Discrete Four 20 Minute Sessions Each Week, with the Fifth Day Dedicated to Assessment

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‘Letters and Sounds’ is a six-phase teaching programme designed to help teach children how to link letters and sounds for reading and writing. It was published in April 2007. It begins with Nursery age children and ends when children are confident with the required skills, usually around the end of Year 2.

Discrete four 20 minute sessions each week, with the fifth day dedicated to assessment and consolidation.

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Phase 1 is delivered in Nursery and early Reception. It supports children’s need to be able to hear the differences between general sound (auditory discrimination – phonemic awareness). The elements of phase 1 are delivered as a continual consolidation throughout all phases. Activities include speaking and listening, distinguishing between sounds, identifying rhyme and rhythm in words, story telling, singing songs, listening to rhymes, role play, drama, dance and vocabulary development.

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Also, ‘tricky’ words – words that cannot be sounded out (not phonetically decodable) i.e. the, I, no, go, into

‘alien’ words – words that can be sounded out but they have no real meaning i.e. zop, liss, meck.

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Each phonics lesson follows a 4 part sequence – revisit/review, teach, practise, apply. Previously learnt sounds are revisited. A new sound may be taught i.e. ‘ck’. There will be opportunities to practise reading this sound in words i.e. duck, rucksack, hack etc. Finally the sound is then applied at sentence level through reading or writing i.e. Can the duck quack?

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Pronunciation is really important. We must ensure we pronounce the sounds correctly when we are modelling to children. ‘Mr Thorne does phonics’ can be helpful. He has his own YouTube Channel that you do have to subscribe to, but his fun approach can be engaging for the children.

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Please ensure you read with your child everyday. It is regular practice that support them to make progress. Children are learning to read the words but also have an understanding of the text (comprehension). Have discussion and question the children about what they are reading. Please take opportunities to discuss the features of the text i.e. speech bubbles, contents page, captions/labels, speech marks, full stops, capital letters etc.

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Particularly if your child is struggling to put together the sounds in reading simple words – to practise use fun games.

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Encourage discussion about letters and sounds in the everyday environment. Take the opportunity for your child to apply their knowledge for different purposes.

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Encourage mark making and letter formation in a range of contexts to engage children.

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Support your child to use a tripod grip when holding a pencil or pen. Take opportunities to encourage your child to write for different purposes i.e. letters, notes, cards, lists. Reinforce the concepts of correct letter formation, capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. Always be encouraging and praise efforts.

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