Not all words are phonetically decode-able however, a select few words you need to learn through the 'sight words' method of learning to read. Sight words are when you learn to read by memorising 1,000's of words individually.
Your child will be taught two crucial things when they are learning to read using synthetic phonics:
How sounds can be blended together to make words. For example, they will be taught that the sounds of the letters ‘c-a-t’ blend together to make the word ‘cat’
Research shows that when phonics is taught in a structured way – starting with the easiest sounds and progressing through to the most complex – it is the most effective way of teaching young children to read. It is particularly helpful for children aged 5 to 7. Almost all children who receive good teaching of phonics will learn the skills they need to tackle new words. They can then go on to read any kind of text fluently and confidently, and to read for enjoyment. Children who have been taught phonics also tend to read more accurately than those taught using other methods, such as ‘look and say’.
So.... How do we teach Phonics at Southfields?
At Southfields Primary we believe that the teaching of high quality systematic phonic work is the prime approach to decoding print. We also teach alternative phonics which is for pupils who benefit from a different approach when learning to read. This involves strategies such as flashcards.
We enable children to start learning phonic knowledge and skills systematically from when they arrive in Reception with the expectation that they will be fluent readers having secured word recognition skills by the end of Key Stage One.
We teach discrete daily sessions progressing from simple to more complex phonic knowledge and skills covering the grapheme- phoneme correspondences. The lessons follow the structure of ‘Review, teach, practise, apply’ to ensure that children are consolidating phonic knowledge and skills over time and they are able to apply them in context. Consequently, wherever possible, links between phonic knowledge and understanding are made to learning in both reading and writing. These lessons proceed at a pace and include daily teaching of high frequency words, they are practical and we use a range of interactive resources. Activities are carefully chosen to ensure that children develop skills in aural discrimination, phonemic and rhyme awareness, blending and segmenting as well as grapheme correspondence.
We use a multi-sensory approach so that children learn variously from simultaneous visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities which are designed to secure essential phonic knowledge and skills.We demonstrate that phonemes should be blended in order from left to right. We teach children to apply their phonic knowledge and skills as their first approach to reading and spelling even if a word is not completely phonically regular.
We follow the order and structure of 'Letters and sounds' which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/190599/Letters_and_Sounds_-_DFES-00281-2007.pdf
We use Jolly Phonics to support our teaching of phonics as it offers a multi-sensory approach with songs, actions and images to support children to learn each sound.
An example of how we use Jolly phonics resources to teach our phonics lessons
In phonics, it's important to pronounce "pure sounds": for example, the sound /m/ is pronounced 'mmmm' and not 'muh' or 'em'. This makes it much easier for children to blend sounds together to read.
This video can help you pronounce the sounds:
How can I help at home:
There are so many easy things you can do to help support your child’s phonics learning. Here are a few ideas from Oxford Owl:
5. Rhyming games and activities
Play simple phonics word games. Great games can be found at www.phonicsplay.com
Phonics overview.docx (1)
New to reception phonics