Phonics: Quickstart Guide
grapheme
consonant
cluster
phoneme
digraph
tricky word
trigraph
Essential phonics knowledge
•
•
•
•
•
Adults need to:
know what graphemes are
know what phonemes are
How graphemes match with phonemes
Know that graphemes should be sounded, in order,
from left to right and the phonemes then blended all
through the word for reading
Phase 2
•Letter progression:
•Set 1: s, a, t, p
•Set 2: i, n, m, d
•Set 3: g, o, c, k
Phase 2
• Set 4: ck, e, u, r
• Set 5: h, b, f, ff, l, ll,
ss
What is a phoneme?
• Smallest unit of sound in a word
• Approximately 44 phonemes in English
What is a grapheme?
Letters which represent phonemes are
known as graphemes
3 big things about phonics
A phoneme can be
represented by one or more
letters:
p sh ee ear
3 big things about phonics
The same phoneme can be
represented / spelled in
more than one way:
ai
ay
a-e
3 big things about phonics
The same spelling can
represent more than one
sound:
ear
bear
What is a digraph?
Digraph: Two letters, which make one
sound.
ck ff sh ch
ea ie ir oy
What is a split digraph?
• A digraph in which the two letters are not
adjacent –
e.g. cake, hope, cube
cake
Enunciation
• Teaching phonics requires a technical
skill in enunciation
• Phonemes should be articulated clearly
and precisely
Go to YouTube
Search for Articulation of
Phonemes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqhXUW_v-1s
Go to YouTube
Search for Mr Thorne
Enunciation
a
ai
oo
oi
Vowel Phonemes
e
i
o
ee
igh
oa
ar
or
ur
air
ear
er
u
oo
ow
Enunciation
b
h
p
v
sh
Consonant Phonemes
c
d
f
j
l
m
qu
r
s
w
x
y
ch
th
th
g
n
t
z
ng
How many phonemes?
Phoneme Count
witch
cat
up
edge
wing
wanted
Answers to Phoneme Count
witch
cat
up
edge
wing
wanted
Sound Buttons
c a tch
c r u tch
Phoneme Frame
p
s
i
t
tch
i
tch
Consonant Clusters
black
felt
strong
blank
Where there are two or more consonants
next to each other these are called clusters
(ng is not a cluster but one phoneme)
dw
ng
br
sh
ck
tch
cl
st
gl
scr
Digraph/Trigraph
Clusters
dw
br
ng
sh
st
cl
ck tch
gl
scr
Phase 3 - High Frequency Words
Decodable Words
will
see
that
for
this
now
then
down
them
look
with
too
Tricky Words
he
you
she
they
we
all
me
are
be
my
was
her
Blending
‘Blending’ means merging the
individual phonemes in order to
pronounce a word.
In order to read an unfamiliar word, a
child must recognise [ 'sound out’] each
grapheme, not letter, and then merge
the phonemes together to make a word.
Using your blending skills
As you read this word concentrate on the
skills of breaking the word into chunks,
identifying the graphemes and then
merging the individual sounds together
bleepippitousness
Coaching for blending
• Model the correct process
• Break the word down into smaller
chunks
e.g. blend two sounds and then add a
third or blend three and add a fourth
• Reinforce grapheme correspondences
so that children recognise them when
they see them in words e.g. ai in train
Segmenting
Segmenting means identifying the
individual sounds in a spoken word [e.g.
c-r-a-sh] and writing down or
manipulating letters for each sound to
form the word.
In order to spell the word, a child must
segment it into its component
phonemes and choose a grapheme to
represent each phoneme.
Using your segmenting skills
When you write the following word,
concentrate on identifying the individual
phonemes in the word and then allotting a
grapheme to each phoneme to write the
whole word.
