Author: Mrs Wood

This week, we’ll begin Phase 2 of Letters and Sounds. In this phase, children will continue practising what they have learned from phase 1, including ‘sound-talk’. They will also be taught:

• the phonemes (sounds) for a number of letters (graphemes),
• which phoneme is represented by which grapheme, and
• that a single phoneme can be represented by more than one letter, for example, /ll/ as in b-e-ll.

They will be using pictures and hand movements to help them remember these.

VC and CVC words

C and V are abbreviations for ‘consonant’ and ‘vowel’. VC words are words consisting of a vowel then a consonant (e.g. am, at, it) and CVC words are words consisting of a consonant then a vowel then a consonant (e.g. cat, rug, sun). Words such as tick and bell also count as CVC words – although they have four letters, they have only three sounds. For example, in the word bell, b = consonant, e = vowel, ll = consonant.

Now the children will be seeing letters and words, as well as hearing them. They will be shown how to make words using magnetic letters, how to read (blend) little words and how to segment words into individual sounds.

These will be simple words made up of two phonemes, for example, am, at, it, or three phonemes, for example, cat, run.

Tricky words

They will also learn several tricky words: the, to, I, go, no.  Children will still be practising oral blending and segmenting skills daily. They need plenty of practice at doing this.

Saying the sounds

Your child will be taught how to pronounce the sounds (phonemes) correctly to make blending easier.  Sounds should be sustained where possible (e.g. sss, fff, mmm) and, where this is not possible, ‘uh’ sounds after consonants should be reduced as far as possible. Try to avoid saying ‘buh’, ‘cuh’ etc.

Ways you can support your children at home

• Magnetic letters  Buy magnetic letters for your fridge. Find out which letters have been taught – have fun finding these with your child and place them on the magnetic surface.
• Making little words together  Make little words together, for example, it, up, am, and, top, dig, run, met, pick. As you select the letters, say them aloud: ‘a-m – am’, ‘m-e-t – met’.
• Make or buy an alphabet poster
• Buy whiteboards and pen  These are a good way for children to try out spellings and practise their handwriting.
• Remember to have fun!

 

There are seven areas of learning in the Foundation Stage. One of these is ‘Expressive arts and design’. Have a look at all the learning and development that took place in this area last week.

                       

This week we are blending and segmenting orally. We do this by ‘sound talking’.

The separate sounds (phonemes) are spoken aloud, in order, all through the word, and are then merged together into the whole word. This merging together is called blending and is a vital skill for reading.

 

Children will also learn to do this the other way around – cat = c-a-t. The whole word is spoken aloud and then broken up into its sounds (phonemes) in order, all through the word. This is called segmenting and is a vital skill for spelling.

 

This is all oral (spoken). Your child will not be expected to match the letter to the sound at this stage. The emphasis is on helping children to hear the separate sounds in words and to create spoken sounds.

How you can help at home

We have begun our daily phonics sessions in Reception.  These are fun sessions involving lots of speaking, listening and games where the emphasis is on children’s active participation. They learn to use their phonic knowledge for reading and writing activities and in their independent play.

At Moortown we use a systematic phonics programme called Letters and Sounds alongside the actions of Jolly Phonics.

Letters and Sounds is divided into six phases, with each phase building on the skills and knowledge of previous learning. There are no big leaps in learning. Children have time to practise and rapidly expand their ability to read and spell words. They are also taught to read and spell ‘tricky words’ which are words with spellings that are unusual or that children have not yet been taught. These include the words to, was, said and the.

At the moment we are focusing on phase one which will have begun in nursery. This phase paves the way for the systematic learning of phonics. We plan activities that will help children to listen attentively to sounds around them, such as the sounds of their toys and to sounds in spoken language. We teach a wide range of nursery rhymes and songs and read good books to and with the children. This helps to increase the number of words they know – their vocabulary – and helps them talk confidently about books. The children learn to identify rhyme and alliteration.

Ways you can support your children at home

Your child will be bringing a reading book home this week. These first books don’t contain any words. Look at the book with your child, telling the story or saying the rhyme. Please make a comment in the yellow reading record so we know your child has read at home. Keep the book in your child’s bookbag and return it everyday for reading in school.

As parents or carers you are your child’s most influential teacher with an incredibly important role to play in helping your child to read.

As you know, the ability to read and write well is a vital skill for all children, paving the way for an enjoyable and successful school experience.

Children learn and practise many of the skills that they need for reading and writing from a very early age. They do this through a wide range of activities and experiences, at home, in settings and in school. They explore and learn through singing and saying rhymes, making and listening to music, talking with others, sharing books with adults and other children, dressing up, experimenting with writing and using puppets and toys to retell and make up stories.

In order to make a good start in reading and writing, children need to have an adult listen to them and talk to them. Speaking and listening are the foundations for reading and writing. Even everyday activities such as preparing meals, tidying up, putting shopping away and getting ready to go out offer you the chance to talk to your child by explaining what you are doing. Through these activities, children hear the way language is put together into sentences for a purpose.

Books are a rich source of new words for your child; words you would not use in everyday conversations appear in books. Children need to have a wide vocabulary to understand the meaning of books, so read aloud and share books as often as you can. They will enjoy it and it will be useful to them when they come across these words in their own reading later on.

Remember to ask if you have any questions about reading or would like ideas of things to do at home.

For information on the ways reading is taught at school and ideas for reading at home visit www.oxfordowl.co.uk

Reception walked ten laps of the school to raise money for WaterAid. Please send your collected sponsor money as soon as possible. Thanks for your support.

                             

On Thursday the Yorkshire Evening Post will be taking a photo of the class to include in a pull-out supplement of all the Reception children in Leeds.