English: Phonics
We are proud to announce that we are now a Read, Write INC school!
We have been officially recognised for our contributions and efforts in improving reading and writing attainment in our school using this verified programme.
Well done to all children, parents and staff involved!
At Ashton West End Primary Academy, we use Read Write Inc. Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their reading learning. We aim for all our children to become fluent, confident readers who are passionate about reading. Reading will give your child the tools to become independent life-long learners with all the opportunities for growth and development that reading can offer.
We can achieve this together through:
- Read Write Inc.
- 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
We have put together a guide to how the RWI programme works together with some useful links.
What is Read Write Inc.?
Read Write Inc. (RWI) is a phonics complete reading 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, at Ashton West End we will continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7 if they still need support in their reading.
RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at:
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/
How will RWI be taught?
All children are assessed regularly by our RWI leader so they work with children at the same level. This allows complete participation in lessons. In reception, year 1 and year 2, RWI is taught every day.
Reception
In Reception all children will learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down.
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-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
Year One & Year Two
Children follow the same format as Reception but will work on complex sounds and read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last for one hour. Once children become fluent, speedy readers, they will move on to our ‘Big Cat’ reading progression programme in Year Two.
Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:
Purpose – each activity has a clear purpose, which the teacher will set out for the children at the start of the session.
Participation – all children take part in all parts of the lesson.
Praise – we continually praise children for effort and learning, not ability.
Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning
Passion – teachers are very passionate about the RWI programme and this makes the children enthusiastic, too!
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 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.
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 sets.
Step 1:
Set 1 Sounds are taught in order together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending. We do not use letter names at this stage. For example, children will learn to recognise ‘z’ as ‘zzz’, as opposed to ‘zed’.
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.
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 on 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. The short vowels should be kept short and sharp:
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 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.
Once your child has been introduced and taught these words in school we will send them home for you to continue practising with your child.
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. You may hear your child talking about ‘hold, edit or build a sentence’.
Hold a sentence is an activity that encourages children to remember a whole sentence while focusing on spelling and punctuation.
Build a sentence is to give children the opportunity to create their own sentence to that shows the meaning of a word and edit a sentence allows the children to critique a sentence using their knowledge of spelling punctuation and grammar. Children complete a longer piece of independent writing, which gives them the opportunity to show off their creativity and to practice their spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Order of Story books:
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.
A complete list of the reading books can be found here:
At green level, your child will receive a new reading book every three days. For purple – grey level, this will be every five days. The words in each book are designed that the children can read them confidently by the final day, therefore when your child reads aloud, they will sound fluent and clear.
To help at home:
Your child will start to bring books home when they are confident readers. Please help them to read and give lots of praise!
Useful Websites for Parents:
www.facebook.com/ruthmiskineducation
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/