Coaching for segmenting
• Model the correct process
• Give auditory prompts
• Say the word slowly focusing on writing one
grapheme at a time
• Child must check own word and modify it
• Reinforce grapheme correspondences so
that children can reproduce them quickly
when they are writing
Tricky
word
tricky word – digraph – trigraph
– consonant cluster
digraph
Essential phonics knowledge
•
•
•
•
•
Do you?:
know what graphemes are
know what phonemes are
How graphemes match with phonemes
Know that graphemes should be sounded, in order,
from left to right and the phonemes then blended all
through the word for reading
Idea
Phase 2
RR
Swapshop
PT
A
Phase 2
RR
PT
A
Phase4
RR
PT
A
Phase 5
RR
PT
A
Phase 6
RR
PT
A
Flash cards
igh
dge
oo
tch
ar
Sound Buttons
c a tch
c r u tch
Phoneme Frame
p
s
i
t
tch
i
tch
Quickwrite
And then…
Phonics Family
Fortunes
igh
Phase 3/4
night
sight
light
Connect 4
Connect 3 – Phase 4
green
trap
spoon
trip
CCVC
CCVCC
stamp
grip
tree
crunch
spin
star
crisp
grab
trip
spoil
trust
stop
http://www.classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine
Connect 3 – Spelling
accommodate
accompany
according
apparent
appreciate
attached
aggressive
committee
communicate
community
embarrass
exaggerate
Word list Y5/6
Menu
– Flash cards
– Phoneme frame
– Quickwrite
– Sound buttons
– Envelope
– Family Fortunes
– Connect 4
More ICT resources . . .
Pocket Phonics
Phoneme pop
http://www.ictgames.com/phonemeFlop_v4.html
Forest phonics
Quick phonics based spelling test
• The assessment is carried out as a
traditional spelling test
• When the test is complete highlight the
errors on each sheet
• Group the test papers together so that
children with similar needs can be
identified
Individual test
sheet with
errors
highlighted
Children’s names go here
Class record
sheet:
Green = correct
Pink = incorrect
Read the grid
vertically to
show individual
errors.
Read
horizontally to
identify
common errors
to aid planning
• The test identifies children’s errors in
spelling
• If children show a lot of errors, it might
be worth identifying whether they are
able to read the words
When phonics becomes spelling
Phase 6
• Children are taught:
– Word specific spellings eg. see/sea, bed/head/said
– To become increasingly fluent in the sounding and blending
of words when reading
– To read and spell words with prefixes and suffixes, doubling
and dropping letters when necessary
– To become increasingly accurate when spelling words
containing unusual GPCs e.g. laugh, once, answer
The 4-part lesson – 20 minutes
Revise - briefly practice what was taught yesterday
Teach - new GPC or blending or segmenting skills
Practise – what you just taught !
Apply - link the skill taught to reading or writing
Make sure all children are engaged
Suggested sequence for teaching
spelling
Revise, explain, use
Teach, model, define
Practise, explore, investigate
Apply, assess, reflect
Flash Spelling
• A daily activity to support focused
spelling
– Write up a word on the board
– Discuss
• Meaning
• Easy bits
• Tricky bits
– Suggest ‘fixing’ strategies
Flash Spelling
–
–
–
–
–
accommodate
Look at the word for 10 seconds and say it
Close your eyes and picture the word
Write the word with your finger on the table
Write on a whiteboard
SHOW ME!
embarrassed
• Remember to discuss strategies that will help
children to remember spellings
cemetery
Clear the board
• A game for two players
– High frequency words
– Personal spellings
• You will need:
– Game board
– A dice
– A list of six spellings per player
Clear the board
Player 1……………….
1
2
Player 2……………….
3
4
5
6
Clear the board
1. Write six spellings for each player on the game
board
2. The first player throws the dice, reads the number
and looks at the word opposite the number
3. Using LCWSC the player tries to spell the word
which the other player covers – if correct the word is
crossed out – if not, it stays on the board
4. Player 2 takes their turn
5. If a blank space is hit because the word has already
been removed, the player misses a turn
The first to remove all of their words wins
Player 1……………….
accommodate
gauging
symmetry
cobbler
harassed
ankle
1
2
3
4
5
6
ecstasy.
cemetery
pedlar
Player 2……………….
embarrassed
unparalleled lady's
Player 1……………….
badge
bridge
huge
change
gem
jacket
1
2
3
4
5
6
edge
dodge
age
charge
giant
adjust
Player 2……………….
Now you see me…
1. Two children sit opposite each other with a pile of
spelling cards between them – each has a
whiteboard or pen and paper.
2. Player 1 picks up a card and reads the word aloud
without showing it to the other player and then
places it face down on the table.
3. Both players write the word.
4. They turn over the card and check their spellings.
5. If player 1 (who saw the word is correct s/he scores
1 point. If player 2 (who didn’t see it) is correct they
score 2 points.
6. The game continues …
Now you see me …
Score Board
Player 1
Word
Player 2
Points
Word
Points
Look, say, cover, write, check
Look
bridge
b
Say
Cover
Write
bridge
Check
bridge
bridge
r
i
d
g
b
r
i
dge
e