Phonics
Introduction ☻ Jolly Phonics has been developed by practising classroom teachers. ☻ The aim of the programme is to teach children to read and write through an early systematic phonics programme. ☻ The children are taught the main 42 sounds of English, not just the alphabet sounds. ☻ With this knowledge they are taken through the stages of blending sounds to form words and then reading. ☻ At the same time they are taught to write by identifying the sounds in words and relating the letters to those sounds. ☻ This puts reading off for approximately six weeks while the children are introduced to the 42 sounds and their confidence is built up. When they are given a home reader, the results are amazing as the children have the skills to be able to read it!
Home Readers ☻ As stated, reading is put off for approximately six weeks until the children have acquired the skills to begin achieving. This stops children automatically failing and helps to build up the confidence of even the most shy, withdrawn child. ☻ At Blanford Mere we start off my using the Oxford Reading Tree Floppy’s Phonics scheme, which highly supports the phonetical approach we are taking and has lively, engaging stories for both you and your child. ☻ Once your child is given a home reader you will find it is accompanied with a Take-Home card, their reading record and at times key words to match the stage of the book your child is reading. Please ensure they are returned to school everyday. ☻ Home Readers are unseen text and it is recommended that you spend at least 5 - 10 minutes sharing the book with your child per day. We ask that you use the ‘reading section’ in your child’s School Planner to record your own comments weekly and you will find school will do the same, giving you some useful tips. ☻ Remember reading is not just about reading the words but also being able to understand what has been read. Ask your child to retell different parts of the story and discuss the setting, character and plot with your child too,
The five main teaching points 1. Learning the letter sounds. 2. Learning letter formation. 3. Blending – for reading. 4. Identifying the Sounds in Words – for writing. 5. Tricky Words – irregular words. In this training each point is dealt with separately. However, in the classroom they are all taught at the same time.
1. Learning Letter Sounds
Letter SoundOrder ☻ All words are made up of sounds. ☻ There are 40+ sounds in the English language but only 26 letters that are used to represent these sounds. ☻ It has been proven that young children learn particularly quickly when there is activity involved. The Jolly Phonics programme has a multi-sensory approach which is very effective and fun for all involved. ☻ The Jolly Phonics programme recommends that letter sounds are introduced at the rate of one letter sound per day. The first sound being introduced during the child’s first few weeks of school. ☻ Although it may seem a lot at first, children are able to cope with it and look forward to their new letter sound every day.
Letter sound order 1. s a t i p n 2. c k e h r m d 3. g o u l f b 4. ai j oa ie ee or 5. z w ng v oo 00 6. y x ch sh th th 7. qu ou oi ue er ar ☻ The letter sounds are taught firstand the letter names are introduced later. ☻ With the first group of letters, more simple, three-letter, CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words can be made than with any other combination of 6 letters. This enables the children to start reading words early by blending the sounds together to hear simple words..
Storylineand Action ☻ Each letter sound is introduced with a story. ☻ In the story the children hear the sound and see the action. ☻ Here is an example from one of the pages of the Finger Phonics Big Book, which introduces the sound f. The children are encouraged to search for things in the picture that contain the new sound. Initially the teacher demonstrates, but the children quickly pick up on this activity and enjoy the challenge of finding things in the picture for themselves.
Sounds Sheets ☻ After the sound has been introduced to the children they then move onto the sound sheet. ☻ The sound sheets provide an opportunity for the children to: - put the teaching into practice, - write the letter(s) for each sound, and - improve pencil control by colouring the picture in neatly. ☻ Once completed the sheet will be sent home. This will inform parents of the new sound that has been taught in school that day, the action and the formation. Any help and reinforcement you can give your child will help them to retain the sounds they are learning. In the past parents have used the sheets in a number of ways. Some make booklets, others have made their own Jolly Phonics frieze at home in their child’s room. It is up to you! ☻ Here is a copy of the S sound sheet.
SoundBooks ☻ Each child will have their own Sound Book. ☻ At the end of each day the new sound is reinforced. The children are encouraged to trace their finger over the sound and say the sound as they stick it into their book. ☻ The Sound Book will be sent home everyday for the child to practise their old and new sounds. This is a very important part of the programme and helps parents to become involved in their child’s learning from the very early stages. ☻ The Sound Book MUST also be brought back to school EVERYDAY where the class teacher and teaching assistants will listen to each child go through their Sound Book as often as possible, especially the children who are finding it difficult.
PairsGame ☻ The Pairs sheet will be sent home after each set of sounds has been introduced. There will be an accompanying letter explaining the activities that can be done with the sheets to help reinforce, and some cases extend the work carried out at school. ☻ Games can include: ☻ The Pairs Game – the child says the sounds (not the names) as he / she turns two of the letter cards over. If the sounds are the same they keep the cards and have another go. If not, they are turned face down again. ☻ 3-Letter word game – Parent and child make 3-letter words for the child to blend and read, e.g. ‘t -i- n’. Initially, the parent and the child say the sounds and read the word together. Gradually building up to the child doing it on their own. ☻ Listening for sounds – Parent says a 3-letter word and encourages the child to find sounds and put them in the correct order. The parent again should lead initially and let the child take over when they can hear the sounds. ☻ Children who are experiencing difficulties will play similar games with TAs in any extra time that can be allocated, i.e. registration times.
Flash Cards ☻ Reinforcement of the letter sounds is a very important part of this programme. The Jolly Phonics frieze will be added to everyday with the addition of the new sound. After all sounds have been taught the frieze will be complete and will stay in prime position for the remainder of the year. ☻ Flash cards of the letter sounds will be used everyday (once they have been taught). As the children become more confident with their sounds the pace will become quicker! ☻ All of the class do the action and say the sound when they see the letter(s). ☻ The faster the children become at recognising the letters and saying the sounds, the easier it is for them to read and write them.
☻ It is important to bear in mind that 20% of children find learning to read, write and spell very difficult, mainly because they have a weak memory for symbols and a poor ability to hear the sounds in words. One of the first signs of this problem is when a child is not learning the letter sounds as quickly as the other children (one a day). It is not a sign of low intelligence, many intelligent children have this problem. ☻ To get over this difficulty the children need plenty of practice and activities – little and often is best.
Digraphs ☻ The English language consists of 44 sounds, JollyPhonics in the first year covers 42 of them. The other two sounds are covered during the second and third year through Jolly Spelling lessons in Year’s 1 and 2. ☻ As you know the alphabet consists of only 26 letters, therefore some sounds are written with more than one letter e.g. sh, ch, th, ai, er, or, oi, ou, igh, ng etc. These are called Digraphs. ☻ The children have to learn that when they see words like ‘ba ng ’, ‘h or se’, ‘ sh ip’, that there are two letters that make a new sound.
2. Learning Letter Formation
Pencil Hold ☻ The children will be taught to use a tripod grip. ☻ The movement of the pencil comes from the thumb and first finger. ☻ Ensure that the knuckles can go in and out so that they look like ‘froggy legs’.
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