Supporting Phonics and Reading at home
Starting in Early Years, children are taught phonics; the journey of learning to read, write and spell. These vital skills are the beginning of a lifelong literacy journey. Phonics, which can also be referred to as ‘letters and sounds’ is the process of children learning to read.
The process of learning to read and write begins from an early age, where children can learn and practise many skills. This can be done in a range of ways and settings, including at home. Exposing children to conversation and books is essential.
Our scheme for teaching phonics is Twinkl Phonics which is a DFE validated phonics programme that applies a systematic, synthetic approach to teaching phonics, with clear expectations that are laid out term by term from Nursery to Year 2. A clear progression ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. Our rigorous, consistent phonics teaching ensures that children are taught the key skills of acquiring letter sounds, segmenting and blending and are equipped with the knowledge to be able to tackle any unfamiliar words that they read, complete the phonics check at the end of year 1 and to write and spell words confidently. We also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum.
We use a wide range of engaging, active teaching methods and resources to deliver our lessons including; games, videos and interactive whiteboard activities. We provide daily phonics sessions and implement effective interventions throughout the school day. We make full use of our expert teachers and teaching assistants to allow for focused teaching which enables the most effective learning.
Phonics Whole Scheme Overview
In reading, we aim to foster a love of books and for children to become fluent, competent readers. The children benefit from reading a range of phonics books which are explicitly matched to the children's phonic knowledge. We have selected the best books from a range of reading schemes including; Rhino Readers, Song Birds and Oxford Reading tree which are used throughout Reception and Year 1 to develop the children's decoding, prosody and comprehension skills. Children also have the opportunity to share and enjoy a wide range of other books through reading for pleasure sessions including poetry, stories, rhymes and non-fiction and listen to highly-skilled members of staff sharing favourite texts. We also have a well-stocked library which children visit regularly in order to borrow books for use at school and home.
Great Books Guide
0-5 year olds:
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/1/100-best-0-5/
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/g/great-books-guide-2022-4-5/
6-7 year olds:
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/g/great-books-guide-2022-6-7/
8-9 year olds:
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/g/great-books-guide-2022-8-9/
10-11 year olds:
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/g/great-books-guide-2022-10-11/
eBooks
We have been asked by the school's parent council, to put together a list of free e-books that you can use with your children. The first site matches some of the books that we use at school.
We hope you find them useful.
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/free-ebooks/
You will need to join but it is free to use.
http://www.kidsworldfun.com/ebooks.php
http://www.myonlinereading.com/
http://www.megamousebooks.com/freebooklist.html
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21465.Best_Free_Kindle_Ebooks_for_Children_
You will need to join but it is free to use.
http://www.storylineonline.net/