Phonics at Lowfield Primary School
At Lowfield Primary we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their reading and writing.
Understanding Phonics
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so that they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. At Lowfield Primary we continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7, as we use a stage not age approach to the teaching of early reading.
RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at https://www.ruthmiskin.com/parents/
Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:
Purpose – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about
Participation – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning
Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability
Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning
Passion – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally.
How will my child be taught?
We start by teaching phonics to the children in the Reception class. This means that they learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell words. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters.
Reading
The children:
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Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts – click here to see these. These are called set 1 sounds.
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Learn to read words using Fred talk and sound blending
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Read from a range of books matched to their phonic knowledge
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Work with partners
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Develop comprehension skills in stories by answering 'Fastest finger' and 'Have a think' discussion questions
Writing
The children:
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Learn to write and form the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds with the help of fun phrases - click here to see these.
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Learn to write words by using Fred Talk
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Learn to build sentences by practising sentences out loud before they write
Talking
The children work in pairs so that they:
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Answer every question
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Practise every activity with their partner
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Take turns in talking and reading to each other
As the children progress they also learn set 2 sounds, followed by set 3 sounds - click here to see these sounds.
It is very important that the sounds are said in pure way. The video below supports with how to say the sounds. We use pure sounds (‘m’ not’ muh’,’s’ not ‘suh’, etc.) so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily.
At school we use a puppet called Fred who is an expert on sounding out words! We call it ‘Fred Talk’. The following video is an example of blending sounds with Fred.
Mrs Rosewarne is our RWI lead teacher. If you would like anymore information please ask at the school office.