What is phonics?

Two main elementsBlending

Recognising the letter soundsin a written word, for examplec-u-p, and merging or synthesisingthem in the order in which theyare written to pronounce the word ‘cup’

SegmentingIdentifying the individual sounds in a spoken word (e.g. h-i-m) and writing down or manipulating letters for each sound to form the word ‘him’

• Teaching phonics requires a technical skill in enunciation

• Phonemes should be articulated clearly and precisely-please follow the address/link .

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-eTO8L3t40

Enunciation

5 basic skills

•Letter sounds•Letter formation•Blending•Segmenting•Tricky words

Reading together

•School reading books•Reading books from home•Library books•Newspapers•Magazines•Comics•Cereal packets•Game instructions•Etc, etc, etc

Letter formation

•See it: flash cards•Feel it: textured letters (sandpaper,

‘squidgy’ letters, string letters)•Write it: in the air, using paint, using

water on the ground, in mud, snow, bath bubbles, sand…

Pencil grip

•Tripod grip• ‘Froggy legs’ movement

Independent writing

The children need to know:•The 44 letter sounds•How to hear the sounds in words•One way of writing the letters for the sounds•What they want to say

What games can you play at home?

• Sound/action/word recognition games• Show your child a sound and ask them to

complete the action, say the sound, or give an object that begins with that sound

• Turn a set of ‘sound’ cards face up, you complete an action or say a sound and ask your child to find the correct card to match it

• Show an object and ask your child to find the beginning sound, or show the action

• Quick recall of words that they are shown• Use the words in a sentence. Orally or

written• Lots of variety is best

Other games to play

• Spot the sound/letter/word• Pairs game• Snap• Reading words• Building words and sentences• Letter/word/sentence bingo

Parents

•Support from home is invaluable in helping your child learn to read and write.

•Keep them motivated and excited about learning

•Verbal praise and rewards such as stickers, are excellent encouragers

•Every child is different and children learn/progress at different rates.

•Do not become frustrated – keep going. It will eventually pay off, we promise!!!

Thank you for such a great turn-out at the meeting. Have fun with it!

Mrs Stuart and Mrs Allison