Learning to read and spell at the Blackbird Academy Trust
At BAT we teach reading in three discrete sessions each day.
This guide should be used alongside the following:
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Teaching powerpoint
‘Sounds and Words for the teaching of phonics at BAT’ document (Years F1-Yr 3)
The Spelling Batpack (Years 2-6)
In years F1,1 & 2:
Session 1 - 30 minutes reading and writing
Children move to group, according to phonics phase based on Letters and Sounds.
By the end of Year 2 the expectation is that children will have moved onto Year 2 ‘Spelling BatPack’.
How to teach this session:
*Use a powerpoint to teach a scheme of phonics as follows:
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1 min X old sounds
1 min x oral segmenting old words
1 min x oral blending old words
1 minute blending (reading old words.)
Introduce new sound
Read new sound within words
1 x min Interleaved reading of old and new words.
1 x min read old ‘tricky’ words
Introduce new ‘tricky’ word
1 x min read old and new interleaved tricky words
*Then write:
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Apply new sound in words.
Rehearse old sounds in words. (could include alternative graphemes oi/oy)
Interleave old and new words.
Apply spelling of new tricky word
Rehearse old tricky words
Interleave old and new tricky words
at least once a week this should be in the form of a dictation
Session 2: 25 minutes
Children remain in their own classrooms.
*Rehearse reading tricky words from across phases (from powerpoint) (1x min)
*Teach vocabulary:
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Teach new vocab and definitions (3x minutes)
Rehearse old vocabulary ( x1 minutes
Interleave old and new ( x1)
*Group or guided reading
Session 3: 20 minutes - Children remain in their own classrooms.
*Rehearse reading tricky words from across phases (1x min)
*Interleaved vocabulary practice (3x min)
*Shared reading (using a visualiser or multiple copies of a book):
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Teachers read to children (approx 3 mins)
Modelling fluency and expression.
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Teacher chooses whole class/groups/individual children to read out loud (approx
7 mins)
Teacher reads unknown words to keep the pace of the text.
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Teacher explicitly links phonics and word reading skills to text (approx 2 mins)
e.g. Point to words in the text they have just read that contain sounds the children
are learning – sound out and blend the word together, point to tricky words in the
text and read together, point to words which were difficult to sound out and
practise together.
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Book talk (approx 4 mins)
e.g. Comments and opinions about different aspects of the book, which may
include likes/dislikes, enjoyment, plot, use of language, organisation and structure,
purpose and audience, effect on the reader. Teacher models first, then asks
children.
In Nursery
Phase 1and 2 of letters and sounds programme will lay the foundations for F1.
In Year 3
*Children who have completed Year 2 Spelling Batpack begin using Year Three Spelling
Batpack
* Children who are still working through phonics phases of letters and sounds continue with
programme above. They then move onto using Year 2 and Year 3 Spelling Batpack
In Years 4,5 and 6:
Session 1: Teaching spelling using Spelling Batpack
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Practise ‘old words (approx. 3 minutes)
previously taught, revision of previous year’s objectives
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Teach new spelling objective
This may include:
-spelling investigations (finding/sorting/classifying words etc)
-showing examples
-learning spellings using look, cover, write check strategy
-practising spellings in dictation (at least once a week)
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Teach commonly mis-spelt word/s using look, cover, write and check
Practising old and new spellings together (approx. 3 mins)
Session 2: 25 minutes
Children remain in their own classrooms.
*Rehearse reading tricky words from across phases (from powerpoint) (1x min)
*Teach vocabulary:
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Teach new vocab and definitions (3x minutes)
Rehearse old vocabulary ( x1 minutes
Interleave old and new ( x1)
*Group or guided reading
Session 3: 20 minutes
Children remain in their own classrooms.
*Interleaved vocabulary practice (3x min)
*Shared reading (using a visualiser or multiple copies of a book):

Teachers read to children (approx 3 mins)

Teacher chooses whole class/groups/individual children to read out loud (approx
7 mins)
Teacher reads unknown words to keep the pace of the text .

Teacher explicitly links phonics and word reading skills to text (approx 2 mins)

Book talk (approx 4 mins)
e.g. Comments and opinions about different aspects of the book, which may
include likes/dislikes, enjoyment, plot, use of language, organisation and structure,
purpose and audience, effect on the reader. Teacher models first, then asks
children.
Modelling fluency and expression.
e.g. Identify words in the text they have just read that contain sounds/spelling patterns that
the children are learning – sound out and blend the word together. Identify words which
were difficult to read and practise together.
*Differentiation:
Years F1 group children according to letters & sounds phase within year groups.
Year 1 and 2 group children according to letters & sounds phase across year groups (4
groups)
Year 3 group children within year group according to completion of letters & sounds
Years 4, 5 and 6 teach reading in their own classroom
*Assessment:
All children will receive spellings to go home on a Friday.
These will be tested on a Monday. The purpose is to rehearse spelling words that the
children have been taught at school and home learning should not be used to teach
new spellings. The spelling test should inform phonics/class teacher of needs of group in
relation to last week’s teaching.
In F1-Yr3 these spellings are given by the child’s phonics group teacher.
In Years, 4,5 and 6 these are given by the child’s class teacher.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Nursery:
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Q - How often should we be planning for letters and sounds learning activities?
A - There should be provision for children to develop their phonics skills both in adult led and
child initiated learning every day.
F1-Yr2
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Q - How will I know which phase of letters and sounds the children are working at?
A- In September we will spend our first week creating a baseline for our classes. The
differentiated groups will then commence on Monday 15/09/2014. F1 will remain in their own
classrooms until December 2014.
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Q- Do I need to introduce a new sound every day?
A-You will need to judge this based on the pace of learning that is appropriate for the
children in your group.
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Q- I teach in F1 and know that the children may find it tricky to sit for 30 minutes
for session 1 each day. What shall I do?
A-You can use your own judgement and teach in a way that is appropriate for your own
class. For example you may wish to reduce the amount of time spent on each slide initially
and build up to 1 minute as term 1 progresses. Alternatively you may wish to teach the
reading and writing aspects of session 1 at separate times in the day.
Generic questions
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Q-What should I do if my interactive whiteboard/ laptop isn’t working?
A-Adapt the lesson using a whiteboard/flipchart.
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Q-What do I do when the grid on the powerpoint is full of sounds or words?
A-Edit the grid so that old sounds/ words that have been rehearsed well are omitted. You
may wish to revisit these at a later date.
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Q-Does it matter if I miss a session?
A- Yes! The effectiveness of this model relies not only on the precision of the teaching but in
the frequency.
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Q- If I am am absent from school of on PPA what shall I do?
A – Plan for your cover supervisor to teach the session that you will miss. Make sure you leave
a laptop for them to use.