Phonics handout
Definitions
Phoneme (sounds) – smallest unit of sound (about 44)
Grapheme (letters) – letter or sequence of letters that represent a sound
1 letter eg a
2 letters eg ee
3 letters eg. igh
4 letters eg eigh
cat
bee
light
weight
Programme followed
Phase 1
(usually covered preschool)
Phase 2
(reception)
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
To hear and identify speech sounds
To articulate speech sounds
Individual sounds – one sound one letter
s a t p i n m d g o c k (ck) e u r h b f (ff) s (ss) l (ll)
j v w x y z (zz) qu
Sounds represented by more than one letter
One example of each of 44 speech sounds (phonemes)
ch sh th
ai (train) ee (bee) igh (light) oa (coat) oo (spoon, look)
ar (car) ur (burn) er ( dinner) ir (first) ow (cow) oi (coin) ear (dear) air
(fair) ure (sure)
Blending – putting sounds together for reading
Segment – separating sounds to spell
Applying knowledge in polysyllabic words – eg chimpanzee
Consolidating knowledge of all sounds covered so far.
Other representations of the 44 sounds
a_e (cake) ay (day) ei (eight) ey (they)
e_e (even) ea (tea) y (mummy)
i_e (like) ie (pie)
ow (throw) oe (toe)
u_e (cube) ew (blew) ue (blue) ou (you)
oy (boy)
ou (shout)
wh (when)
ph (photo)
g (giant)
c (nice) (circus)
u (put)
ea (bread)
ch (chef)
Reading
Reading for Understanding
Decoding skills - Sounding out using phonics,
Understanding the meaning of individual words,
It is important to also work on fluency, expression, intonation, and punctuation.
Reading for meaning
Understanding the text generally as a whole – what happens and why.
It is important to ask questions and look for specific answers in the book (retrieval)
Discuss characterisation, their actions & attitudes, emotions (inference)
Predict what might happen & why
Discuss word choices and why an author may have chosen that word. Are there other words which
have similar meanings?
Reading for Pleasure
Different types of reading – non-fiction books, poetry, comics, signs & IT
Children often like to re-read a familiar book
Please read to your child so they can hear & enjoy stories and other types of reading at a level they
can understand but is beyond what they can independently read yet.
Class & Home Routines
We read with your child every week in school in different contexts.
We change their reading books regularly so they can have books that match their level of skill &
consolidate their knowledge.
Please read with your child at home daily (little & often – is much better than a long session more
irregularly).
We keep records on your child’s reading progress in school. We discuss their progress with you at
parents’ evenings and we are always willing to meet with you to discuss individual progress at
other mutually convenient times.