Phonics
This week, we begin phase 4 of our phonics programme.
During this phase, your child will continue to practise previously learned graphemes and phonemes and learn how to read and write words with four phonemes. These are called CVCC words (consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant) and include words such as, tent, damp, toast and chimp. Although ‘toast’ has five letters, oa work together to make the long vowel sound o, pronounced ‘oh’; similarly, c and h in ‘chimp’ work together to make the phoneme ch. For example, in the word ‘toast’, t = consonant, oa = vowel, s = consonant, t = consonant.
Your child will also learn to read and write CCVC words such as swim, plum, sport, cream and spoon. For example, in the word ‘cream’, c = consonant, r = consonant, ea = vowel, m = consonant.
In addition, they will be learning more tricky words and continuing to read and write sentences. There are no new phonemes taught in this phase.
Tricky words in phase 4:
- said
- so
- do
- have
- like
- some
- come
- were
- there
- little
- one
- when
- out
- what
Ways you can support your child at home
Practise reading and spelling some CVCC and CCVC words but continue to play around with CVC words. Children like reading and spelling words that they have previously worked with as this makes them feel successful. Make up captions and phrases for your child to read and write, for example, a silver star, clear the pond, crunch crisps. Write some simple sentences and leave them around the house for your child to find and read.
Please look at the homework pages on our website for more sentences to read and write with your child.
Tricky words
‘Tricky words’ are those words which children cannot use their phonic knowledge to blend.
Once you’ve introduced tricky words and practised them, reinforce the words regularly when sharing picture books and reading together.
When helping your child to learn to spell the tricky words you may decide to use the ‘Look, Cover, Write and Check’ method. This involves first looking at the word and identifying which part is tricky, covering the word, writing it and then checking the spelling. Remember: if phonics can’t work, it’s not possible to sound out all the sounds, so you might want to start using the letter names.
Aim to make learning tricky words a fun and enjoyable activity, perhaps by writing the tricky words in sand, paint, shaving foam or glitter. Once your child has practised a few times in a less structured way, give them the opportunity to practise writing the tricky word on coloured paper with pencil colours or felt tips. The only way these words can be read and spelt correctly is by learning them and having plenty of practice.
The tricky words children learn in Reception are:
- the
- to
- I
- no
- go
- into
- he
- she
- we
- me
- be
- was
- you
- they
- all
- are
- my
- her
- said
- have
- like
- so
- do
- some
- come
- were
- there
- little
- one
- when
- out
- what
Thank you for coming to our class assembly…
…It was great to see a record number of parents at the assembly!
Here are a few of your comments:
- “Lovely poems. Very impressed with the children’s contribution.”
- “Fabulous timing – just lovely.”
- “Fantastic performance from the Reception class. Looking forward to the next one.”
- “Very enjoyable – great to see all the children contributing.”
- “Well done! Loved the interactions and the singing.”
Frozen!
School council elections
Our current school councillors held their final meeting recently as we prepare to elect our new school council.
Children from every class, including Reception, are encouraged to prepare a speech to present to their class as part of the election process. Our whole school homework before the election date will give children the chance to plan their speech.
Thank you to our existing school council who have been involved with many decisions and discussions throughout the year. Most recently they have selected books for our library and pupil prizes as rewards in class.
Homework in Reception
Now that we’re well into the Spring term, we’ll be sending homework every Friday. In addition to the new phonemes and tricky words the children are given to learn, your child will receive either practice handwriting sheets or sentences for your child to write independently.
Please check on the homework section of this website for practice sentences from next week.
Reception Class assembly
Don’t forget! Our first class assembly is on Thursday at 2.40pm.
See you there!
Phonics
Thank you to everyone who attended the phonics sessions last week. We hope you found them useful.
Following on from the feedback you gave, here are some captions and sentences your child can write at home. More will be added as we introduce new phonemes.
Phase 2 captions with tricky words: to, the, no, go
- socks on a mat
- an egg in an egg cup
- a hug and a kiss
- on top of the rock
- to the top of the hill
- get off the bus
- no lid on the pan
- pack a pen in a bag
- a doll in a cot
- sit back to back
Phase 3 sentences
- We can get the bus to the fish and chip shop.
- Gurdeep had a chat with his dad.
- Max and Vikram sail a wooden boat.
- Yasmin sits on a rock and looks for fish.
Phonics open mornings
We have three fun phonics sessions for parents this week. Don’t worry if you haven’t requested a session, just turn up on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday at 9am.
See you there!
Phonics mornings
Next week, we’ll be holding phonics sessions for parents on Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 of January at 9 am.
During these sessions you will have the opportunity to see how we teach tricky words and long vowel phonemes. We will explain words such as ‘digraph‘ and ‘polysyllabic‘ and give you ideas for supporting your child at home in their independent writing.
Please let us know which day you wish to attend.
We look forward to seeing you next week.