At Cubitt Town, we use the Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme to get children off to a flying start with their reading. Read Write Inc. Phonics is a method of teaching reading and writing, which is centred around learning the sounds of the letters (phonics) and then blending them together to read words.
The children learn to break down words into individual sounds in order to read and write them. We call this 'Fred talk'. So the children will sound out c / a / t and then blend these sounds to read and write the word 'cat'. The video below shows you how to pronounce the sounds - in phonics we say the sound, we don't use the letter name - for example, 's' is sounded as 'ssss', not 'ess'.
Your child will enjoy a phonics lesson every day. In Reception children may be given some writing practice sheets to do with you at home. You can use the special rhymes below to help them form their letters correctly. Once the children have learnt the first few sounds we will send some ditties and phonics reading books for them to read with you at home.
We ask that you listen to your children read these at least once a day. It is important that they read these to you, not you read to them. Knowing that you are listening to their reading really helps to build their confidence. When they first learn to read your child will be very slow to blend the sounds, so it is important to be patient and give them your full attention when you listen - please try not to be distracted by TV or your phone while they read - the children tell us that this makes them feel they are not really being listened to!
As your child's reading fluency improves they will learn set 2 and set 3 sounds, and the phonics books we send home will use the full range of sounds. We hope you enjoy hearing the amazing progress the children make in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 with their reading as much as we do! It is a real joy to see them develop this essential life skill, and then to embark on their lifelong journey of reading for pleasure.
For more information on RWI Phonics, please visit the Parent page at Oxford Owl.
There are more video guides, and you can download all the practice sheets to try writing the sounds at home.
