Phonics
The teaching of reading at Sevenoaks Primary School in Reception and Year 1.
To develop further our phonics teaching, we have adopted Little Wandle and Sounds Revised as our phonics and early reading programme. This is a systematic synthetic phonics programme which enables teachers to support children in developing their phonic knowledge – and in securing the word recognition skills – to support them as fluent readers. Children in Reception and Key Stage 1 are taught daily phonics lessons. Children who require additional support in Key Stages 1 and 2 receive ‘keep up interventions’ that are delivered by highly trained staff.
How do we teach reading in books?
Reading practice sessions are:
- Timetabled three times per week.
- Taught by a trained teacher or trained teaching assistant.
- Taught in small groups.
The children read the same book three times a week. The first time, we work on decoding (sounding out) the words, the second time we focus on prosody (which is reading with expression – making the book sound more interesting with our storyteller voice) and the third time, we look at comprehension. We read the books three times at school because we want to develop the children’s fluency. The more children see words, the more they begin to read them automatically without having to sound them out.
Reading books
We use assessment to match your child to a book of the appropriate level. Reading a book at the correct level means your child should be able to do the following:
- Know all of the sounds and tricky words in their phonics book well.
- Read many of the words by silently blending (in their head) to make their reading automatic.
- Only need to stop and sound out about 5% of the words by the time they have the ebook to share at home.
There are two types of reading books that your child will bring home throughout the year:
- A reading practise book matched to your child’s phonic stage that they can read independently.
- A sharing book of their choice from the class library, that they can talk about and enjoy with their adults at home.
The reading practice book
Your child should be able to read this fluently and independently. This book has been carefully matched to your child’s current phonic stage based on recent assessments. If your child is reading it with little help, please do not worry that it is ‘too easy’, your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading. Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise and celebrate their success! If they cannot read a word, read it to them. After they have finished reading, talk about the book together.
Class teachers will let you know when the new ebooks and shared books will be available.
The sharing book
If children are to become lifelong readers, it is essential that they are encouraged to read for pleasure. To help foster a love of reading, children will choose a book to share and enjoy with you at home. Please note, your child is not expected to read this book independently. The book is for you to read with your child, but it is important not to turn the discussion into a test. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters and explore facts in non-fiction books. The goal is enjoyment!
We look forward to sharing your child’s progress with you.
For further information, either contact the school or please follow the link below that takes you to the Little Wandle website:
https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
