Phonics
Being able to read is the most important skill children learn during their early schooling and has far-reaching implications for lifelong learning, confidence and wellbeing. High quality phonics teaching is the prime means by which we teach children how to read and spell words. At…
Being able to read is the most important skill children learn during their early schooling and has far-reaching implications for lifelong learning, confidence and wellbeing. High quality phonics teaching is the prime means by which we teach children how to read and spell words.
At St. Dominic’s we aim to develop a love for reading in each child. We pride ourselves on using high quality texts to motivate children to think critically about what they’ve read, to ask questions, make links and clarify the meaning of new and old vocabulary.
Early Years
Children in EYFS are taught phonics through the Letters and Sounds phonics programme.
Phase One
Phase One falls largely within the Communication, Language and Literacy area of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. In particular, it will support linking sounds and letters in the order in which they occur in words, and naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet. The children listen to texts, participate in repetitive phrases and discuss books.
Phase Two
The purpose of this phase is to teach at least 19 letters, and move children on from oral blending and segmentation to blending and segmenting with letters. By the end of the phase many children should be able to read some VC and CVC words and to spell them either using magnetic letters or by writing the letters on paper or on whiteboards. During the phase they will be introduced to reading two-syllable words and simple captions. They will also learn to read some high-frequency ‘tricky’ words: the, to, go, no.
Watch this video to see how the sounds should be pronounced.
Click here to download sound mats.
Key Stage One
Children in KS1 receive a 20-30 minute phonics lesson to help support their reading. In year 1 the children start to learn phase 3. Eventually the children will participate in the Phonics Screening test in June to see how many sounds they have remembered.
Children in year 2 continue to develop their phonic knowledge to support reading and spelling.
At St.Dominic’s we believe reading is the key to all learning. Children in KS1 have a 45 minute reading lesson each morning using a range of texts. These books are used to teach the children about prediction, text structure, questioning and comprehension. It is for this reason we continue to teach phonics to support reading.
Please click here to find some helpful resources to use at home.