Currently the children in reception are completing their daily phonics session with great enthusiasm! 

Phonics is a way of teaching children to read quickly and skilfully. They are taught how to:

• recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes;
• identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make - such as /sh/ or /oo/; and
• blend these sounds together from left to right to make a word.

 

Children can then use this knowledge to ‘de-code’ new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read.

Research shows that when phonics is taught in a structured way – starting with the easiest sounds and progressing through to the most complex – it is the most effective way of teaching young children to read.

It is particularly helpful for children aged 5 to 7. Almost all children who receive good teaching of phonics will learn the skills they need to tackle new words. They can then go on to read any kind of text fluently and confidently, and to read for enjoyment.

Phonics at Home.

Tips for teaching your child the phonemes (sounds):

- It is important for a child to learn lower case or small letters rather than capital letters at first. Most early books and games use lower case letters and your child will learn these first at school.

Obviously you should use a capital letter when required, such as at the beginning of the child's name, eg. Paul.

 

When you talk about letters to your child, remember to use the letter sounds: a buh cuh duh ... rather than the alphabet names of the letters: ay bee see dee ee.

 

The reason for this is that sounding out words is practically impossible if you use the alphabet names. For example, cat would sound like: see ay tee which does not sound like ‘cat’. 

 

When saying the sounds of b, d, g, j and w you will notice the 'uh' sound which follows each, for example buh, duh... You cannot say the sound without it, however, try to emphasise the main letter sound.

 

 There are a number of things that parents/carers can do to support early reading development:

 Let your child see you enjoy reading yourself

Immerse your child in a love of reading

Make time for your child to read their school book to you

 With all books, encourage your child to ‘sound out’ unfamiliar words and then blend from left to right rather than looking at pictures to guess the word

 Regularly go over the phonemes (sounds) with your child so you can support them with the ones they struggle with