Literacy and Numeracy News

PHONICS - WHAT IS IT AND HOW ARE WE TEACHING IT AT SMPPS?

Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another word. The English language has 26 letters but 44 unique sounds, each with lots of different ways to spell them.  

Written language can be compared to a code, so knowing the sounds of individual letters and how those letters sound when they’re combined will help children decode words as they read. Understanding phonics will also help children know which letters to use when they are writing words. 

Phonics involves matching the sounds of spoken English with individual letters or groups of letters. For example, the sound k can be spelled as c, k, ck or ch. 

Teaching children to blend the sounds of letters together helps them decode unfamiliar or unknown words by sounding them out. This means that if a child is introduced to the sounds /m/ /s/ /a/ /t/ they can quickly read the words at, mat, sat, am, Sam etc. 

At SMPPS we teach our students using a synthetic phonics approach. Synthetic Phonics is an evidence-based, structured approach to teaching children to read. This method of reading helps children to learn the relationships between the sounds (phonemes) of spoken language and the letter symbols (graphemes) of the written language. Being able to match the speech sounds with their corresponding letter symbol or symbols helps children to simultaneously learn to read and spell words. The letters and sounds are taught across 6 phases. As students master one phase they move onto the next, allowing them to expand upon their existing knowledge. Students also explore what their mouths look like to make each of the sounds (phonemes). If students are able to form the sound correctly with their lips teeth and tongue, they are better able to decode words when reading and make plausible spelling choices when writing. If you would like a further explanation, I would encourage to you to watch this video on synthetic phonics and how the sounds are formed. Phonics: How to pronounce pure sounds | Oxford Owl 

The Prep students at SMPPS are also exploring Cued Articulations, to support their understanding of what position our mouth and tongue need to be to form the sounds correctly.  There is a set of hand cues for teaching the individual sounds in a word. The hand movements are logical – each hand movement represents one sound and the cue gives clues as to how and where  the sound is produced.  

If you would like a further explanation, I would encourage to you to watch this video of Jane Passy, who developed cued articulation.  Jane Passy Cued Articulation 

Tips for parents to support phonics and reading practice:

Learn the basics of phonics for yourself 

Make sure that what you are practising with your child is consistent with what they are being taught at school by learning the principles of Synthetic Phonics for yourself. A good place to start is learning to say each letter sound (e.g. /s/ as in ‘sit’) correctly for reading instead of using the letter name (e.g. ‘ess’) to identify a letter. 

Look for opportunities to model phonics 

When you’re out and about, look for opportunities to demonstrate sound/letter correspondences such as on signs or on menus at restaurants. Demonstrate the sound and letter yourself and then ask your child to do the same. Make Phonics play fun, games with your child could include;   

I spy- "I spy with my eye, something that begins with c (sound)".  

Let's jump- Use chalk to write the letters on the path. Ask your child to jump on the letter, the sound, or the letter at the beginning of the word.  

Spotlight- write the letters on sticky notes, place them on the walls and roof. Turn off the lights and using a torch, find the letters. When children find the letter, ask them the name, the sound and a word that starts with that sound.  

Ask questions 

Once your child has successfully decoded a sentence, ask them questions about what they have just read. This will help them to build comprehensions skills, which is another essential component of effective reading. You could ask questions like, ‘What do you think that means?’ or ‘What do you think will happen next?’. 

Offer encouragement and praise 

Build your child’s confidence by acknowledging when they have read successfully. Depending on your child’s reading skill, success could be making the correct sound for a letter or reading a complete sentence without assistance. If your child makes a mistake, acknowledge what they have done well and offer corrective feedback for them to try again. If your child is still beginning to learn some more complex letter/sound relationships, it can be helpful for you to segment and your child to blend the sounds to say the word. For example, parent says /sh/o/p/ and the child says ‘shop’. 

Johanne Abbott

Literacy Leader