I stink |
Please do not use letter names at this early stage.
Children will also use pictures for each sound to help recognise the sound and then form the shape of the sound.
Step 2:
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.
|
Long vowel sound |
Set 2 Speed Sound cards Teach these first |
Set 3 Speed Sound cards |
|
|
ay |
ay: may I play |
a-e: make a cake |
ai: snail in the rain |
|
ee |
ee: what can you see |
ea: cup of tea |
e: he me we she be |
|
igh |
igh: fly high |
i-e: nice smile |
|
|
ow |
ow: blow the snow |
o-e: phone home |
ao: goat in a boat |
|
oo |
oo: poo at the zoo |
u-e: huge brute |
ew: chew the stew |
|
oo |
oo: look at a book |
|
|
|
ar |
ar: start the car |
|
|
|
or |
or: shut the door |
aw: yawn at dawn |
|
|
air |
air: that’s not fair |
are: share and care |
|
|
ir |
ir: whirl and twirl |
ur: nurse for a purse |
er: a better letter |
|
ou |
ou: shout it out |
ow: brown cow |
|
|
oy |
oy: toy for a boy |
oi: spoil the boy |
|
|
ire |
|
ire: fire fire! |
|
|
ear |
|
ear: hear with your ear |
|
|
ure |
|
ure: sure it’s pure? |
|
Nonsense words (Alien words)
As well as learning to read and blend real words children will have plenty of opportunities to apply their sound recognition skills to reading ‘nonsense words’. These words will also feature heavily in the Year One Phonics Screening check in the summer term.
Step 3:
Children will be introduced to ‘Ditty books’ when they successfully begin to read single words. Children use sound-blending (Fred Talk) to read short ditties. They will bring these home once they have read and discussed the book in class. Children will then be challenged to use their developing phonic knowledge to write short sentences. Within all the books children will have red and green words to learn to help them to become speedy readers. Red words are words that are not easily decodable and are 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. The short vowels should be kept short and sharp.
During the RWI sessions children will read the books three times and at each new reading they will have plenty of opportunities to practise using their developing comprehension skills.
Order of Story books: Children will hopefully follow the order listed below. The expectation is that all children will leave Year One as confident speedy readers, ready to take on the challenges of Year Two. However, some children may need extra support and your teacher will talk to you about this.
To help at home:
Your child will also bring home reading books from different reading schemes. Please hear your child read at least 3 times a week and record home reading in their yellow Reading Record.
Children will also bring home library books and this year we have a challenge to read, or have read to them, as many books from a recommended list for each year group. The children will keep their copy of the list in their tray in the classroom but a list of the books is here.
Phonics Screening Check, Year One
What is the Year 1 phonics screening check?
The Year 1 phonics screening check is a short assessment to confirm whether individual pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard. It will identify the children who need extra help so they are given support, by school, to improve their reading skills. They will then be able to retake the check so that schools can track pupils until they are able to decode.
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:
http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ - many games to play
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/ - KS1 and 2 fun games for the children to play
http://www.ictgames.com/literacy.html - fun games for the children to play
http://www.starfall.com/ - fun games for the children to play
http://www.firstschoolyears.com/ - fun games for the children to play
